Yichang HEC Changjiang Pharmaceutical (HKG:1558) and Sunshine Lake Pharma said in a joint announcement that Sunshine has agreed to provide an exclusive license for APL-18881 (HEC88473) to Apollo Therapeutics Group for $938 million, a Tuesday Hong Kong bourse filing said.

Sunshine, the offeror to the merger by absorption of the company, will retain the development, manufacturing, and commercialization rights of APL-18881 (HEC88473) while Apollo will have the same rights in the rest of the world for at least 10 years.

Under the agreement, Sunshine can receive up to $938 million in payments including an upfront amount of $12 million. The development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments can go up to $926 million. Sunshine may also receive royalties ranging from high single to low double-digit percentages of the net sales outside China.