China's Innovent Biologics and Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche have formed a significant collaboration to develop IBI3009, a novel antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for advanced small cell lung cancer.

Innovent will receive an upfront payment of $80 million and could potentially earn up to $1 billion in development and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on net sales.

IBI3009, developed using Innovent's proprietary topoisomerase 1 inhibitor platform, has demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity in various tumor-bearing mouse models, particularly in chemo-resistant types, and has a favorable safety profile.

This collaboration aims to expand treatment options for patients with small-cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumors.