K-Bio Licensing Deals Top $12 Billion, Near Record High

South Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech sector is poised to achieve a new annual record in overseas licensing deals, with the total value of signed agreements this year exceeding 17 trillion won, or approximately $12.46 billion. The Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association reports that 12 deals, excluding undisclosed agreements, have been completed, with Hanmi Pharmaceutical signing a significant licensing agreement with Genentech, a Roche subsidiary.

The agreement for Hanmi's obesity drug candidate HM17321 is valued at up to $2.3 billion, with an upfront payment of $190 million. This deal, considered the largest single-candidate licensing deal in the nation's pharmaceutical history, is based on the mechanism of urocortin 2, or UCN2, aiming to promote weight loss while preserving muscle mass.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical has also licensed its novel obesity drug sonefpeglutide to Eli Lilly in a deal worth up to $1.19 billion. Korean biotech startups, such as Alteogen and NeoImmuneTech, are also increasing their licensing activity, with agreements valued up to $365 million and $260 million, respectively. The surge in licensing deals is attributed to aggressive research and development spending by South Korean companies, with the five largest domestic pharmaceutical firms investing a combined 562.8 billion won in R&D during the first half, a 16% increase from the previous year.

This expansion into areas such as obesity, Alzheimer's disease, and autoimmune disorders is viewed favorably, as global interest in South Korean biotech firms grows, fueled by the translation of substantial R&D investments into concrete clinical data.