Royalty Pharma has acquired a royalty interest in Amgen’s Imdelltra, an innovative BiTE antibody for the treatment of small cell lung cancer, from BeOne Medicines for an upfront payment of $885 million. The agreement allows BeOne to sell additional royalty rights in Imdelltra to Royalty Pharma for up to $65 million over the next 12 months.
Imdelltra received accelerated approval from the U.S. FDA in May 2024 for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) who relapsed after platinum-based chemotherapy. ES-SCLC affects around 360,000 people worldwide every year and has a poor prognosis: median survival is about 12 months, and the five-year survival rate is just 7%.
Royalty Pharma sees the transaction as a strategic step to further diversify its portfolio and strengthen long-term growth. BeOne Medicines aims to use the monetization of the royalty interest to increase financial stability and gain more flexibility in further developing innovative oncology products.
