Qyuns Therapeutics Co., Ltd.

\"WIN027 is designed to set a new standard of efficacy in conditions such as asthma, COPD, and atopic dermatitis,\" Windward Bio explained\n Having kicked off the year with a $200 million series A, Windward Bio is ending 2025 splashing out on another clinical-stage drug.The deal, announced yesterday, sees Switzerland-based Windward secure the ex-China rights to Qyuns Therapeutics’ WIN027, also known as QX027N. The IgG1 bispecific monoclonal antibody targets both human thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) and human interleukin-13 (IL-13), which Windward noted are “well-validated targets in immunological conditions.”China-based Qyuns has designed QX027N, which it is assessing in a phase 1 study, with an extended half-life to enable less frequent dosing.“Through this dual, long‑acting inhibition, WIN027 is designed to set a new standard of efficacy in conditions such as asthma, COPD and atopic dermatitis, potentially delivering deeper and more durable disease control than existing biologics,” Windward explained in the Dec. 21 release.The total value of the deal could potentially reach $700 million via a combination of upfront and equity payments, alongside development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. However, the companies didn’t offer a breakdown of the financials.“We are excited to add WIN027 to our growing pipeline of immunology therapies,” Windward founder and CEO Luca Santarelli, M.D., said in a statement.“Its high potency against TSLP and IL-13, as well as an extended dosing interval, has the potential to provide people with respiratory and dermatology diseases enhanced efficacy, greater convenience, and better control over their disease,” Santarelli added. Windward kicked off 2025 with a $200 million series A backed by the likes of Novo Holdings. Alongside the fundraise, the company unveiled a $970 million biobucks deal for the rights to Kelun-Biotech and Harbour BioMed’s clinical-stage monoclonal antibody (mAB).The anti-TSLP mAb, dubbed WIN378, is currently being evaluated in a phase 2 asthma study with an initial readout penciled in for 2026, while a midphase COPD trial is expected to begin next year.“Together, WIN027 and WIN378 are complementary therapies that can address significant unmet needs across a broad array of immunological diseases, representing a market opportunity of more than $50 billion,” Windward said.The biotech isn’t the only Swiss company interested in Qyuns’ portfolio. In October, Roche penned a licensing deal worth more than $1 billion biobucks for the rights to a clinical-stage bispecific antibody for respiratory diseases. That drug, dubbed QX031N, targets both TSLP and IL-33.

