China's Jiangsu Hengrui, Bristol Myers Squibb sign deals worth up to US$15.2 bil

China's Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday that it has struck global collaboration and licensing deals with US drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb, with potential milestone payments of up to US$15.2 billion. The deal covers four cancer and blood-disease drug candidates from Jiangsu Hengrui, four immunology candidates from Bristol Myers Squibb, and five additional projects the companies will work on together. All 13 programmes are still at a very early stage and have not yet entered human clinical trials, Jiangsu Hengrui said in a statement. Under the terms, Bristol Myers will secure worldwide rights to Hengrui-developed assets outside mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, while Jiangsu Hengrui will gain exclusive rights to Bristol Myers' programmes in those markets. The parties expect the agreements to close in the third quarter of 2026.