Chinese biotechnology company Abogen has signed a licensing and option agreement with Swiss drugmaker Novartis covering ABO2203, an mRNA-encoded CD19xCD3 T-cell engager for autoimmune diseases. Novartis will receive exclusive worldwide rights to ABO2203 and options to license additional therapies developed using Abogen’s RNA platform. Abogen will receive $575 million upfront and could earn up to $7.2 billion in additional payments if options on all programs are exercised, bringing the deal’s potential value to about $7.8 billion. The agreement comes as pharmaceutical companies increasingly license assets from China, which ING estimates will contribute about one-third of new molecules in global pharmaceutical pipelines in 2026, compared with 4% in 2014.