Huons said Tuesday that it would market in Korea the generic peptide treatment of Ambio, a U.S. based pharmaceutical company.

Huons CEO Um Key-an (right) and Ambio CEO Chris Bai hold up their agreement at Huons headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday.

Under the accord, Huons plans to use its domestic sales and marketing know-how to expand the unfamiliar peptide drug market in Korea. Ambio’s peptide pipeline covers illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, central nervous system and osteoporosis.

Huons expects that the parathyroid hormone (PTH) drug being developed by Ambio will become a new treatment option for about 900,000 osteoporosis patients in Korea.

Unlike conventional bone resorption inhibitors, PTH drugs are bone growth promoters as they stimulate the function of osteoclasts to produce new bones. The domestic market is worth 20 billion won ($17.4 million) and has recorded the high annual growth rate of 30 percent over the past five years.

“To sustain the growth of Huons, we have decided to advance into the peptide drug market,” Huons CEO Um Key-an said. “With Ambio's superior R&D and production technology, we will quickly lead the peptide drug market into the domestic market.”

Ambio CEO Chris Bai also said, “We are very pleased to be able to enter the Korean pharmaceutical market with Huons. As peptide drugs are attracting attention in the global healthcare market, we will build a win-win business model by promoting joint development between the two companies.”

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