Boryung said on the 30th that it signed an acquisition deal with French drugmaker Sanofi that includes domestic and overseas rights, distribution rights, marketing authorization, manufacturing rights, and trademark rights for the cytotoxic anticancer drug "Taxotel" (ingredient name docetaxel).
The deal is worth up to 175 million euros (about 287.8 billion won). 161 million euros will be paid on the transaction closing date, and the remaining 14 million euros will be paid upon meeting contractually defined conditions.
Under the deal, Boryung will comprehensively acquire the overall Taxotel business in 19 countries, including Korea, China, Germany, and Spain, and in Latin America and the Middle East as soon as approvals are obtained from each country's regulatory authorities.
After completing future regulatory procedures, Boryung plans to manufacture Taxotel at the Boryung Yesan Campus and distribute and sell it directly in the global market.
Taxotel won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1995 and is used to treat various solid tumors, including breast, prostate, stomach, and head and neck cancers. Docetaxel is listed on the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines.
Earlier, the company acquired domestic business rights for global originator anticancer drugs Gemzar in 2021 and Alimta in 2023. Kim Jeong-gyun, CEO of Boryung, said, "This acquisition of global business rights for Taxotel is the third anticancer drug acquisition following Gemzar and Alimta, and, by securing the global business rights for an originator drug for the first time, will serve as an opportunity to open full-fledged entry into overseas markets."
Kim said, "Beyond a simple technology transfer, we will expand across research and development (R&D), including follow-up formulation development, combination strategies, and studies of new indications, to advance the therapeutic value of Taxotel, and by directly producing and distributing originator anticancer drugs on the global stage, we will strengthen Boryung's future growth engines."