This year, Korea's pharmaceutical and biotech sector has continued to win technology export deals centered on platform technologies, pushing the annual cumulative total past a record 18 trillion won.
Not only drug candidates but also platform technologies applicable to multiple corporations have driven exports. The industry expects additional results could follow through the end of the year.
According to the Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association (KPBMA) on the 17th, the total value of technology export deals that domestic pharmaceutical and biotech corporations signed this year with global drugmakers came to 18.111 trillion won. That far exceeds the previous record in 2021 of 13.8047 trillion won.
The main drivers of the steep growth are platform technology-based corporations such as ABL Bio, Alteogen, LigaChem Biosciences, and Rznomics. The deals these corporations signed this year alone total about 13 trillion won. While a drug candidate can be licensed exclusively to only one corporation, platform technologies can be exported to multiple global drugmakers, allowing cumulative results to build quickly.
A representative case is ABL Bio's "Grabody-B." It is a technology that delivers antibodies to the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In April, it completed a 4.1 trillion won transfer to GSK plc, followed on the 12th by sealing a 3.8 trillion won deal with U.S.-based Eli Lilly. The total for this year alone is 8 trillion won.
Alteogen developed the platform "Hybrozyme (ALT-B4)," which converts intravenous (IV) infusions administered by drip into simple subcutaneous (SC) injections, and transferred the technology to the U.K.'s AstraZeneca in a deal worth up to 1.9 trillion won. Including contracts with Merck in the United States and Daiichi Sankyo in Japan, the cumulative value of its technology exports is nearing 11 trillion won.
LigaChem Biosciences, an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) developer dubbed an "anti-cancer cell guided missile," also transferred its platform "ConjuALL," which precisely attaches drugs to antibodies to produce therapeutic effects, to Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical, pushing its total cumulative technology export deals past 10 trillion won. The combined technology export volume that these three companies have earned overseas in recent years is about 30 trillion won, on par with last year's entire domestic pharmaceutical and biotech market size (31 trillion won).
Unlisted gene therapy developer Rznomics also signed a 1.9 trillion won RNA (ribonucleic acid) therapy technology transfer contract with Eli Lilly.
The market is also closely watching the final outcomes for platform technology corporations that have signed technology evaluation agreements in addition to these corporations. Peptron signed an evaluation agreement in Oct. last year with Eli Lilly for its "SmartDepot" technology to develop long-acting peptide injectables, and after completing joint research by next month, it will decide whether to proceed to a main contract.
D&D Pharmatech and G2GBIO are also drawing attention for core technologies in the obesity and diabetes treatment market. D&D Pharmatech used its oral (by mouth) peptide platform "OralLink" to develop a glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1-based obesity drug candidate and transferred the technology to Metsera, which has been approved for acquisition by U.S.-based Pfizer.
G2GBIO conducted joint research with Germany's C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG using its long-acting drug delivery platform "INOLAMP," and in Sep., it signed an additional research collaboration deal with a European global drugmaker (undisclosed). The market views the joint research by these corporations as highly likely to lead to technology exports.
An official in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry said, "Platform technologies have a broader range of application than drug candidates, so global drugmakers are actively participating," adding, "There could be additional technology export contract news through the end of the year."