Boryung said it has terminated its exclusive supply agreement in China for Gelforce, an antacid, with China Sinopharm International Corporation. The total size of the contract was $87.1 million.

Boryung had signed the agreement with Sinopharm in August 2021.

Under the accord, Boryung would supply Gelforce over a five-year span and Sinopharm was to exclusively distribute Gelforce to hospitals, pharmacies, and health centers across 32 provinces in mainland China. Sinopharm also had a duty to renew the import drug license (IDL) for Gelforce and pay related fees to Boryung.

"While Sinopharm renewed the IDL, it did not pay the relevant fees to Boryung, which was considered a breach of contract and led to the termination," a company official told Korea Biomedical Review. "There were no financial losses due to the termination."

With the partnership with Sinopharm terminated, Boryung plans to market Gelforce directly in China.

"We have recently completed the reorganization of our local subsidiary in China, including the recruitment of new personnel," the official said. "This will allow us to start selling Gelforce directly."