In an extraordinary year for the Korean pharmaceutical and biotech industry, the sector has achieved a new milestone with 14 companies successfully finalizing 17 technology export deals, showcasing its growing global presence and innovative capabilities.
The 14 companies include, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Chong Kun Dang, Orum Therapeutics, GC Cell, HK inno.N, ISU Abxis, GenKore, CHA Biotech, Onconic Therapeutics, Biorchestra, ImmunoForge, SK biopharmaceuticals, GI Innovation, PinotBio.
The combined value of these deals, including milestones and other payments, is estimated to be a whopping 5.6 trillion won ($4.3 billion).
The technology exports this year encompass a range of pharmaceutical and biotechnological innovations.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical has been particularly prominent this year, marking four technology exports.
The company announced its first technology transfer worth about 413 billion won for an idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) candidate to CS Pharmaceuticals in January, followed by export of a type 2 diabetes treatment for 110 billion won to M8 Pharmaceuticals in February, an autoimmune disease drug candidate for 639.1 billion won to Vitalli Bio, and a cancer treatment for 122.2 billion won to Zydus.
Chong Kun Dang's landmark deal with Novartis in November was another highlight of the year.
The contract, valued at up to 1.7 trillion won, revolves around the development and commercialization of CKD-510, a promising treatment for rare diseases like Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.
The potential of CKD-510 extends to other areas like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, blood cancers, and autoimmune diseases, indicating a significant advancement in medical treatments and a bright future for Chong Kun Dang's research and development endeavors.
SK biopharmaceuticals licensed out cenobamate, its epilepsy treatment, to Hikma MENA FZE, part of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (Hikma), a multinational pharmaceuticals company, for 30 billion won.
CHA Biotech licensed out its cell differentiation technology to Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AIRM) for 43 billion won.
Orum Therapeutics, a pioneer in targeted protein degradation (TPD) technology, has also made its mark by sealing a deal with BMS in November. The agreement for ORM-6151, valued at up to 230 billion won.
GI Innovation has made significant contributions to allergy treatment advancements with the export of GI-301 to Maruho, a Japanese company specializing in dermatological treatments, for 295 billion won.
Most recently, PinotBio plans to enter the U.S. market through its technology export to ConjugateBio, a U.S.-based biotech specializing in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), on Thursday.
The deal, worth 300 billion won, grants ConjugateBio development rights for 15 targets, with Pinotbio poised to receive around 320 billion won, including upfront payments and milestone-based technology fees.
Of the companies that did not disclose their contract size, GC Cell licensed out its blood cancer treatment to Artiva Biotherapeutics, and ISU Abxis licensed out its immunotherapy to R-PHARM, HK inno. N licensed out its gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) treatment, K-CAB, to Eurofarma.
Of the companies that did not disclose their partners, GenKore licensed out its gene editing technology to an unnamed partner for 434.8 billion won, and Biorchestra licensed out its drug delivery system for about 1.1 trillion won.