Pfizer infuses $200M into CStone, scoring a second PD-L1 and outlining a sprawling China pact

Pfizer has engineered a wide-ranging China pact with CStone, with an initial $200 million investment and a license to the late-stage PD-L1 drug to get things started.

The US giant now claims 9.90% of CStone’s shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange, rights to commercialize sugemalimab in mainland China, as well as plans to co-develop cancer drugs — either in its own pipeline or in-licensed from other drugmakers — in the Chinese market. It’s also on the hook for $280 million in milestones for the PD-L1 program alone, in addition to royalties.