The beginning of the story was not like this.

In August 2024, ImmuneOnco Biopharma granted overseas rights to two heavyweight assets to Instil Bio. The latter committed to paying a $50 million upfront payment and near-term milestone payments, along with over $2 billion in subsequent milestone payments and sales royalties.

The vision was ambitious. Bronson Crouch, CEO of Instil Bio, is also a managing partner at Curative Ventures with years of experience in biopharmaceutical investments. After acquiring the rights to IMM2510 and IMM27M, Instil Bio planned to rapidly advance clinical trials and then sublicense the assets to multinational corporations (MNCs) to realize their value.

During the online conference, Tian Wenzhi admitted that both parties had worked diligently on secondary business development (BD) efforts during the collaboration and had actively engaged with multiple MNCs. Some MNCs had expressed interest in the assets. However, the overall survival (OS) data released by Summit objectively dampened short-term market confidence in the PD-(L)1/VEGF field. The industry’s focus shifted to whether AK112 would secure FDA approval. This widespread wait-and-see attitude indeed delayed the timeline for secondary BD.

The data Tian Wenzhi referred to came from Summit, the overseas partner of Akeso, which updated its HARMONi Phase III clinical data in 2025. While the progression-free survival (PFS) advantage was significant, the OS data did not fully meet the pre-specified statistical thresholds.

Moreover, Instil Bio lacked the capability to independently advance overseas clinical research. As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, Instil Bio held only $5.8 million in cash and cash equivalents, along with $0.3 million in restricted cash. This was clearly insufficient to fund the overseas clinical trials for the two new drugs.

The PD-(L)1/VEGF market itself holds immense potential. Kaiyuan Securities pointed out that PD-(L)1/VEGF bispecific drugs are expected to gradually replace the PD-(L)1 monoclonal antibody market, with the global market size projected to reach nearly $70 billion by 2028.

The vast market potential has attracted numerous players. According to incomplete statistics, there are 29 PD-(L)1/VEGF bispecific drugs in development globally, with 21 of them originating from China alone.

During the collaboration with Instil Bio, the PD-(L)1/VEGF field advanced rapidly.

AK112 was making its final sprint toward FDA approval; Huahai Pharma initiated a Phase III clinical trial for HB0025 combined with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for squamous and non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer; RemeGen’s RC148 received approval to conduct a Phase II clinical trial in the U.S. for various advanced malignant solid tumors; and CStone Pharmaceuticals’ PD-L1/VEGF/CTLA-4 trispecific antibody, CS2009, was progressing vigorously with its global Phase I/II clinical trial enrollment.

Meanwhile, MNCs looking to enter the PD-(L)1/VEGF space were actively "shopping" for Chinese assets.

At the end of 2024, BioNTech acquired Prime Medicine for an $800 million upfront payment and up to an additional $150 million in milestone payments, securing full rights to its PD-L1/VEGF bispecific antibody (BNT327/PM8002). About six months later, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) entered into an agreement with BioNTech to co-develop BNT327.

In November 2024, Merck secured the rights to LM-299, a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody from Innovent Biologics, in a deal worth up to $3.288 billion.

In May 2025, Pfizer reignited interest in this field by acquiring the PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody from 3SBio for a $1.25 billion upfront payment, along with $4.8 billion in milestone payments and double-digit percentage sales royalties.

In contrast, Instil Bio appeared to be "struggling."

In July 2025, Instil Bio announced that the FDA had approved the IND application for IMM2510 and planned to initiate a Phase I clinical trial for IMM2510 as a monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory solid tumors by the end of 2025. However, subsequent progress by Instil Bio has not been smooth.

In the highly competitive PD-(L)1/VEGF field, the slow progress of Instil Bio’s overseas clinical trials not only put itself in a difficult position but also risked causing ImmuneOnco to miss crucial future opportunities. Decisively ending the collaboration at this point was a rational choice.

Rather than waiting for a delayed move on someone else's board, it is better to take back control and start a new game.

"Frankly, we are very pleased to regain global rights," Tian Wenzhi stated.

For future global collaborations, reclaiming full rights puts ImmuneOnco in a more advantageous position. Previously, any potential deal required complex tripartite negotiations with Instil Bio, a time-consuming and labor-intensive process to balance the interests of all parties. Now, ImmuneOnco can engage directly and efficiently with interested parties.

Tian Wenzhi mentioned that moving forward, ImmuneOnco still prefers to prioritize collaboration with multinational corporations (MNCs) and will update materials for several MNCs that have expressed interest. The form of collaboration could involve either full rights transfer or co-development, though he noted that MNCs typically favor the former.

Additionally, ImmuneOnco will consider engaging with mid-sized biotech companies that have an urgent need to enter this field to explore potential co-development opportunities.

More importantly, unlike in 2024, ImmuneOnco now holds more robust and substantial clinical data as a bargaining chip in negotiations with potential partners.

In stark contrast to the sluggish progress of overseas clinical trials, the clinical development of IMM2510 in China is advancing rapidly.

From a molecular design perspective, IMM2510 holds certain differentiated competitive advantages. It incorporates a VEGF receptor "trap" structure capable of binding multiple VEGF receptor ligands beyond VEGF-A and exhibits antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) effects.

In November 2023, ImmuneOnco administered the first dose in China for a Phase Ib/II clinical trial of IMM2510 monotherapy. As of now, over 190 patients have been enrolled.

ImmuneOnco has a clear strategy for IMM2510: first, targeting the large market of PD-1 therapy-resistant patients, and second, addressing unmet needs in areas such as perioperative treatment for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, where PD-1 drugs have yet to make inroads.

In September 2025, ImmuneOnco presented a poster at the World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) 2025, sharing Phase I clinical progress for IMM2510 in advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sq-NSCLC) patients who had previously received immunotherapy. As of August 6, 2025, among 17 efficacy-evaluable sq-NSCLC patients with a median follow-up of 3.75 months, the objective response rate (ORR) was 35.3%, and the disease control rate (DCR) reached 76.5%.

In October 2025, ImmuneOnco announced that it had formally submitted a Phase III clinical trial application to the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) for IMM2510 in NSCLC patients resistant to immunotherapy.

Wu Zhuli, Chief Medical Officer of ImmuneOnco, emphasized, "Rapidly advancing IMM2510 monotherapy to market is our unwavering strategy. We are committed to bringing this innovative therapy to patients as quickly as possible, and differentiated clinical design will be key to achieving this goal."

Recently, ImmuneOnco has secured two consecutive clinical trial approvals: one for IMM2510 combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of resectable squamous non-small cell lung cancer, and another for its use in esophageal cancer.

The combination of IMM2510 and IMM27M holds high expectations and is referred to by ImmuneOnco as the "Diamond Regimen." Its domestic clinical development is progressing steadily. In October 2023, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the combination regimen in the treatment of advanced solid tumors. A Phase Ib/II study for relapsed/refractory solid tumors was officially initiated in July 2024.

The choice made by ImmuneOnco represents a step toward maturity for Chinese biotech companies.

In the "golden ocean" of the PD-(L)1/VEGF field—surrounded by industry giants and surging capital—the narrative of Chinese biotech companies "going global" is evolving from simple licensing of rights to actively defending the value of their own assets. In highly competitive fields, time itself is the most precious form of competitiveness.

This also serves as a wake-up call for the industry: in a global game dominated by giants, the most valuable chips need not be hastily cashed in. Retaining firm control and preserving the ability to make strategic moves and take the initiative may be even more crucial.