Novartis : to Co-Develop Cancer Drug With China's BeiGene

By Cecilia Butini

Novartis AG said Friday that it will co-develop cancer drug tislelizumab with China-based pharmaceutical company BeiGene as part of an in-licensing agreement.

The Swiss pharma giant said it will initiate additional clinical trials to study the drug's efficacy on different types of cancer, as tislelizumab is now only approved in China for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, classical Hodgkin's lymphoma and metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

The agreement--the financial details of which weren't disclosed--is valid for North America, Europe and Japan, Novartis said.

Write to Cecilia Butini at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-26-21 0733ET