As of Early June, 8 Technology Export Deals Totaling 4.8 Trillion Won
Estimated to Surpass 5 Trillion Won with Two Undisclosed Contracts
Confident K-Bio Industry: "Meeting Demand from Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies"
Last year, the domestic pharmaceutical and biotech industry surpassed 10 trillion won in technology exports for the first time, and this year, the sector continues to thrive. With less than half of the year having passed, the industry has already secured technology export deals worth over 5 trillion won, signaling strong prospects for surpassing 10 trillion won in exports for a second consecutive year.
According to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association on June 9, domestic pharmaceutical and biotech companies have signed a total of eight overseas technology export deals so far this year, amounting to 4.8166 trillion won. This figure is close to the annual technology export performance of 5.3706 trillion won recorded in 2018. Traditional pharmaceutical companies such as GC Green Cross LabCell and Daewoong Pharmaceutical have taken the lead, while several biotech ventures including Alteogen, Naivek, and Genexine have also achieved notable results. In particular, considering the cases of Naivek and LG Chem, whose contract amounts were not disclosed, it is highly likely that this year's technology export volume has already exceeded 5 trillion won.
In the first half of the year alone, there have been two major technology export contracts worth over 1 trillion won each. In January, GC Green Cross LabCell, together with its U.S. affiliate Artiva Therapeutics, exported cell therapy technology to Merck (MSD) in the United States. The three companies will jointly develop three types of cell therapies for solid tumors. The contract is valued at 2.09 trillion won. In February, Genexine signed a technology transfer deal worth up to 1.2 trillion won with Indonesian company KG Bio. KG Bio and Genexine will jointly conduct local phase 2 clinical trials in Indonesia for ‘GX-I7,’ which is being developed as a COVID-19 treatment and immuno-oncology therapy.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical has also drawn attention by achieving two technology export deals this year with a single product, the new drug ‘Fexuprazan’ for gastroesophageal reflux disease. In March, the company signed contracts with Shanghai Haini in China (worth 380 billion won) and, just a day ago, with Neurogastrix in the United States (worth 480 billion won), bringing the total value of this year’s technology export contracts close to 1 trillion won. Notably, in addition to royalties from Neurogastrix, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will receive a 5% stake in Neurogastrix at the time of the contract and a total of 13.5% by the time of the company’s IPO.
Industry analysts attribute the steady increase in technology exports by domestic pharmaceutical and biotech firms to improvements in domestic technological capabilities and rising demand from multinational pharmaceutical companies. Lee Seungkyu, Vice Chairman of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization, said, “Since Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s licensing-out achievement in 2015, domestic companies have gained confidence and have actively focused on R&D with commercialization in mind. It is also significant that multinational pharmaceutical companies are increasingly shifting from developing pipelines in-house to licensing-in from other firms, leveraging their strengths in global clinical trials.”
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