By Andrew Silver
SHANGHAI, March 12 (Reuters) – Almirall is in talks with “dozens” of companies from China to license rights to medicines for other markets, CEO Carlos Gallardo said on Thursday, as the Spanish pharmaceutical company competes with rivals to expand portfolios of popular products.
In an interview in Shanghai, he said Almirall was focusing on the medical dermatology field in China.
“I’m sure my team is talking to dozens of companies at this point in time,” he said.
Many dermatology and immunodermatology therapies have additional applications, which makes companies very excited, he said. Almirall’s interests include assets related to rare diseases, non-melanoma skin cancer, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.
He added that the structure of potential deals with firms in China was “very standard,” but that demand from other firms to enter into local partnerships was affecting upfront payment terms.
“More and more Western companies are looking into collaborations in China,” he said. “And therefore, the more companies looking for collaboration, then that increases demand, and that is inflationary to deal terms. So yes, we’ve seen an increase in the amount of the upfronts, in particular, in licensing deals.”
In one deal in 2022 with China’s Simcere Pharmaceutical Group to gain development and commercialization rights for an experimental autoimmune disease drug candidate outside the Greater China region – which includes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – Almirall paid $15 million up front.
Reuters reported in mid-February that the average upfront fee in deals to out-license experimental medicines by companies in the greater China region amounted to $77.7 million so far this year, doubling from $38.8 million in 2025 and about three times what the level was in 2021, according to data provider Pharmcube.
The total deal value is typically a combination of upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties.
Gallardo declined to comment on how many out-licensing deals with firms in China it might reach in the next one to two years for experimental medicines.
“With deal-making, it’s very difficult to predict whether you’re going to sign one deal in one year or you’re going to sign three,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
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