Alvogen Korea _{알보젠코리아}, a pharmaceutical company, announced Friday that it has signed a marketing agreement with Vivus and became the sole marketer of Vivus’s Qsymia (Ingredient: Phentermine and Topiramate), a treatment for chronic weight management or weight-related conditions, in Korea.

Under the agreement, Alvogen will be solely responsible for regulatory, sales and marketing activities for Qsymia in Korea.

Meanwhile, Vivus will receive an upfront payment and milestone payment with the agreement.

They will also receive royalties on the net sale of Qsymia.

As part of the agreement, Alvogen will now seek regulatory approval for Qsymia from related Korean authorities.

“The agreement with VIVUS will reinforce our strong position in the Korean market. Qsymia, a leading proprietary anti-obesity drug, will complement Alvogen’s full range of anti-obesity portfolio in the market,” said Petar Vazharov, Executive Vice President for Alvogen APAC. “Vivus will benefit from Alvogen’s sales and marketing platform and successful track record in the anti-obesity segment, which we believe will help make Qsymia a success in Korea.”

Vivus also showed enthusiasm for the cooperative agreement.

“With manufacturing centers in Korea and hundreds of products on the market in Asia, Alvogen has the expertise and relationships that we believe will be essential for making Qsymia a success in Korea,” said Seth Fischer, Vivus CEO. "We look forward to engaging in a strategic partnership with Alvogen to realize the Qsymia opportunity in Korea and will continue to evaluate additional opportunities to create value from our existing product portfolio."

Alvogen is a front runner in the Korean anti-obesity market with drugs including Furimin (Ingredient: Phentermine), Furing (Ingredient: Phendimetrazine) and Oliet (Ingredient: Orlistat).

Meanwhile, the overall anti-obesity market in Korea reached 179.5 billion won ($159 million) in 2016.