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Hanmi Pharmaceuticalwill receive an upfront payment of $190 million from Genentech. The total deal value could reach approximately $2.3 billion when including development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments. Hanmi will be eligible to receive tiered royalties on future product sales following commercialization
The agreement grants Genentech worldwide rights to HM17321, except for South Korea, where Hanmi retains full rights to develop and commercialize the therapy. HM17321 is a long-acting urocortin-2 (UCN2) analog that represents a potentially differentiated approach to obesity treatment. Unlike many current obesity therapies that focus primarily on weight loss, HM17321 is designed to selectively reduce fat mass while simultaneously preserving and possibly improving muscle mass and muscle function
“This partnership builds on a years-long collaboration that began in 2016 in oncology, providing a strong foundation of mutual trust and proven collaboration,” a spokesperson for Genentech toldBioXconomy. “This shared history makes Hanmi the ideal partner to help us advance this next-generation obesity program and build on our long-term collaborative success.”
Clinical development status
Hanmi received Investigational New Drug clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inNovember 2025to initiate a Phase I clinical trial of HM17321 (NCT07219589). The ongoing study is currently evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of HM17321 in healthy volunteers and individuals with obesity
Hanmi will be responsible for completing the Phase I clinical trial. Following completion of Phase I – Genentech will assume responsibility for all subsequent development activities – beginning with Phase II clinical trials
“We are always eager to enter into new collaborations with innovative companies across all development stages and therapeutic areas – including obesity and more broadly in cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic (CVRM) – to augment our capabilities for discovering and developing new medicines, along with contributing our end-to-end capabilities to accelerate the development, manufacturing and commercialization of those medicines for people living with obesity and associated conditions around the world,” the spokesperson said.“By acquiring rights to this next-generation, urocortin-2 analog with first-in-class potential, we are adding an important component to our pipeline that encompasses a differentiated approach to selectively reduce fat mass while improving both muscle mass and function.”
It’s all about potential
While the initial focus is on obesity, HM17321 is being developed for a broader range of metabolic conditions. This includes type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. This expanded indication potential reflects the interconnected nature of metabolic disorders and could significantly increase the therapy’s commercial opportunity
As apeptide-basedtherapy, HM17321 also presents potential opportunities for future fixed-dose combination products or combination treatment strategies with incretin-based medicines, such asGLP-1receptor agonists. However, these combination approaches will require clinical validation through future development programs
“AtRocheand Genentech, we ensure partnership success by focusing on three core pillars: collaborative governance, tailored flexibility, and a shared vision. We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all partnership agreements; instead, we establish customized governance models that enable symbiotic partnerships where both parties can bring in their strengths and benefit from each other in the most optimal way to deliver new solutions for patients,” the spokesperson commented
“This includes joint decision-making and respect for the unique strengths of both sides. Backed by our family-owned ownership structure, we are uniquely positioned to take a generational view – providing the stability, and leading end-to-end capabilities needed to bring pioneering therapies to market.”
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