Astrazeneca Plc (LON:AZN) has entered into an exclusive licence agreement with Dizal Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd for Zegfrovy (sunvozertinib), a novel oral irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor for patients with lung cancer. AstraZeneca will acquire worldwide rights to develop and commercialise Zegfrovy.
Zegfrovy is approved in the US and China for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, whose disease has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.
Approximately 80-85% of lung cancer patients globally have NSCLC. About 10-15% of NSCLC patients in the US and Europe, and 30-40% of patients in Asia, have EGFR-mutated (EGFRm) NSCLC. Roughly one in four patients with EGFRm NSCLC has a tumour with an exon 20 insertion mutation or other atypical mutation for which targeted treatment options are limited.
Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Haematology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: “AstraZeneca is a leader in treating EGFR-mutated lung cancer, and we are eager to add Zegfrovy to our world-class portfolio of innovative medicines for patients whose tumours carry exon 20 insertion mutations. With this agreement, we will bring a differentiated, oral targeted treatment to these patients with limited options across the globe”.
Dr. Xiaolin Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Dizal said: “As a leading global company with a strong lung cancer franchise, AstraZeneca will help ensure patients around the world can benefit from this innovation discovered by Dizal scientists in China. Zegfrovy is the only oral targeted therapy for EGFR exon 20 insertion non-small cell lung cancer approved in the US and China for patients following prior systemic therapy.”
Dizal recently announced positive results from the global WU-KONG28 Phase III trial of Zegfrovy in 1st-line NSCLC with exon 20 insertion EGFR mutations. These data were presented as a Late-Breaking Abstract Oral Presentation at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Supported by these results, a Supplemental New Drug Application for approval in the 1st-line setting has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and China’s Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE). The US FDA and China’s CDE have also both granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Zegfrovy in this setting.
Sunvozertinib (Zegfrovy) is included in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for NSCLC as a Category 2A recommended subsequent therapy option for patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutation-positive advanced or metastatic NSCLC. See NCCN Guidelines® for detailed recommendations.1
Financial considerations
AstraZeneca will make an upfront payment to Dizal of $600m and additional payments of up to $900m upon achievement of specific development, regulatory and sales-related milestones. Additionally, Dizal will receive tiered royalties on the global sales of Zegfrovy.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances. The transaction does not impact AstraZeneca’s financial guidance for 2026.
