April 20 (Reuters) – Biogen said on Monday it had agreed to pay up to $850 million to acquire exclusive rights in Greater China to an experimental immune disease treatment from Chinese biotech firm TJ Biopharma, giving the U.S. drugmaker worldwide rights to develop and market the treatment.
• Shares of Biogen were up 1.3% in premarket trading.
• Under the agreement, TJ Bio will receive $100 million upfront and could get up to $750 million in commercial and sales milestone payments, plus royalties on sales in Greater China.
• The drug, felzartamab, is being studied in late-stage trials in several immune-related diseases, including IgA nephropathy and primary membranous nephropathy, which damage the kidneys and can lead to organ failure.
• Biogen acquired the drug through an up to $1.8 billion buyout of Human Immunology Biosciences (HI-Bio) in 2024.
• HI-Bio had licensed the global rights to develop and commercialize felzartamab, except in Greater China, from MorphoSys, a Novartis unit.
• Biogen said it would also take over milestone payment and royalty obligations tied to the agreement with MorphoSys.
• The deal builds on the companies’ work together in China since April 2025, when TJ Biopharma joined Biogen-led late-stage studies of felzartamab in IgA nephropathy and primary membranous nephropathy.
• The drug is under review by China’s health regulator for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
• Biogen said it would lead manufacturing and commercial efforts in the region if the drug is approved, while TJ Biopharma will continue to manufacture the treatment for that use at its Hangzhou facility.
(Reporting by Kunal Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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