A team of Sidley lawyers represented RAPT Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: RAPT), a clinical-stage, immunology-based biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel therapies for patients with significant unmet needs in inflammatory diseases, in an exclusive license agreement with a leading pharmaceutical company in China, Shanghai Jemincare Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (“Jemincare”), a subsidiary of Jiangxi Jemincare Group, for JYB1904 (RAPT designation RPT904), a clinical-stage, half-life extended anti immunoglobulin E (IgE) monoclonal antibody.
Under the terms of the license agreement, RAPT is granted worldwide rights, excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (together, the “Jemincare Territory”), to develop and commercialize RPT904. As consideration for the license, Jemincare receives a US$35 million upfront license fee, up to US$672.5 million in additional payments upon the achievement of various regulatory and commercial milestones, and royalties on future sales of RPT904 outside the Jemincare Territory.
RPT904 is being developed to offer patients a potentially improved therapeutic option compared to omalizumab (marketed as Xolair®), an anti IgE monoclonal antibody approved for several allergic disorders, including asthma, chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and, most recently, food allergies. RAPT plans to pursue development of RPT904 initially for food allergies. Separately, Jemincare is conducting Phase 2 clinical trials of JYB1904 in China for asthma and CSU.
The Sidley team was led by Sidley partner Stephen Abreu (Technology and Life Sciences Transactions), and included Tom Duley, Jean Qiu, and Cassidy Pomeroy-Carter (Technology and Life Sciences Transactions); Emily Marden, Chen Yang, and Torrey Cope (Food, Drug, and Medical Device); Rachel Kleinberg and Jonathan Westreich (Tax); Francesca Blythe and Lauren Kitces (Privacy and Cybersecurity); BinQuan Zhuang, Ph.D. (M&A); Sue Wang (IP Litigation); Scott Nonaka and Aaron Applebaum (Global Arbitration, Trade, and Advocacy); and Edward Sharon (Antitrust and Competition).
For additional details, please refer to the press release.
