NEW YORK – Zai Lab said on Tuesday it has entered into a license agreement with Mirati Therapeutics to develop and commercialize Mirati's KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib in greater China.
Under the agreement, Zai will pay $65 million upfront and Mirati will be eligible for another $273 million in potential milestone payments along with tiered royalties. The deal gives Zai the rights to develop and commercialize adagrasib in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as a treatment for cancers characterized by KRAS G12C mutations.
"Lung cancer is the most common cancer in China, and we aim to make adagrasib an important product in our growing lung cancer franchise," Zai CEO Samantha Du said in a statement. "We are also excited about the potential of adagrasib to treat colorectal, pancreatic, and other cancers characterized by KRAS G12C mutations."
Mirati has the option to co-commercialize adagrasib in greater China and retains exclusive rights to the drug in all other countries.
In March, Mirati presented data from a Phase I/II study of adagrasib in KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. In the study, 45 percent of 51 evaluable patients had a partial response after treatment with adagrasib. Mirati is expecting to complete a new drug application submission for adagrasib in KRAS G12C-mutated NSCLC with the US Food and Drug Administration later this year.
Last month, Mirati also partnered with Qiagen to develop a tissue-based companion diagnostic to identify patients with the KRAS G12C mutation who are likely to respond to adagrasib.