Sandoz enters biosimilars license agreement with Henlius

Swiss generics and biosimilars major Sandoz (SIX: SDZ) has signed a global collaboration with Shanghai Henlius Biotech (HKEX: 02696) to commercialize a biosimilar of leading oncology therapy, ipilimumab, the active ingredient of Bristol Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) blockbuster drug Yervoy.

Sandoz explained that the agreement is milestone-based for a total consideration of up to $301 million, including an upfront payment of $31 million to Henlius, and will target net reference-medicine sales of $2.5 billion.

Sandoz will gain exclusive commercial rights for the biosimilar in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan and the USA. The core sequence patent for ipilimumab expired in March 2025 in the USA and will expire no later than February 2026 in the European Union.