Daewoong Pharmaceutical Recalls Fexuprazan North America License... Seeking New Partner

"Negotiations with Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies"
Global Simultaneous Entry Strategy in North America and Europe

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 5th that it has mutually agreed to terminate the exclusive license agreement with Neurogastrix for the clinical development and commercialization of Pexuprazan in the US and Canadian markets, which was signed in June 2021.

Exterior view of Daewoong Pharmaceutical headquarters. [Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical]

Daewoong Pharmaceutical explained that since the new drug for gastroesophageal reflux disease, Pexuclu (active ingredient: Pexuprazan), has already been on sale domestically since last year, it decided to terminate the contract to find a strategic partner capable of rapidly developing Pexuprazan for multiple indications in North America. Neurogastrix agreed to terminate the contract after reevaluating its pipeline and determining that the development of Pexuprazan no longer aligns with its strategic business plans.

Following the termination of the agreement, Daewoong Pharmaceutical has reclaimed all rights to the clinical development and commercialization of Pexuprazan in the US and Canada. However, the 5% stake in Neurogastrix acquired by Daewoong Pharmaceutical at the time of the 2021 contract will not be returned.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical stated that, taking this contract termination as an opportunity, it has begun negotiations with multiple multinational pharmaceutical companies capable of simultaneously conducting clinical development not only in North America but also in global markets such as Europe and Japan. The strategy is to form partnerships with pharmaceutical companies that have strong financial resources and extensive clinical experience to accelerate entry into global big markets.

Seungho Jeon, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, "As potassium-competitive acid blockers (P-CABs) are gaining new attention from medical professionals worldwide, we are communicating with multiple multinational pharmaceutical companies that can quickly establish Pexuprazan in the global market. We will accelerate efforts to secure additional indications and develop formulations for Pexuprazan in the global big markets, aiming to achieve sales of 1 trillion KRW by 2030 and to grow it into the top new drug in its class."

Meanwhile, Daewoong Pharmaceutical’s P-CAB class gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment, Pexuclu, was launched domestically in July last year. It works by inhibiting acid secretion without activation by gastric acid, improving on the shortcomings of existing proton pump inhibitor (PPI) formulations. Currently, Pexuclu ranks third in prescription sales among gastroesophageal reflux disease treatments in Korea.