[Special Stock] OnconicThera's 'Jakyubo' Predicts a Breakthrough in the 30 Trillion Market... Blockbuster New Drug in the Making

Onconic Therapeutics is showing strong performance. The news that its Chinese partner, Livzon Pharmaceutical, has claimed a milestone for the licensing of the gastroesophageal reflux disease treatment ‘Zastaprazan’ (product name Jacubo tablet) appears to be influencing the stock price.

According to global pharmaceutical market research firm IQVIA, the worldwide market for gastroesophageal reflux disease treatments exceeds 30 trillion KRW. The Chinese market alone reaches an annual scale of 4 trillion KRW. Livzon is the number one pharmaceutical company in China in the gastrointestinal treatment (PPI) sector, holding a market share exceeding 600 billion KRW, and is currently conducting Phase 3 oral clinical trials of Zastaprazan, alongside Phase 1 trials of the injectable formulation.

As of 11:09 AM on the 25th, Onconic Therapeutics is trading at 18,960 KRW, up 20.84%.

Last month, Onconic Therapeutics received a milestone payment of 3 million USD (approximately 4.374 billion KRW) from Livzon, and this time, after completing the technology transfer for mass production (CMC), it has claimed an additional 1.5 million USD (approximately 2.187 billion KRW).

On March 10, 2023, Onconic signed a licensing agreement with Livzon granting exclusive rights for the development, approval, production, and commercialization of Zastaprazan in the Greater China region (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau). The contract is worth a total of 127.5 million USD (approximately 165 billion KRW), including an upfront payment of 15 million USD (approximately 20 billion KRW). Subsequently, additional licensing agreements have been signed for India, Mexico, and South America, advancing global expansion into 21 countries.

Zastaprazan was approved as the 37th new drug in Korea last April and was launched under the product name ‘Jacubo’ in October, marking the start of full-scale sales. In January this year, it successfully completed Phase 3 clinical trials for the indication of gastric ulcer treatment and has submitted an additional approval application to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Approval procedures based on clinical trial exemptions using Korean approval data are also underway in the Mexican, South American, and Southeast Asian markets.

Among the 38 new drugs approved domestically to date, cases of significant sales growth or entry into overseas Phase 3 clinical trials are rare. The potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) class of new drugs is a differentiated group that has become the first in Korea to surpass annual sales of 100 billion KRW. Onconic’s Jacubo is also continuing to achieve positive results in both domestic and international markets.

Onconic recorded sales of 14.8 billion KRW last year, with cumulative sales reaching 35 billion KRW over two years since Jacubo’s launch. The company expects a full-fledged growth trend in domestic new drug sales through its first full-year performance this year.

An Onconic Therapeutics representative stated, "Zastaprazan is proving its value as a new drug both domestically and internationally, and we plan to accelerate global market expansion through continuous technology transfer achievements and clinical development. Cooperation with China’s Livzon is progressing smoothly, and we anticipate substantial sales and royalty income in the future."

Meanwhile, Onconic Therapeutics’ next-generation dual-target synthetic lethality anticancer drug candidate ‘Nesuparib’ has been designated as an orphan drug (ODD) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers. Nesuparib was previously designated as an orphan drug by both the FDA and Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2021 for pancreatic cancer treatment. Being designated as an orphan drug by the FDA for two cancer types demonstrates Nesuparib’s excellent technology and its potential as an anticancer drug candidate.