Pfizer Strikes Up To $10.5 Billion Deal With China's Innovent Biologics To Develop Next-Gen Cancer Therapies

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Pfizer Inc. and China’s Innovent Biologics have announced a global licensing and collaboration agreement. The deal, valued at up to $10.5 billion, is set to develop 12 early-stage cancer drugs.

The agreement comprises an upfront payment of $650 million to Innovent, with potential development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments reaching up to $9.85 billion. The collaboration encompasses a portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) with novel differentiated payloads and multi-specific antibodies. This includes eight early-stage assets originated by Innovent and four discovery programs proposed by Pfizer.

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Pfizer will lead the first 12 programs through Phase 1 clinical trials, after which Innovent will take over global development responsibilities. The agreement is divided into three tiers, each outlining distinct terms for co-development, co-commercialization, and licensing rights.

This collaboration comes on the heels of Pfizer’s recent successes in the oncology field. In May, Pfizer and Arvinas received FDA approval for their first-of-its-kind breast cancer therapy, VEPPANU. Earlier in February, Pfizer’s BRAFTOVI regimen for treating metastatic colorectal cancer demonstrated significant improvement in progression-free survival for patients.

Furthermore, this deal signifies a growing trend of major pharmaceutical companies investing heavily in China. Earlier this year, AstraZeneca Plc announced a $15 billion investment in China to expand medicines manufacturing and R&D. In May 2025, Pfizer signed a licensing agreement with Chinese biopharma giant 3SBio , investing billions in a new cancer immunotherapy approach.