CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited (HKG:1093) saw its shares soar by 5.43% on Monday, fueled by the announcement of an exclusive licensing agreement with AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) for a promising lipid-lowering therapy. The deal, valued at up to $1.92 billion, grants AstraZeneca access to CSPC Pharma's pre-clinical candidate, YS2302018, an oral Lipoprotein (a) disruptor with potential benefits for patients with dyslipidemia and related cardiovascular diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, CSPC Pharma will receive an upfront payment of $100 million from AstraZeneca. Additionally, the Chinese pharmaceutical company is eligible to receive up to $370 million in potential development milestone payments and a further $1.55 billion in potential sales milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties based on annual net sales of the relevant products.

The YS2302018 therapy is designed to prevent the formation of Lipoprotein (a), a form of low-density lipoprotein that plays a key role in transporting cholesterol in the blood stream. By targeting this pathway, the therapy has the potential to address major risk factors driving chronic cardiovascular diseases, either as a standalone treatment or in combination with other drugs, such as AstraZeneca's oral small molecule PCSK9 inhibitor, AZD0780.