3SBio (HKG:1530) and subsidiary Shenyang Sunshine Pharmaceutical will grant Pfizer an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize its PD-1/VEGF injection for cancer worldwide excluding mainland China.

Under the agreement, Pfizer will shoulder development and regulatory costs for future trials of the drug, the filing said.

3SBio will be eligible to receive $1.25 billion in upfront payments and could receive up to $4.80 billion in development, regulatory approval and sales milestone payments.

The SSGJ-707 drug is about to undergo phase 3 trials in China for programmed death-ligand 1-positive locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, according to a Tuesday filing with the Hong Kong bourse.

It is also undergoing several phase 2 studies for the combination of the drug with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and advanced gynecological tumors.