Gilead Sciences’ Kite Pharma will sell its stake in China’s Fosun Kite Biotechnology nearly eight years after forming the 50-50 cell-therapy-focused joint venture with Fosun Pharma.
Fosun plans to pay $27 million to buy Kite out of its 50% share in Fosun Kite, the Chinese company said in a securities filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Sept. 13.
The transaction will give Fosun full control in China over Yescarta, the star CD19-directed blood cancer therapy that was the first CAR-T therapy approved in China, plus its sister med Tecartus, which is undergoing bridging studies in the country.
Kite’s exit from the Fosun JV comes as CAR-T meds continue to navigate patient access and reimbursement dynamics in China. In 2023, Fosun Kite recorded 242 million Chinese yuan ($34 million) in revenue, according to the filing. Relma-cel, a rival CD19 CAR-T drug, brought in 174 million yuan ($25 million) in sales last year.
The list price for Yescarta in China is 1.2 million yuan (about $170,000). Although much cheaper than in the U.S., the cost is still astronomical for most Chinese families; China’s annual per capita disposable income last year was about one-thirtieth of that price. Since its approval in June 2021, Yescarta has treated more than 700 large B-cell lymphoma patients in China, according to Fosun Kite’s Website.
CAR-T therapies’ high prices make them unlikely to qualify for national coverage under China’s state-run insurance scheme.
To help with access, Fosun Kite has over the years explored commercial insurance coverage, including a government-devised supplemental insurance program in Shanghai. Such policies have been able to cover up to 42% of the drug’s cost, according to the company.
And, in January, Fosun Kite worked with a subsidiary of state-run Sinopharm Group to roll out an outcomes-based payment program, offering half of a patient’s out-of-pocket cost back if Yescarta doesn’t induce a complete response by three months.
