mRNA Phase 1 Licensing Benchmarks
Deal economics across 8 transactions with 7 disclosed upfront payments. Primary-source-verified from SEC EDGAR, FTC filings, and direct research.
Median Upfront
$145M
7 deals with terms
Median Total Value
$1.4B
Upfront + milestones
Royalty Range
6.5%--15%
Average low--high
Deal Count
8
2021--2026
The median upfront payment for phase 1 mrna licensing deals is $145M, based on 7 deals with disclosed terms from 2021--2026. Total deal values (including milestones) reach a median of $1.4B. Royalty rates typically range from 6.5% to 15%. All data is primary-source-verified from SEC EDGAR, FTC pre-merger filings, and company press releases.
Representative Transactions
| Licensor | Licensee | Year | Upfront | Total Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcus Biosciences | AstraZeneca | 2021 | $227.5M | $2.8B |
| BioNTech | Duality Biologics | 2022 | $170M | $1.5B |
| iTeos Therapeutics | Bayer | 2022 | $162.5M | $2.0B |
Showing 3 of 7 deals with disclosed terms. Full comp set available in the report.
Full mRNA phase-1 Comp Set
Get the complete analysis -- 7 deals with upfronts, milestones, royalties, and term structures.
Primary-source-verified from SEC EDGAR, FTC filings, and direct research
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This analysis draws from the Ambrosia Ventures proprietary deal database (1,600+ verified biopharma transactions, 2021--2026). All deal terms are primary-source-verified from SEC EDGAR (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K filings), FTC pre-merger notifications, FDA Orange Book, and company press releases. No secondary-source or scraped data is included. Medians are calculated from deals with disclosed financial terms only.