Akeso Inc. (9926.HK) announced that it had received payment from Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Research Institute Co., Ltd. ("Sichuan Kelun") for their collaboration on the development of tagitanlimab, an innovative humanized monoclonal antibody targeting PD-L1, following its recent marketing approval by China's National Medical Products Administration.

In 2014, Akeso signed a cooperation agreement with Sichuan Kelun for the development of tagitanlimab. Under the terms of the agreement, Akeso will receive royalties from the commercial sales of tagitanlimab in addition to the development payment.

Tagitanlimab marks Akeso's second oncology product to yield commercial royalties, following pucotenlimab, a PD-1 monoclonal antibody developed in collaboration with Lepu Biopharma in 2016.

Dr. Yu Xia, founder, chairwoman, president, and CEO of Akeso, said: "Congratulations to our partners. We are thrilled about continuously successful approval of our innovative products, and truly anticipate their outstanding commercialization performance. This achievement highlights Akeso's strong R&D capabilities and our commitment to innovation. Since its inception, Akeso has established multiple external collaborations, including ivonescimab with Summit Therapeutics, quavonlimab with Merck and pucotenlimab with Lepu Biopharma. These partnerships not only benefit patients but also deliver significant returns for both Akeso and our collaborators. Looking ahead, Akeso will continue to pursue a diversified strategy for new drug development, leveraging global resources to drive the high-quality commercialization of our independently developed innovative therapeutics."