Swiss biotech Windward Bio is picking up a second drug candidate from a China biotech this year, seeking to bring multiple medicines to market for respiratory and dermatology conditions. Windward is paying up to $700 million to gain access to a TSLP and IL-13 bispecific antibody from Qyuns Therapeutics. The partners declined to disclose the upfront size of the deal but said Qyuns gets an equity stake in Windward. Qyuns’ other bispecific antibody pact this year with Roche came with $70 million upfront. Taizhou-based Qyuns is in Phase 1 testing with the asset at the heart of Monday’s deal , which marked the third China-to-Europe drug licensing transaction of the day. AstraZeneca and Ipsen also took part in the growing trend. Windward expects to take Qyuns’ injectable, named QX027N/WIN027, into a Phase 1b in patients with respiratory and dermatology conditions once it has collected the Phase 1 data, CEO Luca Santerelli told Endpoints News on Monday. The biotech is betting that WIN027 has potential across asthma, COPD and atopic dermatitis, and it aims to get to quarterly or twice-yearly dosing with the long-acting medicine. “We scoped the whole landscape for potential best-in-disease, best-in-class products that we could get our hands on, and we identified this Qyuns molecule as such a possibility,” Santarelli said. “We came across this molecule maybe 10 months ago, and we worked very hard to get it in.” The agreement marks a quick progression for Windward, which launched with $200 million in January and rights to a TSLP antibody from Kelun and its partner Harbour BioMed. Since then, Windward has brought the asset from that first deal into a Phase 2 trial in asthma patients. The drug, dubbed WIN378, will also be tested in patients with COPD next year, Santarelli said. Windward plans to file WIN378 for regulatory approval in asthma by 2031 and COPD by 2032, if all goes to plan, the CEO said. They’ll also look for a commercialization partner for that treatment. Santarelli declined to disclose Windward’s runway but said the 30-employee startup doesn’t need a capital injection at the moment. The biotech expects eight clinical readouts over the next two and a half years, and those data drops can drum up investor intrigue for future financings, he said. Its financial backers include OrbiMed, Novo Holdings and Qiming. The Windward executive team comprises the former C-suite of VectivBio. Santarelli sold that gastrointestinal biotech to Ironwood Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion in 2023. Ironwood had expected to get FDA approval for the main drug from that acquisition, but ran into a regulatory setback in April and now anticipates starting a confirmatory trial next year. Windward will have to compete with some large pharmaceutical companies and small biotechs in the TSLP and TSLPxIL-13 bispecific landscape. Amgen and AstraZeneca market a monthly TSLP biologic called Tezspire. Tezspire sales jumped 40% year over year to $377 million in the third quarter, Amgen said last month. Meanwhile, GSK paid $1 billion upfront for Aiolos Bio in January 2024. Generate:Biomedicines is slated to enter Phase 3 and Upstream Bio has also presented mid-stage data . Multiple drugmakers are also attempting to take a TSLPx-IL-13 bispecific onto the market. Sanofi’s lunsekimig is in Phase 3 in COPD, and Johnson & Johnson snagged an asset in this area as part of its $850 million Proteologix acquisition in 2024. Santarelli said blocking TSLP should have the “biggest effect size” for respiratory diseases. By adding IL-13, “it adds certain aspects to the respiratory biology.” The target is thought to contribute to the formation of mucus plaque in the lungs of COPD and asthma patients, he added. Beyond the two China-derived assets, Windward is also working on an internally discovered bispecific that goes after less-validated targets, Santarelli said. “We’re committed to continue to grow the company,” the CEO said. “We’re not stopping at three molecules.”

On a cross-boarder deal-heavy day, Windward Bio returned to China to license its second asset. The Swiss biotech snagged rights to a bispecific directed against TSLP and IL-13 from Qyuns Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $700 million."We are excited to add WIN027 to our growing pipeline of immunology therapies," said Windward CEO Luca Santarelli in a company release. "Its high potency against TSLP and IL-13, as well as an extended dosing interval, has the potential to provide people with respiratory and dermatology diseases enhanced efficacy, greater convenience, and better control over their disease."Under the licensing deal, Windward will have exclusive, ex-China rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise WIN027, while Qyuns is eligible for an upfront payment, equity, and milestones totalling $700 million, plus tiered royalties. WIN027 marks Windward's second TSLP-targeting programme. The biotech launched in January with a $200-million series A co-led by Novo Holdings and an anti-TSLP monoclonal antibody in-licensed from Kelun-Biotech and Harbour BioMed. Windward has rights to WIN378 — which has twice-yearly dosing potential — outside of greater China and several southeast and west Asian countries. The drugmaker is evaluating WIN378 in the Phase II POLARIS study to treat asthma; initial data are expected next year.  Windward described WIN027 and WIN378 as "complementary therapies that can address significant unmet needs across a broad array of immunological diseases, representing a market opportunity of more than $50 billion."The biotech's double deals for China-sourced assets are indicative of the region's growing reputation as the place to shop for immunology candidates, and bispecifics in particular. For related analysis, see Spotlight On: China gains momentum as immunology hub and Spotlight On: Bispecifics dominate among cross-border I&I deals.Along with Windward's tie-up, two other companies licensed programmes from Chinese firms on Monday: AstraZeneca agreed to pay upwards of $2 billion for Beijing-based Jacobio Pharma's experimental pan-KRAS inhibitor JAB-23E73, and Ipsen's deal with Simcere Zaiming for its LRRC15 protein-targeting antibody-drug conjugate is valued at more than $1 billion.