Everest Medicines expands its cardiovascular portfolio through strategic collaboration with Hasten Biopharmaceuticals

CHINA – Everest Medicines has announced two major strategic agreements between its wholly owned subsidiary, Everest Medicines (China) Co., Ltd, and privately held Hasten Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

The collaboration is designed to strengthen Everest’s commercial operations in China while expanding its presence in the cardiovascular disease market.

The first agreement is a Commercialization Services Agreement, under which Everest will use its established sales and marketing network to commercialize a portfolio of Hasten’s mature pharmaceutical assets.

The second is a license agreement granting Everest the exclusive rights to develop, register, and commercialize Lerodalcibep, an innovative, third-generation PCSK9 inhibitor, across Greater China.

Lerodalcibep is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise for reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in adults with hypercholesterolemia, including those with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH).

These agreements are expected to foster significant financial and operational collaboration. They will improve the efficiency of Everest’s commercial platform and speed up its development of multi-channel marketing capabilities.

According to the company, the collaboration also lays a solid foundation for long-term growth in cardiovascular medicine.

The potential approval of Lerodalcibep in Greater China by 2027 could significantly boost future revenue in Everest’s cardiovascular portfolio.

Under the terms of the commercialization services agreement, Everest Medicines China will receive service fees based on the quarterly net sales of each product, calculated at rates ranging from 20% to 55%.

The proposed maximum annual payments from Hasten are capped at RMB 560 million (USD 78 million) in 2026, RMB 616 million (USD 86 million) in 2027, and RMB 677 million (USD 94 million) in 2028.

The service agreement covers six mature, commercially available drugs across three main therapeutic areas—critical care, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders.

These include Rocephin®, Stilamin®, and Ebrantil® for critical care; Edarbi® and Blopress® for cardiovascular diseases; and Basen® for metabolic disorders.

Among these, the three critical care medications play a vital role in the treatment of infectious, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular emergencies.

Rocephin®, a broad-spectrum third-generation cephalosporin, is already available in over 8,500 hospitals across China and holds more than 80% market share in its category.

The collaboration also aligns Everest’s XERAVA®, an antibiotic for complicated infections, with Hasten’s established critical care portfolio, thereby strengthening Everest’s commercialization capabilities and product life-cycle management.

This integration will broaden Everest’s reach across key hospital networks and enhance product access in both urban and regional markets.

Under the separate licensing agreement, Everest will make an initial payment of USD 29 million (RMB 205 million) to Hasten.

The company could also pay up to USD 30 million (RMB 212 million) in development and regulatory milestone payments, as well as up to USD 280 million (RMB 1.98 billion) in potential sales milestones, in addition to royalties on annual net sales.

Developed by the U.S.-based LIB Therapeutics, Lerodalcibep is designed as a convenient, once-monthly subcutaneous injection that does not require refrigeration.

In global Phase 3 clinical trials involving more than 2,500 patients, the drug achieved sustained LDL-C reductions of over 60% in individuals at high cardiovascular risk and over 55% in those with familial hypercholesterolemia.

The head-to-head LIBerate-VI study also demonstrated Lerodalcibep’s superiority to inclisiran.

Lerodalcibep is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

A Biologics License Application (BLA) submission in Greater China is planned for the first half of 2026, with potential approval in 2027.

With PCSK9 inhibitors already achieving an RMB 3 billion (USD 417 million) market size in China and projected to reach RMB 10 billion (USD 1.39 billion) by 2030, Everest’s entry through this licensing deal positions it favorably in a rapidly expanding market.