Cooley has advised China-based Jacobio Pharmaceuticals on a global licensing agreement with industry giant AstraZeneca, valued at USD2.02 billion, setting a record for the highest outbound licensing transaction for a Chinese small-molecule drug.
The licensing deal involves Jacobio’s self-developed cancer drug, the pan-KRAS inhibitor, JAB-23E73, and under the agreement announced on 21 December 2025, AstraZeneca will receive exclusive development and commercialisation rights for the drug outside China. The two companies will also co-develop and co-commercialise the drug within the Chinese mainland market.
Jacobio will receive an upfront payment of USD100 million and is eligible for up to USD1.92 billion in development and commercialisation milestone payments, along with tiered royalties based on net sales outside China.
Cooley partner Lila Hope led the team acting for Jacobio, with assistance from partner Jennifer Raab. The team also included special counsel Andrew Epstein (cyber, data and privacy), tax partner Aaron Pomeroy, antitrust special counsel David Burns and Julia Brinton, regulatory matters of counsel Natasha Leskovsek and restructuring and insolvency of counsel Robert Eisenbach.
JAB-23E73 is an innovative pan-KRAS inhibitor targeting multiple KRAS mutation subtypes. KRAS is the most common oncogene mutation in human cancers, accounting for around 23% of all cancer patients.
Jacobio was founded in 2015 by Wang Yinxiang, co-founder of Betta Pharmaceuticals, focusing on breakthrough drug development in areas, including KRAS and SHP2 inhibition.
The Jacobio deal surpasses the USD1.3 billion overseas licensing transaction reached in June 2024 between Ascentage Pharma and Takeda Pharmaceutical for olverembatinib, marking the largest outbound licensing agreement to date for a Chinese small-molecule drug.
