JW Pharmaceutical shares were strong early on the 9th. Buying is seen as rushing in on news that JW Pharmaceutical signed an exclusive contract for an obesity treatment with a Chinese drugmaker.
As of 9:56 a.m. on the 9th, JW Pharmaceutical was trading at 31,300 won on the Korea Exchange, up 2,100 won (7.19%) from the previous session.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 9th, JW Pharmaceutical said the previous day that it signed an exclusive domestic license-in contract for "Bofanglutide (GZR18)" with Chinese drugmaker Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals.
JW Pharmaceutical said that under the contract it will pay Gan & Lee a $5 million upfront payment (about 7.5 billion won) and $76.1 million in stepwise milestone payments (about 114.7 billion won). It will also pay stepwise running royalties based on sales.
Bofanglutide (GZR18) is a synthetic peptide substance under development as a glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 receptor agonist.
It is administered subcutaneously (SC) once every two weeks, and works by promoting insulin secretion and delaying gastric emptying to maintain satiety and reduce body weight.
According to the disclosure, the substance is in phase 3 clinical trials in China and phase 2 in the United States for obesity and type 2 diabetes, and aims for a China launch in 2028.