The pact, which could see AstraZeneca ultimately put out $18.5 billion in milestones and sales-based payments, is centered on SYH2082, a long-acting dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors.
A day after announcing a $15 billion commitment to R&D in China, AstraZeneca is pledging a massive $1.2 billion upfront for a GLP-1/GIP prospect from Hong Kong-based CSPC Pharmaceutical.
AstraZeneca is fronting the cash for exclusive global rights—outside the Greater China region—to SYH2082, a long-acting dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors that is set to enter Phase I development. The pharma will also get three preclinical assets with differing mechanisms of action in obesity and other weight-related conditions, according to a Friday morning news release.
AstraZeneca and its Chinese collaborator will also develop four new programs that leverage CSPC’s sustained-release technology and AI-driven peptide drug discovery engine, according to the biotech’s press announcement of the deal.
Across these eight programs, and for access to CSPC’s platforms, AstraZeneca is also betting up to $3.5 billion in R&D milestones and up to $13.8 billion in sales-based payments. All told, including the upfront commitment, the pharma could be on the hook for $18.5 billion—the largest partnership pledge so far this year.
CSPC’s pipeline and technologies, according to Sharon Barr, head of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, not only complement the pharma’s existing obesity programs, but provide the “potential to transform the treatment of obesity, helping to address adherence and convenience as key barriers to long-term therapeutic success.” AstraZeneca already bought into CSPC’s platform with a potential $5.3 billion deal in June 2025.
Compared to frontrunners Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk—and even to third-place-aspirant Roche—AstraZeneca is a bit farther behind in the weight-loss race. Its most mature assets are still in mid-stage development, including the oral GLP-1 analog AZD45004, now named elecoglipron, which it obtained from another China deal in November 2023 with Shanghai-based Eccogene.
In November last year, CEO Pascal Soriot clarified the pharma’s approach to obesity, noting that it wants to focus more on the medical aspect of excessive weight rather than aesthetics. AstraZeneca’s obesity pipeline will address the health consequences of obesity and what Soriot called “visceral fat,” which covers the liver, heart and other internal organs.
AstraZeneca will also be focusing drug development on improving the quality of weight loss: Cutting down on fat but preserving muscle mass. Muscle, Soriot emphasized, “is a fundamental aspect of keeping people healthy.”
Aside from enriching its obesity portfolio, Friday’s CSPC collaboration adds to AstraZeneca’s already-hefty investments in China. On Thursday, the pharma promised to pump $15 billion into operations in the Asian country through 2030 to boost its capacity in cell therapies and radioconjugates.
Other recent China commitments from AstraZeneca include a $4.5 billion alliance with Harbour BioMed in March 2025 to develop next-generation antibodies, and an up to $2 billion contract with Jacobio Pharma in December for an early-stage pan-KRAS blocker.
