AstraZeneca signed a landmark partnership with China’s CSPC that delivers $1.2 billion up front and grants the U.K. pharma access to eight obesity assets, including a once‑monthly GLP‑1/GIP agonist and long‑acting formulation technology. The deal, disclosed by BioCentury, signals AZ’s strategic bet to scale its metabolic franchise in China and accelerate late‑stage development of differentiated incretin therapies. Licensing deals of this size in obesity underscore large pharma’s appetite for combination and long‑acting modalities as competition in the GLP‑1 class intensifies. The transaction gives AstraZeneca local commercialization rights and development leverage in a top growth market, while CSPC gains a major global partner. For investors and competitors, the package provides an explicit valuation benchmark for once‑monthly and long‑acting GLP‑1/GIP assets in Greater China.