AstraZeneca has struck a $1.5bn agreement with Shanghai-based Dizal Pharmaceutical for global rights to sunvozertinib, an oral lung cancer therapy already approved in China and the US.
AstraZeneca will pay $600m upfront, with up to $900m more tied to development, regulatory and sales milestones, plus tiered royalties reaching low double digits on global net sales. Dizal’s shares jumped 20% on the news, hitting their daily trading limit. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2026 and won’t affect AstraZeneca’s 2026 guidance.
Dizal was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between AstraZeneca and a unit of China Investment Corporation. An AstraZeneca affiliate and a separate China-based investment fund each still hold a 23.4% stake, making them Dizal’s largest shareholders.
What the drug treats
Sunvozertinib is a once-daily EGFR inhibitor for adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carrying exon 20 insertion mutations, approved as a second-line option after platinum chemotherapy.
Roughly one in four patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC carries this or another atypical mutation, and these tumours tend to progress faster with a worse prognosis than more common EGFR mutations.
Trial data behind the deal
In the phase 3 WU-KONG28 trial, sunvozertinib given alone showed median progression-free survival of 10.3 months against 7.5 months for chemotherapy, in a study presented at ASCO 2026.
Dizal has since filed for expanded use as a first-line treatment in China and the US, with Breakthrough Therapy Designation secured. If cleared, it would be the first oral, chemo-free monotherapy for newly diagnosed patients with this mutation. The only current frontline option is J&J’s amivantamab, given intravenously alongside chemotherapy.
ArriVent Biopharma is chasing the same first-line indication with firmonertinib, licensed from China’s Allist, in its phase 3 FURVENT trial. Topline data is expected in mid-2026, meaning AZ’s results have beaten it to market.
Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice-President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said the company was “eager to add [sunvozertinib] to our world-class portfolio”.
Part of a wider pattern
The deal follows AstraZeneca’s takeover of Sino Biopharmaceutical’s COPD drug last week, part of a broader trend of Western pharma turning to China for pipeline assets.
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