June 30 (Reuters) – Hong Kong-listed drug design tech firm Metis TechBio said on Tuesday it has granted U.S.-based biotechnology firm Boulevard Bio exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise its experimental autoimmune drug MTS-128 in a deal that could be worth up to $1.6 billion.
The deal marks an advancement for U.S.-China tech collaboration as Beijing ramps up scrutiny of cross-border deals involving sensitive technologies.
• Under the terms, Boulevard will secure worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise MTS-128
• Metis TechBio is eligible to receive $20 million as an upfront payment and up to $1.6 billion in additional payments tied to development, regulatory and commercial-related milestones.
• Metis TechBio said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange that MTS-128’s successful development demonstrated the firm’s capability to “deeply integrate artificial intelligence with protein drug design”.
• MTS-128 is for the autoimmune indication, according to Metis TechBio’s website.
• Metis TechBio did not immediately respond to a request for comment on which disease area MTS-128 targeted.
• Beijing has tightened scrutiny of U.S. investment in domestic firms developing frontier technologies.
• This year, China ordered U.S. tech giant Meta to unwind its $2 billion-plus acquisition of AI startup Manus.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver in Shanghai; Additional reporting from Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Lincoln Feast.)
