Pharmaceutical Executive Daily: Henlius and Sandoz Strike Collaboration Agreement

Welcome to Pharmaceutical Executive Daily, your quick briefing on the top news shaping the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry.

In today's Pharmaceutical Executive Daily, Henlius Biotech and Sandoz strike a strategic collaboration worth up to $322 million covering up to 10 biosimilar candidates, Tyler Seville of ADVI argues that 340B reform is overdue as the program balloons past $100 billion annually, and Pharmaceutical Executive speaks with Rohit Tripathi of RELEX on why true pharmaceutical reshoring requires rebuilding the full domestic supply chain.

Henlius Biotech, a China-based biopharmaceutical company, has entered a strategic collaboration with Sandoz, granting the Swiss drugmaker exclusive rights outside China to commercialize up to 10 monoclonal antibody and antibody-drug conjugate biosimilars in a deal worth up to $322 million, including up to $100.5 million in expected 2026 invoicing. The initial agreement covers three biosimilar candidates, including HLX05-N, a cetuximab biosimilar for metastatic colorectal cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma now in Phase I, and HLX16, an evolocumab biosimilar for primary hypercholesterolemia.

Tyler Seville, associate director of market access policy strategy at ADVI, argues that the 340B program has drifted far from its original safety-net purpose and needs fundamental reform. Seville contends the program has ballooned from under $10 billion to more than $100 billion annually, now exceeding Medicare Part B in size, with hospitals directing revenue toward expansion in wealthy suburban areas rather than reinvesting in underserved communities, and calls for giving manufacturers access to covered entities' claims data to resolve compliance gaps with overlapping Inflation Reduction Act pricing requirements.

Finally, Pharmaceutical Executive speaks with Rohit Tripathi, vice president of industry strategy at RELEX, on why pharmaceutical reshoring requires far more than moving final assembly back to the U.S. Tripathi argues that true reshoring demands rebuilding the full domestic supply chain, qualified suppliers, validated processes, FDA-ready facilities, and trained labor, noting that more than 70% of generic drugs are manufactured outside the United States and just 9% of active pharmaceutical ingredients are sourced domestically.

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