K-pharma·biopharmas make great tech export deals this year

despite absence of mega deals this year

Around 10 companies signed tech licensing agreements this year… SK Biopharmaceutical signs largest upfront payment deal

No agreements marked Top 10 in upfront payments, but biopharmaceutical companies have actively engaged in technology exports this year

Once again, Korean pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies have made great technology export performance this year.

 

Although no mega-deals that amount to top 10 licensing deals were made, technology exports were made in various areas in the industry.

 

Also, performance biopharmaceutical companies stood out this year compared to traditional pharmaceutical companies.

 

According to the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association on the 27th, various companies including SK Biopharm, Genexine, AprilBio, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, DongA ST, Alteogen, Olix, Curacle, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, Bio-Pharm Solutions, Voronoi, D&D Pharmatech, Peptron, KoBiolabs, HK inno.N, Handok, CMG Pharma, LegoChemBio, have inked new drug technology export deals this year.

 

Among the companies, SK Biopharm secured the most - $40 million- in upfront payment with two technology export contracts.

 

SK Biopharm licensed out six central nervous systems (CNS) drugs including ‘cenobamate’ to Ignis Therapeutics.

 

For the deal, SK Biopharm received an upfront payment of $20 million and will be receiving milestone payments of $15 million and royalties on net sales in the future.

 

Also, the Korean drug company acquired 150 million shares of Ignis (share amounts to 44.9% including common stock) through the technology export.

 

Ignis Therapeutics was established by SK Biopharm with Shanghai-based 6 Dimensions Capital (6D).

 

The two companies raised $180 million in investment to establish Ignis , which was the largest Series A investment in the Chinese pharmaceutical industry this year.

 

SK Biopharm signed a licensing deal with Endo Group for the commercialization of its epilepsy drug cenobamate across Canada.

 

Under the contract, SK Biopharm received an upfront payment of $20 million.

 

In terms of single technology export, the largest deal this year was made by Genexine with an Indonesian company with an upfront payment of $27 million.

 

Genexine signed a technology transfer agreement with Kalbe Farma’s subsidiary KGBio for its immuno-oncology candidate GX-I7 (Efineptakin Alpha).

 

Also, the technology export performance of bio-ventures was prominent this year.

 

In October, the non-listed domestic bio company AprilBio had received a one-time payment of $16 million from a Denmark pharmaceutical company Lundbeck under an agreement for the technology transfer of its autoimmune disease treatment candidate ‘APB-A1.

 

Also, Lundbeck will pay AprilBio success-based development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments of up to $432 million related to APB-A1.

 

In addition, Lundbeck also secured $3.6 million to produce study samples for its Phase I clinical trial.

 

In January, GC Lab Cell’s US affiliate had signed an agreement to jointly develop three chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK cell therapies with the US company MSD.

 

Artiva Biotherapeutics, GC Lab Cell’s US affiliate, was established by GC Lab Cell in the US to develop NK cell therapies, and the agreement is expected to be worth up to $1.86 billion.

 

In March, ImmuneOncia Therapeutics, Inc., a US joint venture of Yuhan Corp, signed a deal with the Chinese immune-oncology development company 3D Medicines for the technology transfer of its new anticancer drug candidate IMC-002.

 

Under the contract, ImmuneOncia will grant 3D Medicines exclusive license for IMC-002 in Greater China (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan).

 

LegoChem Biosciences announced last month that it had signed an agreement to license out its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology to the European company Sotio Biotech.

 

At the time, the company signed an agreement to receive $29.5 million as upfront payment and short-term milestones payment.

 

LegoChem Biosciences had also received $50 million in upfront payment and short-term milestone payments by signing a joint development and technology transfer deal for its ADC anticancer candidate with the UK company Iksuda Therapeutics on the 27th.

 

Other companies including Alteogen, Olix, Curacle, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, Bio-Pharm Solutions, Voronoi, D&D Pharmatech, Peptron, and KoBiolabs also secured over 1 million in technology export deals this year.

 

Among traditional pharmaceutical companies, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, DongA ST, HK inno.N, and Daewoong Pharmaceuticals also signed tech export deals this year.

 

Hanmi Pharmaceutical signed a technology export deal with Aptose Biosciences for its innovative new drug for acute myeloid leukemia(AML), the FLT3 inhibitor ‘HM43239.’ Dong-A ST signed a global license-out agreement with Intas Pharmaceuticals for its Stelara biosimilar DMB-3115 in July under the condition of receiving $10 million upfront in payment with no obligation of return and milestone payments up to $95 million.

 

Daewoong Pharmaceutical signed a tech export and supply deal worth $338 million with Shanghai Haini, a subsidiary of China’s Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group in March for its gastroesophageal reflux treatment Fexuprazan.

 

The deal includes 6.8 billion won in upfront payment and $20.4 billion in milestone payments which are paid when each phase of a clinical trial is completed.

 

HK inno.N, Handok, and CMG Pharma also received over $1 million in upfront payment for their technology export deals.