ALK targets China growth with DKK 1.3 billion drug deal

Danish drugmaker ALK has entered a partnership with China-based GenSci to commercialize its house dust mite allergy treatments in mainland China, a deal potentially worth up to 1.3 billion Danish Krone.

Under the agreement, Changchun GeneScience Pharmaceutical will gain exclusive rights until 2039 to ALK’s products, including its injectable Alutard and tablet-based ACARIZAX, and will handle all marketing and sales costs, the company said Wednesday.

ALK will receive an upfront payment of approximately 245 million Danish Krone and could receive up to 1.08 billion Danish Krone in additional payments tied to regulatory and sales milestones.

The partnership is not expected to materially impact ALK’s revenue or earnings in 2025 but is projected to improve its earnings margin in the medium term, according to the company.

“We’re very excited about the prospects of speeding up market uptake of ALK’s evidence-based AIT products in China,” ALK CEO Peter Halling said.

“We partner for strength, and GenSci has a well-proven track record of navigating this important market and intends to deploy significant resources, including a sizeable sales force, to succeed with our AIT products.”

The deal aims to expand ALK's presence in what it calls a significantly underpenetrated market, with GenSci expected to take over the majority of ALK’s organization in China.