CStone Pharmaceuticals (HKG: 2616), a biopharmaceutical company based in China, has announced a licensing agreement with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (SHA: 600276), another Chinese pharmaceutical firm. The agreement grants Hengrui exclusive promotion rights to Ayvakit (avapritinib), CStone’s precision therapy, in mainland China. CStone maintains all rights to Ayvakit in mainland China, including development, registration, manufacturing, and distribution rights.
As per the agreement, CStone will receive an upfront payment of RMB 35 million (USD 4.8 million) and will continue to record sales revenue from Ayvakit in mainland China in its financial statements. Hengrui will charge CStone a service fee for the promotion of the drug.
Ayvakit is a potent, selective, and orally available inhibitor of KIT and PDGFRA mutant kinases. It was approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA) in March 2021 for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) harboring the PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations. The manufacturing localization registration application for Ayvakit (300mg) was approved by the NMPA in June 2024, with domestic supply expected to be available by the end of 2024 or early 2025.- Flcube.com
