Chinese obesity licensing leads 2026 deal table as Menarini licenses bofanglutide

The largest licensing packages signed in 2026 involve Chinese drugmakers, and weight-loss medicines are a visible part of the pattern. AstraZeneca's collaboration with CSPC sits at the top of the year's deal table at up to $18.5 billion, including $1.2 billion up front, ahead of Bristol Myers Squibb with Hengrui at up to $15.2 billion and Pfizer with Innovent at up to $10.5 billion, according to a licensing tracker updated Sept. 13 ^[1].

The most direct obesity deal of September was announced Sept. 3, when Italy's Menarini Group licensed European rights to bofanglutide, also called GZR18, from China's Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals. Menarini pays EUR 62 million up front and up to EUR 664 million in development, regulatory and commercial milestones — EUR 726 million in total before royalties — for rights in 39 European countries, including the UK and Switzerland ^[1]. Gan & Lee keeps clinical development, manufacturing and supply, continues to run the global Phase 3 program, and retains rights outside Europe, including the United States ^[1].

Bofanglutide is a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist dosed once every two weeks for weight management in adults with obesity or overweight. A pivotal Phase 3 study has been completed in China and a Phase 2 study has been completed in the United States, with a global Phase 3 program still ongoing ^[1]. The tracker's analysis of the deal says halving injection frequency against the once-weekly medicines now on the market matters more for whether people stay on treatment than for headline efficacy numbers, and that EUR 62 million up front for a Phase 3 asset across 39 markets is cheap by 2026 standards, a price that reflects what European-only rights are worth ^[1].

The broader trend has not slowed. More than 100 licensing deals between Chinese biotech companies and US- or Europe-based drug developers have been signed since the start of 2025, with the number announced per quarter peaking in the first three months of 2026 — a stretch that included deals from AstraZeneca, AbbVie and Roche, each with upfront payments of at least $550 million, in pursuit of cancer and obesity drugs ^[2]. The deal tracker counts 130 licensing and partnering transactions of all types in 2026 and more than 20 China-origin out-licenses, a narrower count that covers this year only rather than the period since 2025 ^[1].

The shape of the deals is changing too. Rather than licensing to a Western drugmaker, Harbour BioMed's CTLA-4 program moved into a US-incorporated new company capitalized at $225 million — the third time in the quarter that a Chinese asset reached the US market through equity rather than a license, according to the tracker ^[1]. Oncology still accounts for several of the largest packages, including GSK's license with HUTCHMED worth up to $1.295 billion and Roche's deal with Simcere Zaiming worth up to $1.53 billion ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

For people in the United States, the immediate practical effect of the bofanglutide deal is limited. The license covers 39 European countries only; Gan & Lee retained US rights, and no US filing, US partner or US launch date has been reported ^[1]. Whether bofanglutide works well enough to win approval anywhere, and how it would be priced, has not been disclosed ^[1].

If it is approved in Europe, it would be the first China-to-Europe obesity out-license of real scale, giving patients there a possible alternative to the weekly GLP-1 medicines currently available ^[1]. Nothing reported so far establishes what this wave of dealmaking will mean for US prices, insurance coverage or which products reach the US market.

What happens next

Gan & Lee continues to run the global Phase 3 program for bofanglutide, and no completion date has been disclosed ^[1]. Under the agreement, Menarini takes on regulatory submissions and commercialization in the 39 licensed European markets, but no filing or approval timeline has been reported ^[1]. The deal tracker is updated weekly ^[1].