AstraZeneca struck a landmark agreement to secure global rights to eight long‑acting, one‑month injectable weight‑loss candidates from China’s CSPC, committing up to $18.5 billion in deal value. The transaction includes a $1.2 billion upfront payment to CSPC, retention of China‑region rights by CSPC, and large milestone and sales‑based earnouts reported in filings. CSPC will advance early trials for the lead peptide GLP‑1/GIP candidate SYH2082 through Phase I while AstraZeneca assumes later‑stage development and global commercialization. The companies highlighted use of CSPC’s AI‑enabled peptide capabilities and AstraZeneca’s global commercial footprint. The agreement is structured to permit co‑commercialization options in select Asian territories and signals AstraZeneca’s aggressive expansion into obesity therapeutics alongside its existing oral GLP‑1 program. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 and will materially augment AstraZeneca’s obesity pipeline, complementing internal assets and supporting near‑term clinical readouts.