Huons said it signed a contract to export three local anesthetic products to Formative Pharma Inc. (FPI), a Canadian-based pharmaceutical company last Thursday.

The three products have obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approval in April 2018, December 2019, and May 2020.

Huons will cooperate with FPI, which has extensive experience importing and licensing local drugs, quickly obtaining a permit from Health Canada.

The two companies expect to receive a permit in the second quarter and enter the Canadian market in the third quarter of next year. Huons expects that if it advances to Canada following the U.S., its position in the North American injectable market will become more solid.

“We believe Huons’ injections with excellent quality enough to pass the FDA screening and have excellent competitiveness in the Canadian generic injection market,” FPI CEO Lee Mangubat said. “The Canadian generic basic injection market is worth about $712 million, including the $21 million-$25 million worth sterile injection market, which Huons and FPI are aiming to enter.”

Mangubat added that Canada offers many opportunities as large pharmaceutical companies are constantly experiencing a supply shortage due to financial difficulties.

“Taking this contract as an opportunity, we plan to discuss the expansion of items with FPI to target the Canadian generic sterile injection market,” a Huons official said. “As the Canadian biopharmaceutical is still unfamiliar to Korean companies, we expect that there will be more opportunities for the company in the country.”