This is the latest installment in a new series where BioPharma Dive uses data visualization to recap what’s going on across the industry. Today, we’re looking at Kodiak Sciences’s big return and Hengrui’s dealmaking prowess.
More than four years ago, Kodiak Sciences suffered a near-extinction event: the failure of its lead asset in a head-to-head trial against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ eye disease drug Eylea. The event caused an 80% crash in its share price and erased $2 billion in market capitalization. That setback necessitated years of steady work and belief that the drug, now called Zenkuda, could actually perform as a longer-acting treatment than Eylea and Roche’s Vabysmo in the disorder wet age-related macular degeneration.
That gamble paid off this week with data showing Zenkuda dosed at intervals as large as every six months was “non-inferior” to Eylea. A key component to its success was a tool that identified people likely to need more frequent injections based on fluid levels in the eyes.
Kodiak saw its share price more than double, adding $3 billion in market value based on that data. The company plans on asking the Food and Drug Administration for approval by the end of the year.
Kodiak's rebound
Hengrui once again showed it is a destination for U.S. and European partners looking for clinical-stage experimental drugs when Novo agreed to pay it $300 million up front, and up to $2.6 billion total, for an oral obesity drug that could take on Eli Lilly’s sector-leading Zepbound.
The deal is the sixth Hengrui has signed since early 2025 in disease areas that range from cardiovascular care to respiratory diseases to reproductive medicine. But it also comes amid heightened scrutiny of transactions between U.S. drugmakers and Chinese partners, as well as efforts to take away China’s perceived advantages in early drug development.
