HONG KONG, December 12, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) – Everest Medicines announced on Dec. 11, 2025 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Everest Medicines (China) Co., Ltd (“Everest Medicines China”), has entered into two strategic agreements with privately held Hasten Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (“Hasten”). The first is a Commercialization Services Agreement leveraging Everest's existing sales and marketing organization to provide commercialization services for a portfolio of Hasten's mature assets.

The second is a License Agreement granting Everest the exclusive license to develop, register and commercialize Lerodalcibep, a novel, small protein-binding, third-generation PCSK9 inhibitor, which is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in adults with hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) in Greater China.

The two agreements are expected to create significant financial and strategic synergies, enhancing the operational efficiency of Everest’s existing commercial platform and accelerating the build-out of life-cycle and multi-channel commercialization capabilities. At the same time, they establish an attractive strategic footprint for the Company in the cardiovascular disease area. Through this collaboration, Everest will further strengthen its commercial foundation in China, expand market share, and inject core momentum into the long-term growth of its cardiovascular business. The potential approval of Lerodalcibep in Greater China in 2027 is expected to contribute to future revenue growth within Everest's cardiovascular portfolio.

Commercialization Synergies to Strengthen Competitiveness Across a Multi-Product Portfolio

Everest Medicines China will receive service fees from Hasten calculated by multiplying the net sales of each product for the applicable quarter by the applicable rate, which ranges from 20% to 55%. The proposed maximum annual caps for the transactions contemplated to be paid by Hasten for the three years ending December 31, 2028 are set at RMB 560 million in 2026, RMB 616 million in 2027, and RMB 677 million in 2028.

The Commercialization Service Agreement covers six mature, commercially available products across three major therapeutic areas—critical care, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disorders—including Rocephin(R), Stilamin(R), and Ebrantil(R) in critical care; Edarbi(R) and Blopress(R) in cardiovascular disease; and Basen(R) in metabolic disease. The portfolio is highly synergistic with Everest’s existing commercial infrastructure and strategic focus. Among them, the three core critical care products—Rocephin(R), Stilamin(R), and Ebrantil(R)—play an essential clinical role in the treatment of infectious, gastrointestinal emergency, and cardiovascular emergency conditions. 

Rocephin(R), for example, is a broad-spectrum, third-generation cephalosporin that has achieved coverage in more than 8,500 hospitals nationwide and holds over 80% market share, maintaining strong and sustained clinical demand in the treatment of complex infections. Notably, these transactions are expected to generate significant synergies for Everest by aligning XERAVA(R) with Hasten’s critical care portfolio — including Rocephin(R) and Stilamin(R) — across complementary geographic footprints, channel access and hospital coverage, while further strengthening the Company’s commercialization capabilities and life-cycle management of innovative medicines.

With the addition of this product portfolio, the Company’s commercial presence in key therapeutic areas such as critical care and cardiovascular diseases will be further expanded, creating stronger synergies with its existing commercialization organization and providing more robust support for the scaled development and revenue growth of its commercial platform.

Introduction of Lerodalcibep to Expand Strategic Footprint in Cardiovascular Diseases

The agreement grants Everest the exclusive license to develop, register and commercialize Lerodalcibep in Greater China, together with a royalty-free, exclusive license to use Hasten's trademarks for the product in the territory. Pursuant to the license agreement, Everest Medicines China will make an initial payment of US$29 million (approximately RMB 205 million), and may pay up to US$30 million (RMB 212 million) in potential development and regulatory milestone payments and up to US$280 million (RMB1977 million) in potential sales milestones, in addition to royalties based on the total, aggregate annual net sales.

Lerodalcibep, developed by privately-held and U.S.-based company LIB Therapeutics, is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in adults with hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH). Lerodalcibep is a novel, small protein-binding, third-generation PCSK9 inhibitor, and has been developed as a more patient friendly and convenient, once-monthly, single small-volume, subcutaneous injection that will not require refrigeration at home or in travel. These features make Lerodalcibep a unique alternative to approved PCSK9 inhibitors. In large, global phase 3 clinical trials in over 2,500 patients, Lerodalcibep has demonstrated sustained LDL-C reductions of >60% in patients with, or at very-high or high risk of, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and >55% in those with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) who have more severe LDL-C elevations. In addition, the head-to-head LIBerate-VI study, comparing Lerodalcibep with Inclisiran, demonstrated the superiority of Lerodalcibep (p=0.0319). Lerodalcibep is expected to expand treatment options for the millions of patients around the world with CVD, including the 30 million individuals with FH. These LDL-C reductions have been confirmed in a recent phase 3 clinical trial in a Chinese population with, or at very high risk of, CVD including FH.

Multiple PCSK9 inhibitors are currently approved and marketed in China, with a combined market size of approximately RMB 3 billion and year-over-year revenue growth of 95% in 2024. The market is expected to further increase to approximately RMB10 billion in 2030, according to a Frost & Sullivan report. Despite an estimated 400 million individuals in China with dyslipidemia, only ~14% receive lipid-lowering treatment, reflecting low penetration and significant unmet medical need. Lerodalcibep has patent exclusivity in China through 2039.

Lerodalcibep is currently under regulatory review by both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).‌ In Greater China, Biologics License Application (BLA) submission is expected in 1H 2026, with the potential for approval in 2027.

Everest considers Lerodalcibep an important future growth driver and a key addition to its innovative medicines portfolio. The transaction is viewed as aligned with the Company’s strategy to focus on high-potential therapeutic areas and to expand its late-stage pipeline through business development collaborations, thereby strengthening its overall portfolio.

Market commentators note that the two agreements provide both near-term revenue contribution and clear longer-term growth opportunities. By leveraging its established medical, market access, marketing and sales capabilities, Everest is expected to improve the efficiency of its commercial operations and resource utilization, while further demonstrating the scalability and resilience of its commercial platform.

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