AstraZeneca reunites with Dizal in $1.5bn lung cancer deal
AstraZeneca has agreed to pay up to $1.5bn for global rights to Zegfrovy, an EGFR-targeted lung cancer drug developed by Dizal Pharmaceutical – the Chinese biotech it helped create nearly a decade ago.
Why it matters: The deal gives British-Swedish AstraZeneca a potential companion to its blockbuster EGFR inhibitor Tagrisso, extending its lung cancer franchise into the harder-to-treat EGFR exon 20 insertion market.
By the numbers: AstraZeneca will pay Dizal $600m upfront, with a further $400m available in development milestones and $500m tied to sales targets. Dizal will also receive tiered royalties reaching the low double digits on global sales.
How it works: EGFR is a protein on the surface of cells that helps control their growth and survival. Mutations in the gene can leave the protein permanently switched on, driving the uncontrolled cell growth seen in some lung cancers.
- EGFR inhibitors are designed to block this signalling. However, exon 20 insertion mutations alter the protein in a way that makes many earlier EGFR drugs less effective, creating demand for medicines specifically designed to target this subgroup.
Zoom in: Zegfrovy (sunvozertinib) is an oral EGFR inhibitor approved in the US and China for previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer carrying EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations.
- Dizal has applied to expand the drug’s label into the first-line setting following positive results from the global phase 3 Wu-Kong28 trial. The study showed Zegfrovy reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% compared with platinum-based chemotherapy.
The big picture: Johnson & Johnson’s Rybrevant is already approved as a first-line treatment for this patient group alongside the two chemotherapy drugs carboplatin and pemetrexed. Zegfrovy could offer a simpler oral alternative to that antibody and chemotherapy combination, although overall survival data and a full assessment of its safety profile will be important in determining its competitive position.
Backstory: AstraZeneca formed Dizal as a joint venture in 2017 by transferring staff, research capabilities and early-stage programmes from its Innovation Center China. Dizal CEO Xiaolin Zhang previously led the centre, while AstraZeneca remains one of the biotech’s largest shareholders with a 23.4% stake.
Also notable: The agreement continues AstraZeneca’s dealmaking push in China. It follows recent agreements covering a kidney disease programme from CSPC Pharmaceutical and ex-China rights to Sino Biopharmaceutical’s experimental COPD drug TQC3721.
The bottom line: AstraZeneca is effectively buying back into science that originated inside its own organisation, but only after Dizal carried Zegfrovy through development, approval and a pivotal first-line trial.
