Overview
- The companies announced the agreement on August 17, 2026, creating a multi‑product collaboration that initially covers a cetuximab biosimilar, an evolocumab biosimilar, and a belimumab biosimilar.
- The financial structure totals up to US$322 million in upfront, option and milestone payments, with Henlius expecting about US$100.5 million to be invoiced in 2026 for the initial arrangements.
- Under the deal Henlius will handle development, manufacturing and supply while Sandoz obtains exclusive rights to register and commercialize the partnered products worldwide outside China.
- Most programs are at an early stage: Henlius dosed the first patient in a Phase 1 study of HLX05-N (cetuximab) in July 2026, while the evolocumab and belimumab candidates remain in preclinical development, so regulatory review and launches will take years.
- The pact includes an option for a recombinant hyaluronidase to enable subcutaneous dosing and targets large global markets for the reference drugs, a move that boosts Sandoz’s pipeline and could lower patient costs if the biosimilars clear clinical and regulatory hurdles.