HUTCHMED, the biopharma company, has closed its exclusive licence agreement with GSK, granting the British drugmaker rights to develop and commercialise a cancer therapy outside China.
The deal covers HMPL-A830, a first-in-class drug candidate designed to target tumours driven by mutations in the KRAS gene, which is implicated in colorectal, pancreatic and lung cancers.
HUTCHMED will receive an upfront payment of $110 million, with potential milestone payments of up to $1.185 billion and tiered royalties on future net sales.
HMPL-A830 is an antibody-targeted therapy conjugate (ATTC), a next-generation approach that combines a targeted antibody with a small-molecule inhibitor to attack tumours through two mechanisms simultaneously.
The drug is designed to deliver a KRAS inhibitor directly to tumours expressing the EGFR protein, while also blocking both EGFR and KRAS signalling pathways to improve efficacy and reduce side effects.
A Phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumours was initiated in China and the United States in September 2026.
HUTCHMED retains rights to HMPL-A830 in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and will lead the global Phase I development programme.
