Jacobio Pharma announced on Sunday that it granted AstraZeneca exclusive global development and commercialization rights to its experimental pan-KRAS inhibitor JAB-23E73 in a licensing agreement worth up to $2.015 billion.
The deal, terms of which were disclosed on December 21, includes a $100 million upfront payment to the Hong Kong-listed biotech. Jacobio also stands to receive up to $1.915 billion in development and commercial milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on net sales outside China.
AstraZeneca will manage all clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization for JAB-23E73 outside China. The two companies will jointly develop and commercialize the drug within China.
JAB-23E73 targets multiple KRAS mutation subtypes, found in about 23% of all cancer patients. KRAS ranks as the most frequently mutated oncogene in human cancers and drives tumors in pancreatic, colorectal, and lung cancers. The drug candidate is in Phase I trials in China and the United States, showing early signs of anti-tumor activity.
“KRAS is one of the most important oncogenes in cancer, with KRAS-mutated tumors driving profound unmet need for patients with pancreatic, colorectal and lung cancers,” said Matt Hellmann, Senior Vice President, Early Oncology and Precision Medicine, Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca. “By advancing KRAS inhibitors like JAB-23E73, and in combination with our diverse oncology portfolio, we aim to accelerate the development of new treatment regimens that have the potential to transform outcomes for patients.”
This agreement marks AstraZeneca’s first transaction with a multinational corporation in the global pan-KRAS inhibitor pipeline. In 2023, AstraZeneca licensed a KRAS G12D inhibitor from China’s Usynova for a $24 million upfront payment, though that drug addresses a narrower range of mutations.
Jacobio developed JAB-23E73 using its proprietary induced allosteric drug discovery platform. The inhibitor targets both active and inactive states of KRAS with strong selectivity, sparing HRAS and NRAS.
