China-based Hansoh Pharmaceutical has deepened its strategy of commercializing innovative assets through Western development partners by licensing global ex-Greater China rights to its oral IL-23 receptor antagonist AVR-001 (HS-20118) to US-based Avere Therapeutics, which will at the same time access public markets through an all-stock reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed NextCure. The combined company, which will operate under the Avere name and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker "AVRX," is led by a US management team previously responsible for guiding Akero Therapeutics from pre-IPO through its USD 5.2 billion sale to Novo Nordisk in December 2025.
The transaction combines several elements that have become increasingly common in cross-border biotech financing: a Chinese-origin asset, a dedicated US development company, substantial crossover investor backing, and access to US public capital. Concurrent with the merger, Avere raised USD 320 million in a private placement co-led by Fairmount and Hansoh, with participation from General Atlantic, Wellington Management, T. Rowe Price, RTW Investments, and other investors. The financing is expected to fund AVR-001 through a Phase IIb psoriasis readout, Phase III initiation in psoriasis, and Phase IIb initiation in ulcerative colitis.
Separately, Hansoh granted Avere exclusive rights to develop and commercialize AVR-001 outside Greater China in a deal that included USD 120 million upfront and up to USD 2.18 billion in development and commercial milestones, plus mid-single- to low-double-digit royalties on future sales. Hansoh is also expected to retain more than 30% but less than 40% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis and will appoint two directors to the board, giving it continued exposure to the program's long-term development.
The merger values Avere as the continuing business, with pre-merger NextCure stockholders expected to own approximately 1.21% of the combined company. Existing NextCure investors will also receive contingent value rights entitling them to 90% of proceeds from any monetization of the company's legacy pipeline assets during the two years following closing.
AVR-001 is designed as a once-weekly oral cyclic peptide IL-23 receptor antagonist with a plasma half-life of approximately 100 hours. Hansoh-generated Phase Ib data in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis suggested that once-weekly dosing achieved Week 4 and Week 8 PASI and PASI 75 responses comparable, on a cross-trial basis, to existing once-daily oral IL-23 receptor antagonists after four weeks of treatment, while demonstrating a generally well-tolerated safety profile. A US IND is active, with Avere planning to initiate a Phase IIb trial in early 2027 and report topline data in H1 2028. The program's principal competitive target is Johnson & Johnson's once-daily oral IL-23 receptor antagonist icotrokinra (Icotyde), with Avere positioning weekly dosing as its key point of differentiation.