AstraZeneca has agreed to pay up to $2 billion to Jacobio Pharma for the rights to develop and commercialize an early-stage pan-KRAS inhibitor, JAB-23E73. The agreement includes a $100 million upfront payment and up to $1.9 billion in milestone payments, as well as royalties.
JAB-23E73 is designed to target multiple KRAS mutation subtypes and is currently in Phase I clinical trials in both China and the United States. According to AstraZeneca, the therapy has shown antitumor activity. Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca will lead clinical development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization outside of China. In China, both companies will collaborate on development efforts.
KRAS was previously considered difficult to target with drugs until recent advances by companies such as Mirati Therapeutics and Amgen. Amgen’s Lumakras is now approved for lung cancer and colorectal cancer, while Mirati’s Krazati received approval in 2022 before Mirati was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2024.
Jacobio discovered JAB-23E73 using its induced allosteric drug discovery platform that focuses on proteins previously thought undruggable. The company also developed glecirasib, a KRAS G12C inhibitor approved in China for pancreatic cancer. Jacobio has entered into previous agreements with AbbVie for SHP2 inhibitors and maintains partnerships with Merck KGaA and Merck & Co.
AstraZeneca continues to expand its presence in China through significant investments and deals. In June, it announced an agreement worth up to $5.3 billion with CSPC Pharmaceutical for small molecule drugs targeting chronic diseases. The company also plans further investment over the next five years, including establishing a new global strategic R&D center in China.
" What China is accomplishing in R&D ‘has implications for everyone playing in the R&D or innovation world,’" said Fangning Zhang of McKinsey.
The March announcement regarding AstraZeneca's planned investments came amid political pressure from U.S. authorities encouraging companies to bring manufacturing back domestically and followed an insurance fraud investigation involving one of AstraZeneca’s former executives in China.
