Spero bets up to $1.1B for Innovent’s autoimmune antibody

 

Spero Therapeutics is putting over $1 billion on the line in exchange for rights to develop SP001, an anti-CD40L antibody, for IgG4-related disease. A Phase 2 study is planned for the second quarter of 2027.

Spero Therapeutics has licensed an investigational autoimmune disease therapy from China-based Innovent Biologics.

The total deal value could reach up to $1.1 billion, according to a Tuesday morning news release. This sum includes Spero’s upfront commitment, as well as R&D, regulatory and commercial milestones—though the companies did not provide a breakdown of the specific financials. Innovent will also be eligible for tiered royalties on net sales.

The star of the deal is SP001, a therapeutic antibody targeting CD40L, which is a key protein positioned upstream in several immune signaling paths. Given this target, SP001 “has the potential to redefine treatment paradigms across a range of immune-mediated diseases,” the partners said in their announcement.

Under the deal terms, Spero will have the exclusive right to develop SP001 globally outside of Greater China, an area that includes the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The Massachusetts-based biotech plans to test the asset in IgG4-related disease, a rare and chronic inflammatory condition, with a mid-stage trial set to start in the second quarter of 2027.

Innovent, meanwhile, will retain control over SP001—which the biotech calls IBI355—in Greater China, where the asset has already been evaluated in two early-stage healthy volunteer studies, plus a Phase 1b trial in patients with Sjögren’s disease. A Phase 2 Sjögren’s trial in China is slated to start in early 2027, per the Tuesday release.

To fund the development of SP001, Spero has entered a financing agreement with the investment firm Healthcare Royalty. In exchange for $105 million from Healthcare Royalty, Spero has promised an undisclosed portion of future sales-based milestones and royalty payments associated with its GSK-partnered antibiotic Utebzi.

Utebzi was approved last month by the FDA for complicated urinary tract infection.

Other recent deals in the immunology space include AstraZeneca’s agreement with Sino Biopharmaceutical last week. The pharma paid $200 million upfront for a dual PDE3/PDE4 inhibitor being tested for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China. A few weeks earlier, AbbVie acquired Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9 billion, absorbing the biotech’s lead inflammatory asset zumilokibart for atopic dermatitis.

Also in mid-June, Biogen swallowed RayThera for up to $1 billion, winning over three preclinical anti-inflammatory assets.

https://www.biospace.com/deals/spero-bets-up-to-1-1b-for-innovents-autoimmune-antibody