Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB / Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

2020 · Licensing/Option · $1.0B · Complete

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

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The coverage arc

Apr 06, 2005 JAMA — PNH Natural History (Rother) Neutral

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria affects approximately 1-1.5 per million population in Western countries. Median survival before complement inhibitor…

Oct 27, 2020 Reuters Bullish

Sweden's Sobi will pay $250 million up front and up to $915 million in milestones for the ex-US rights to Apellis Pharmaceuticals' rare-disease treatment…

May 14, 2021 FDA Press Release Bullish

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Empaveli (pegcetacoplan) injection to treat adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).…

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Apellis and Sobi announced a collaboration on 27 October 2020 granting Sobi exclusive ex-US development and commercialization rights to systemic pegcetacoplan for PNH and other complement-mediated diseases. Apellis received $250M upfront with eligibility for up to $915M in development, regulatory and sales milestones plus tiered double-digit royalties; Apellis retained US rights and global ophthalmology rights. The deal closed 8 December 2020. The partnership has since been validated and materially expanded: the European Commission approved Aspaveli (pegcetacoplan) for PNH on 15 December 2021 and for C3 glomerulopathy (C3G) and primary IC-MPGN in patients aged 12+ on 16 January 2026 (the first approved therapy for primary IC-MPGN), opening a second ex-US franchise for Sobi. On 1 July 2025 Sobi deepened its economic stake via a royalty purchase agreement, paying Apellis $275M upfront plus up to $25M in milestones (the $25M was triggered by the January 2026 EU C3G/IC-MPGN approval) to acquire 90% of Apellis' ex-US Aspaveli royalties, with royalties reverting toward the original license terms once defined commercial caps are met.

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Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB / Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (this deal)2020$1.0B
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB / Biovitrum2001$493M84
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB / AstraZeneca PLC (Synagis US rights)2018$2.3B80
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB / CTI BioPharma Corp.2023$1.7B60
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB / Arthrosi Therapeutics, Inc.2025$1.5B
Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation2002$16.0B92
PerkinElmer, Inc. / EUROIMMUN Medizinische Labordiagnostika AG2017$1.3B88

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