Summit Gains Rights to Akeso’s Bispecific Antibody Targeting NSCLC

Summit Therapeutics has acquired licensing rights for Akeso’s ivonescimab, an antibody that targets both programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NCSLC).

The deal includes an upfront payment of $200 million to the China-based biotech and potential future milestone payments of up to $4.5 billion.

Because of its bispecific targeting, ivonescimab attacks tumors in two ways: recruiting the body’s own immune defenses and clamping down on tumor vasculogenesis.

Summit will now hold the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ivonescimab — renamed SMT112 — in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. Akeso will retain development and commercialization rights for additional regions, including China.