HM17321 3.2 Technology Export to Genentech Proof of Global Competitiveness of Obesity ProjectLabs Recovery-based New Drug Development is also re-examined
As Hanmi Pharmaceutical succeeded in exporting the largest new drug technology since the death of its late founder Lim Sung-ki, vice chairman of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Lim Joo-hyun’s R&D-oriented management is drawing attention. Analysts say Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s competitiveness in global new drug development has been proven once again as its strategy of selecting obesity and metabolic diseases as the next generation of growth engines and continuing investment for a long time led to large-scale technology exports.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced on the 24th that it recently signed an exclusive license agreement with Roche Group subsidiary Genentech for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. The contract is worth up to $2.3 billion (about 3.2 trillion won), including $80 million in advance and $20 million in short-term milestones. It is the largest technology export contract signed by Hanmi Pharmaceutical since the death of its predecessor Lim Sung-ki.
This contract is also meaningful in that it is the outcome of the “H.O.P.” project, which Hanmi Pharmaceutical has been building with the obesity sector as a future growth engine. H.O.P. aims to build a full-cycle treatment solution that goes beyond simple weight loss to cover the start of obesity treatment to maintenance and management after weight loss. Currently, obesity treatment is being developed through six pipelines, including epeglenatide and HM15275, HM17321, and HM500197
In particular, HM17321 is a candidate material that Vice Chairman Lim has fostered as a key pipeline in the process of designing and promoting the H.O.P. project. As Genentech, a global big pharma, highly evaluated the possibility of development through large-scale contracts, the R&D strategy for obesity and metabolic diseases that Hanmi Pharmaceutical has been building will also gain strength
Hanmi Pharmaceutical is also preparing to launch its own GLP-1 obesity drug ‘Epeglenatide’ in Korea as the first commercialized product of H.O.P. The company plans to secure global competitiveness in the obesity field based on the development and production capabilities accumulated around chronic disease treatments
Along with HM17321 with next-generation sustainable technology, Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s proprietary platform technology “LAPSCOVERY” is also attracting attention again. LAPSCOVERY is a technology that increases drug efficacy duration to increase administration convenience and treatment efficiency, and is a key R&D asset that Hanmi Pharmaceutical has accumulated on its own for a long time. It has been applied to a number of pipelines, including Epeglenatide, supporting Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s global competitiveness.
It is also notable that related research has been continued even after the right to develop Sonepeglutide, which was exported technology to Eli Lilly in the past, was returned. At that time, R&D continued despite the evaluation that the marketability was unclear, and the accumulated experience and technology led to the foundation for subsequent pipeline development, including this Genentech contract
The industry sees the contract as a result of Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s long-running R&D-oriented strategy beyond the technology export of a single candidate material. The strategy of developing obesity and metabolic diseases as a new growth axis by inheriting the management philosophy centered on new drug development established by founder Lim Sung-ki, the former chairman of the company, has begun to pay off in the global market
An official from Hanmi Pharmaceutical explained, “The background of Lim Joo-hyun’s unwavering focus on new drug development and achievement after the death of Lim Sung-ki, was the full support of Vice Chairman Lim Joo-hyun,” adding, “He is a work-type leader who is quietly committed to his work rather than being in front of him, and there is an aspect that Vice Chairman Lim’s leadership is not well known outside.”
