March 27, 2026 – Shanghai Huaota Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Huaota”) announced that it has entered into a global research collaboration and licensing agreement (the “Agreement”) with Almirall, S.A. (“Almirall”) to develop a monoclonal antibody candidate against a novel target, with potential applications across multiple indications including medical dermatology.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Huaota will hold the rights to develop and commercialize the program and resulting products in China, while Almirall will hold the global development and commercialization rights outside of China. Leveraging its innovative biologics R&D platform, Huaota will conduct the relevant research activities through to the delivery of a molecule with clinical proof-of-concept. Almirall will make cumulative payments of up to USD340 million to Huaota, including upfront, development and commercialization milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties.
Dr. Xiangyang Zhu, CEO of Huaota, commented: “This collaboration highlights the strong recognition by international partners of Huaota’s cutting-edge innovation and translational capabilities as an emerging platform for large-molecule antibody drug discovery. It also creates an open, pragmatic, and forward-looking foundation for future international collaborations on new innovative programs and outbound licensing of our proprietary pipeline. Moving forward, both parties will adhere to a partnership philosophy of mutual benefit, enhanced collaboration, shared risks, and shared rewards, with the goal of realizing the global commercial value of this program.”
Huaota, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (600521.SH), is a globally oriented biopharmaceutical company focused on in-house innovation, with a core focus on oncology and autoimmune diseases. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, Huaota has advanced 12 programs into clinical development. These include China’s first self-developed IL-36R monoclonal antibody for the treatment of generalized pustular psoriasis currently at the NDA stage; a PD-L1/VEGF bispecific antibody in pivotal Phase III clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer and endometrial cancer; and several innovative early-stage programs, including a first-in-class TSLP/IL-11 bispecific antibody for moderate-to-severe asthma and other indications, as well as an IL-17A/IL-36R bispecific antibody for hidradenitis suppurativa and other conditions.
Fangda Partners acted as legal counsel to Huaota in this transaction, providing comprehensive legal services including transaction structuring, drafting, negotiation and revision of transaction documents. The Fangda team was led by partners Henry HE, Josh SHIN and Bella WANG. Key team members included associates Jiali YANG and Ethel WANG. Fangda acted a critical role in facilitating this transaction and continues to support Chinese biopharmaceutical companies in expanding into global markets.
