Idience, a subsidiary of Ildong Pharmaceutical focused on developing anticancer new drugs, announced on the 8th that it has entered into licensing agreements with partners in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for the targeted anticancer drug candidate 'Venadaparib.'
The contract targets are the Russian pharmaceutical and distribution company Lancet and the United Arab Emirates' Quadri Pharmaceuticals Store LLC SPC. The total value of the contract is approximately $50 million (about 70 billion won), including advance payments and milestones.
According to this contract, upon commercialization of Venadaparib, Idience will supply the finished pharmaceutical products to its partners, who will be responsible for obtaining permits and registrations for the products in their respective regions, as well as marketing and sales.
Lancet will hold the development, marketing, and sales rights for Venadaparib in six countries, including EAEU member states Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and neighboring Uzbekistan. It will also have additional options for neighboring countries like Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The GCC region partner, Quadri, will secure distribution rights for Venadaparib in six countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, and will be responsible for marketing and sales.
The conditions for receiving royalties based on local supply payments and sales of Venadaparib, as well as development expenses received from partners when EAEU region patients participate in global Phase 3 trials, are separate.
Venadaparib is an oral anticancer drug in the PARP (Poly ADP-ribose polymerase) inhibitor class, which works by regulating PARP, an enzyme involved in repairing cell DNA damage, to selectively induce the death of cancer cells. It received orphan drug designation (ODD) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating gastric cancer in 2022, and is currently undergoing research focused on various solid tumors, including gastric cancer, with ongoing Phase 2a clinical trials in Korea and the United States.
An official from Idience said, "The licensing agreement is significant in proving the value of Venadaparib and in commencing a full-scale entry into the global market," adding that "the EAEU and GCC regions represent a large potential market, accounting for about 4.5% of the world's pharmaceutical demand, with future business potential expected."