Shanghai-based LaNova Medicines—which has captured the attention of some of the biggest Western pharmas—will be folded into fellow Chinese company Sino Biopharmaceutical in a deal worth up to $951 million.
LaNova Medicines has been acquired by fellow Chinese biotech Sino Biopharmaceutical in a deal worth up to $951 million.
In a Tuesday regulatory filing on the Hong Kong exchange, Sino—which already holds a 4.91% stake in LaNova—revealed that it will purchase the remaining 95.09% equity interest for a net payment of nearly $501 million. This sum excludes LaNova’s current estimated cash and bank deposits amounting to $450 million.
Completion of this agreement is subject to certain conditions under Chinese law, including shareholder approval and relevant legal clearances. The transaction will close within 30 business days after all conditions have been met.
In recent years, LaNova has captured the attention of some of the biggest players in the Western pharma market. In November last year, LaNova secured a $588 million upfront payment from Merck in exchange for global rights to its investigational bispecific antibody LM-299, being developed for solid tumors. Merck also pledged up to $2.7 billion in technology transfer, development, regulatory and commercialization milestone payable across several cancer targets.
LM-299 is part of an emerging class of oncology therapies targeting both the PD-1 and VEGF pathways. This approach prevents tumors from evading the immune system’s anti-cancer activity and from forming new blood vessels to supply themselves with nutrients.
Outside of Merck, LaNova has deals with other Western pharmas as well. In May 2023, the Shanghai-based biotech signed a partnership with AstraZeneca focused on the antibody-drug conjugate LM-305, a potentially first-in-class ADC targeting the GPRC5D protein, for multiple myeloma. The deal netted LaNova $55 million upfront and up to $545 million in milestones, plus tiered royalties.
Sino’s acquisition of LaNova brings it a pipeline full of other ADCs and bispecific antibodies. Those include late-stage assets like LM-302, an ADC for gastric cancers, and LM-108, a monoclonal antibody against tumors with high microsatellite instability, both in Phase III trials. LaNova also has another eight molecules in preclinical, IND-enabling studies.
