280,000 Annual Deaths from Colorectal Cancer in China
Clinical Trial Planned for 10,000 Patients at Chinese General Hospital
Baek Yong-woon, CEO of Shandong Lukang Haoliyou (left), and Ahn Sung-hwan, CEO of Genomictree, are posing for a commemorative photo after signing the main contract for the technology transfer of the colorectal cancer diagnostic kit in the main conference room of Genomictree headquarters in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon.
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Orion Holdings announced on the 7th that it has signed a main contract for technology licensing of a colorectal cancer diagnostic kit with Genomictree, a domestic early cancer diagnosis specialist company.
Orion Holdings agreed to pay the contract fee for the use of Genomictree’s colorectal cancer early diagnosis technology, milestones according to business progress, and royalties based on sales through the joint venture established in China last March, “Shandong Lukang Haoliyou Biotechnology Development Co., Ltd.” Genomictree will continuously cooperate until the commercialization of the colorectal cancer diagnostic kit by providing technical support for clinical trials and regulatory approval in China.
Starting with this technology licensing contract, the commercialization of the colorectal cancer diagnostic kit in the Chinese market will accelerate. The recruitment of key personnel related to core technology for clinical trials has been completed, and the main contract with an agency for clinical promotion is scheduled to be signed this month. In July this year, production facilities for mass production of the colorectal cancer early diagnostic kit will be established in Jining City, Shandong, the production base of the Chinese partner “Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical,” and procedures for pre-approval of clinical trials will be undertaken within the year.
A detailed plan for clinical trials in China has also been established. Through the joint venture, Orion Holdings plans large-scale clinical trials targeting about 10,000 people at major general hospitals in key Chinese cities. Compared to the usual clinical tests of fewer than 1,000 people for diagnostic kits, this is about ten times larger in scale, and it is expected to secure trust in the technology.
The early diagnosis field of colorectal cancer is currently evaluated to have high global market potential. Exact Sciences, a U.S. colorectal cancer early diagnosis specialist, achieved sales of 1 trillion KRW last year in the U.S. with a single colorectal cancer diagnostic kit product. New Horizon, a Chinese colorectal cancer early diagnosis company, achieved a market capitalization of 4.6 trillion KRW after its listing in February this year, raising expectations for the colorectal cancer diagnostic market.
China has 4 to 5 times more colorectal cancer patients than the U.S., with 280,000 annual deaths from colorectal cancer. The colonoscopy equipment distribution rate in Chinese medical institutions is only about 35%, and the government’s need for early cancer diagnosis to alleviate the financial burden on Chinese healthcare is increasing, making the market potential for colorectal cancer diagnostic kits in China high. Genomictree’s colorectal cancer diagnostic kit can detect colorectal cancer with 90% accuracy using only 1 to 2 grams of stool and can quickly confirm test results within 8 hours, expected to secure a competitive advantage in the early diagnosis field of colorectal cancer.
Orion Holdings plans to focus on the diagnosis of severe diseases such as cancer to expand the market. It is also continuously discovering domestic bio and new drug technologies such as synthetic drugs and biopharmaceuticals. To this end, it regularly holds the “Korea-China Pharmaceutical and Bio Development Forum,” which includes top experts from the domestic financial sector in pharmaceuticals and bio fields. Bio technologies discovered at the forum undergo objective technical evaluation and marketability verification by experts from domestic and international bio academia and medical fields in Korea, China, Japan, etc., before final selection.
Meanwhile, Orion Holdings completed the establishment of a joint venture with Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical in March to enter the bio business in China, laying the foundation for entering the 160 trillion KRW Chinese pharmaceutical and bio market. Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical, a mid-sized Chinese pharmaceutical company, is one of the “Big 4” companies in antibiotic production with about 6,000 employees and has a distribution network across all 32 provinces in China.
Genomictree is a bio-healthcare company specializing in the development of in vitro early cancer diagnostic products, possessing cancer early diagnosis testing infrastructure capable of specimen collection, storage, transport and preprocessing, DNA extraction, bisulfite treatment, real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction), and result analysis. In particular, patents for newly developed methylation epigenetic DNA biomarkers for colorectal, bladder, and lung cancers have been registered not only in Korea but also in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China.
Heo In-cheol, Vice Chairman of Orion Holdings, said, “Through the main contract for technology licensing with Genomictree, we can accelerate the commercialization of the colorectal cancer diagnostic kit in the Chinese market,” adding, “We will successfully complete clinical trials, regulatory approval, and mass production of the diagnostic kit to make it a successful case of K-bio.”
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