RAHWAY, NJ, USA I December 18, 2024 I Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, and Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, today announced that they have entered into an exclusive global license agreement for HS-10535, an investigational preclinical oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist.

“We continue to leverage science-driven business development to augment and complement our robust pipeline,” said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories. “Through this agreement, we aim to build on our experience targeting incretin biology to evaluate HS-10535 and its potential to provide additional cardiometabolic benefits beyond weight reduction.”

Under the agreement, Hansoh Pharma has granted Merck an exclusive global license to develop, manufacture and commercialize HS-10535. Hansoh Pharma will receive an upfront payment of $112 million and is eligible to receive up to $1.9 billion in milestone payments associated with the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of the candidate, as well as royalties on sales. Hansoh Pharma may co-promote or solely commercialize HS-10535 in China subject to certain conditions. Merck will record a pre-tax charge of $112 million, or $0.04 per share, to be included in GAAP and non-GAAP results in the fourth quarter of 2024.

“We are pleased to announce the in-license of our oral GLP-1 by Merck, a company with established leadership in cardiometabolic diseases,” said Ms. Eliza Sun, Executive Director of the Board, Hansoh Pharma. “Hansoh Pharma is becoming an emerging leader in metabolic diseases, and we see Merck’s expertise and capabilities as key to accelerating the development of this promising asset for patients worldwide.”

About Hansoh Pharma

Hansoh Pharma is a leading pharmaceutical company in Greater China driven by innovation. It is committed to the treatment of major diseases in the areas of oncology, anti-infections, CNS diseases, metabolic diseases, as well as autoimmune diseases, and is dedicated to improving human health through continuous innovation. Hansoh Pharma has been ranked among the top 100 global pharmaceutical companies and the top 3 best industrial enterprises in China in terms of pharmaceutical R&D pipeline for several years and is a national key high-tech enterprise and a national technology innovation demonstration enterprise. Hansoh Pharma was listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in June 2019 (stock code: 03692.HK). For more information, please visit www.hspharm.com.

About Merck

At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

SOURCE: Merck