Hanmi Pharmaceutical and SK Biopharm Strike Major International Deals

Hanmi Pharmaceutical and SK Biopharm announced major international licensing deals within days of each other, targeting the United States and Europe, the world’s largest pharmaceutical markets.

On the 24th of last month, Hanmi signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche, for HM17321. The candidate is being developed for metabolic diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Genentech secured exclusive rights outside South Korea to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the drug. The agreement could be worth about $2.3 billion, including $190 million in upfront payments.

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This agreement is like making our debut in the U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology capital markets.

Hanmi developed HM17321 itself and is conducting a Phase 1 trial in the United States. The candidate is a non-incretin peptide-based signaling analogue of UCN2 and is expected to support weight loss while preserving muscle. The deal was presented as evidence of Hanmi’s in-house drug development capabilities and its heavy investment in research and development.

Two days later, SK Biopharm announced a licensing-in deal worth up to $795 million with U.S. biotechnology company Biohaven. It acquired exclusive global distribution rights to opiclim, a next-generation epilepsy candidate. The drug regulates neural transmission through potassium channels, a different mechanism from medicines that target GABA chloride channels, and is being studied with a target of launching in the United States in 2029. SK Biopharm plans to build on its existing epilepsy drug cenobamate, sold as Xcopri. Chief Executive Lee Dong-hoon said the agreement marked the company’s debut in the U.S. pharmaceutical and biotechnology capital markets and that it aimed to compete directly with major drugmakers in the country.

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We will become an international pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that competes directly with large pharmaceutical companies in the world’s biggest market, the United States.