Korea United Pharmaceuticals said that it recently signed a contract with Medimex, a drug procurement company designated by the Mexican government, to distribute and sell 16 types of anticancer drugs in Mexico.
"The contract size is $14.04 million in the first year, and the company plans to exports cancer drugs worth a total of about $54 million over four years until 2024," the company said. "The first-batch export amount of $14.04 million is similar to Korea's total pharmaceutical exports to Mexico last year."
Purchasing institutions include seven governmental medical institutions, including Mexico's Institute of Health for Welfare (INSABI) and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), it added.
In March, the Mexican government visited Korea United Pharmaceutical through the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) 's customized medical export support service to secure a smooth supply of anticancer drugs lacking in the country.
During their visit, INSABI officials and Korea United Pharmaceuticals management met at the latter's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to discuss a multi-year supply contract for anticancer drugs.
The Mexican officials also visited Korea United Pharma’s plant in Sejong and toured its newly built anticancer drug production facility to check the annual anticancer drug production capacity and quality control level.
"The company is currently exporting various medicines, including anticancer drugs, to 11 Latin American countries, including Colombia, Chile, and Cuba," Korea United Pharmaceuticals CEO Kang Duk-young said. "Through this export contract, we will also supply drugs to Mexico, the second-largest economy in Latin America, and have gained recognition for our products’ superiority, stable supply capability, and price competitiveness compared to other competitors, such as Germany, Argentina, and India, which have been aiming for the deal."
The export of anticancer drugs can also serve as an opportunity to represent the company's strength in exporting incrementally modified drugs, Kang added.