China-headquartered RemeGen has entered into an exclusive out-licensing agreement with Japan's Santen Pharmaceutical for its VEGF/FGF dual-target fusion protein RC28-E in Greater China and seven Southeast Asian markets. The deal includes RMB 250 million upfront and up to RMB 1.045 billion in milestones and tiered royalties. RC28-E demonstrated significant improvements in best-corrected visual acuity and central subfield thickness reduction in Phase II diabetic macular oedema trials, with Phase III studies ongoing for wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD) and diabetic macular oedema.

RemeGen retains global rights outside licensed territories and plans submissions for diabetic macular oedema in late 2025 and wAMD in mid-2026 in China. The partnership leverages Santen's ophthalmology expertise to commercialise this novel anti-angiogenic therapy, which simultaneously blocks the VEGF and FGF pathways implicated in retinal diseases affecting over 200 million patients worldwide.

According to PharmCube's NextBiopharm® database, this is the third out-licensing deal by RemeGen, its valuation paling in comparison with that of a transaction with Vor Biopharma. Click here to request a free trial for NextBiopharm®.