Royalty Pharma to pay up to $950 million for royalties from Amgen's lung cancer drug

(Reuters) -Royalty Pharma has agreed to buy a royalty interest in Amgen's drug for small cell lung cancer from BeOne Medicines for up to $950 million, it said on Monday.

The deal gives Royalty Pharma access to roughly 7% of global net sales of the therapy, Imdelltra, which won U.S. approval last year for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer who have failed chemotherapy.

Royalty Pharma will pay $885 million upfront, while Chinese drug developer BeOne will retain an option to sell an additional portion for up to $65 million within the next 12 months. BeOne, formerly known as BeiGene, will keep commercial rights to the therapy in China.

The royalties from the drug are expected to last until between 2038 and 2041.

This agreement strengthens Royalty Pharma's portfolio of oncology-related royalty streams, the company said. In 2022, it had bought royalty interests in Roche’s lung cancer drug Gavreto for up to $340 million.

Amgen's Imdelltra reduced the risk of death by 40% compared with chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer patients whose disease had worsened after an initial round of chemo, according to interim data in June from a late-stage trial.

Imdelltra sales reached $215 million in the first half of the year and are projected to exceed $2.8 billion by 2035 based on analyst consensus, Royalty Pharma said.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)