Simcere licenses novel ADC SIM0613 to Ipsen for global rights

Jiangsu Simcere Zaiming Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Ipsen Pharma SAS on December 19, 2025. Under the agreement, Ipsen obtains exclusive global rights, excluding Greater China, for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of SIM0613, an LRRC15-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC).

Simcere is set to receive up to $1,060m, including an upfront payment of $45m. The remaining potential payments are tied to development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. Simcere is also eligible for tiered royalties on future sales, contingent on the successful development and regulatory approvals of SIM0613.

SIM0613 targets LRRC15, a protein highly expressed in various tumor types and cancer-associated fibroblasts, with limited expression in normal cells. The ADC is engineered for deep tumor penetration, demonstrating robust tumor regressions in preclinical models by releasing a cytotoxic payload upon internalization, thus killing cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.