Japanese life sciences company Astellas Pharma Inc (TSE:4503) and China-based Evopoint Biosciences announced on Thursday that they have entered into an exclusive licence agreement for XNW27011, a novel investigational clinical-stage antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting CLDN18.2.

The agreement grants Astellas a worldwide exclusive licence (excluding China's mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan region) to develop and commercialise XNW27011.

XNW27011 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 study in China in patients with CLDN18.2-expressing solid tumours, including gastric cancer, gastroesophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer. It uses a proprietary topoisomerase I inhibitor payload and linker technology, an approach that has demonstrated clinical success in other approved cancer therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Evopoint will receive USD130m upfront and is eligible to receive up to USD70m near-term payments, and additional milestone payments associated with development, regulatory and commercialisation milestones totalling up to USD1.34bn, as well as royalties on net sales of XNW27011, if approved.