Erasca (ERAS) said Tuesday it has exercised an option under its licensing agreement with Joyo Pharmatech to include China, Hong Kong and Macau, giving the company worldwide rights to the cancer drug candidate ERAS-0015.

The company said the decision converts its existing territorial license into worldwide coverage and requires a one-time payment to Joyo tied to the stage of the partner's development program.

Erasca said the expanded rights allow it to pursue development and potential commercialization of ERAS-0015 under a single global strategy.

The drug candidate is being studied in a phase 1 dose escalation trial in patients with tumors driven by RAS mutations, Erasca said, adding that initial results are expected in H1.

Financial terms were not disclosed.