(News Bulletin 247) – The Lyon-based company announced that its Chinese partner has decided to end their collaboration on BioChaperone Combo in China and certain other Asian countries. The agreement on BioChaperone Lispro has not been called into question.

A major blow for Adocia. The Lyon-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the treatment of diabetes and obesity announced this Wednesday morning that Tonghua Dongbao has decided to end their collaboration on BioChaperone Combo, for the treatment of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Adocia shares suffered from this decision, and were up another 5.5% around 11:30 a.m., after having plunged by more than 12% in early trading.

In a letter sent to Adocia at the beginning of the week, Tonghua Dongbao justified this unilateral decision by the desire to concentrate on “other projects benefiting from more favorable market conditions.”

“We are disappointed by Tonghua Dongbao’s decision to terminate the collaboration on BioChaperone Combo, but we respect their decision given the intense competition with biosimilars that fixed combination insulins face,” said Olivier Soula, CEO of Adocia.

In April 2018, Adocia granted Tonghua Dongbao exclusive development and commercialization rights to the fixed-ratio combination of insulin glargine (long-acting) and insulin lispro (rapid-acting), BioChaperone Combo, as well as the ultra-rapid-acting insulin BioChaperone Lispro in China and certain other countries.

Adocia, however, retained the rights to develop and license its insulin programs worldwide in all territories not covered by these agreements, notably in the United States, Europe and Japan.

When the agreement was signed, Adocia received an initial, non-refundable payment of $40 million. The company specifies that a milestone payment of $10 million was expected in 2024, following the start of phase III (the last phase of clinical trials before potential commercialization) of the BioChaperone Combo program.

Agreement still valid on BioChaperone Lispro

As a result of this decision and in accordance with the terms of this contract, Adocia explains that it has taken back, free of charge, full ownership of the rights which had been licensed to Tonghua Dongbao for China and other territories in Asia and the Middle East.

From a financial perspective, Adocia assures that Tonghua Dongbao’s decision to terminate the BioChaperone Combo project will not affect the cash flow horizon communicated in May, “to the extent that potential revenues from existing or future partnerships were not taken into account”. The biotech company specializing in the research and development of innovative therapeutic solutions for the treatment of diabetes and obesity had indicated that its cash position amounted to €10.2 million as of March 31, 2024, which allowed it to finance its activities until the third quarter of 2025.

The Lyon group adds that the existing agreement on BioChaperone Lispro, the second asset whose license was also granted to Tonghua Dongbao in 2018, remains current. On this subject, Adocia indicates that it should see its phase III program completed this year.

This license still provides for milestone payments totaling $30 million, including $10 million due at the last visit of the last patient in Phase III, as well as double-digit royalties.