I-Mab Enters Global Strategic Partnership With AbbVie for Cancer Treatment

Palo Alto – September 10, 2020 – Cooley advised I-Mab on its global collaboration agreement with AbbVie for the development and commercialization of lemzoparlimab, one of I-Mab’s leading drug candidates, for the treatment of multiple cancers. Lawyers Lila Hope and Jennifer Raab led the Cooley team advising I-Mab on the agreement. 

Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay I-Mab $180 million in an upfront payment to exclusively license lemzoparlimab, along with $20 million in a milestone payment based on the Phase 1 results. In addition, I-Mab will be eligible to receive up to $1.74 billion in success-based milestone payments for lemzoparlimab, $840 million of which are based on clinical development and regulatory approval milestones, with the remainder based on commercial milestones. Upon commercialization of lemzoparlimab, AbbVie will also pay tiered royalties from low-to-mid teen percentages on global net sales outside of greater China. The companies will also have the potential to expand the collaboration to additional transformative therapies.

Lemzoparlimab is designed to minimize inherent binding to normal red blood cells while preserving its strong anti-tumor activity, a critical attribute in potentially differentiating lemzoparlimab from other antibodies of the same class currently in development.

“At the forefront of drug innovation, our goal at I-Mab has always been to bring transformational therapies to patients globally,” Jingwu Zang, founder, director and honorary chairman of I-Mab, said in a news release. “This strategic collaboration reinforces I-Mab's leading position in immuno-oncology and enables us to realize the full potential of our innovation. We are extremely proud to partner with AbbVie. By leveraging the combined development strength of our companies, we aim to speed lemzoparlimab to market for patients in need around the world.”

I-Mab is a dynamic, global biotech company exclusively focused on discovery, development and soon commercialization of novel or highly differentiated biologics in the therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases. The company's mission is to bring transformational medicines to patients around the world through innovation. I-Mab is on track to transitioning from a clinical-stage biotech company toward a fully integrated global biopharmaceutical company with cutting-edge research & development capabilities, a world-class GMP manufacturing facility and commercial capability. I-Mab has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Rockville, Maryland in the US. 

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