Assembly Biosciences and BeiGene Announce License and Collaboration Agreement in China for Assembly’s Portfolio of Three Clinical-Stage Core Inhibitors for Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

-- BeiGene acquires exclusive development and commercialization rights to ABI-H0731, ABI-H2158, and ABI-H3733 in China --
-- Assembly receives $40 million upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to $500 million in potential development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments plus royalties on product sales --
-- Assembly to host webcast and conference call today at 8:30 am ET --

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., BEIJING, China and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Assembly Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASMB) and BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ: BGNE; HKEX: 06160), today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration in China for Assembly’s portfolio of three clinical-stage core inhibitor candidates for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Under the terms of the agreement, Assembly has granted BeiGene exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ABI-H0731, ABI-H2158 and ABI-H3733 in China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. ABI-H0731 and ABI-H2158 are both in ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials and ABI-H3733 is in Phase 1 development. BeiGene will be responsible for development, regulatory submissions, and commercialization in China. Assembly retains full worldwide rights outside of the partnered territory for the Company’s HBV portfolio.

Assembly will receive an upfront cash payment of $40 million and is eligible to receive up to approximately $500 million in potential development, regulatory and net sales milestone payments pending successful development and commercialization of the licensed candidates. In addition, Assembly is eligible to receive tiered royalties of net sales. BeiGene will contribute initial funding for clinical development in China, after which the development costs for the territory will be shared equally by the parties.

“This collaboration with Assembly expands our portfolio beyond oncology to liver diseases, which are highly prevalent and represent a high unmet need in China,” said John Oyler, Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BeiGene. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Assembly team that has industry-leading expertise in this area to advance novel treatments for hepatitis B, with the ultimate goal of developing a cure. Since one-third of the world’s individuals living with chronic hepatitis B are in China, we are committed to leveraging our capabilities to further develop these novel therapies for patients with HBV infection.”