Drug firms increase dose of overseas expansion

Korean pharmaceutical companies are accelerating advances abroad with locally developed drugs and scientific expertise. Choongwae Pharma signed a license and supply agreement last week with the Germany-based Sandoz for its own version of Imipenem, an antibiotic. Sandoz is an affiliate of the multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis. Choongwae received an advance of $2.5 million for “exporting” the technology on how to produce the drug; it will also get royalties and the right to exclusively supply the core ingredients needed in producing the drug every year to Sandoz. Choongwae’s Imipenem is a first-generic drug, or clone, of the original. “We are already exporting this product to Japan, Brazil and China, but with this agreement, we are in a sense challenging the European market,” said Lee Kyung-ha, president of the company. The company said that it anticipates that the deal with Sandoz will result in sales of about $100 million a year, including raw material exports and royalties. LG Life Sciences is also picking up its speed on foreign expansion. The company said on Friday that it received permission from the European Commission for the sales of its human growth hormone Valtropin in Europe. Also last week, LG signed an agreement with Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese vaccine company, to supply Euvax B, a hepatitis B vaccine. Samjin Pharm said last Thursday that it will transfer patent rights and technology of an anti-cancer chemical compound that it developed to the U.S.-based ImQuest BioSciences in return for full expenses covered on developing the compound into a commercial drug. ImQuest will also have all rights on production and sales of the drug that is developed from the compound, but Samjin will be have exclusive rights for production and sales of the drug in Korea. by Wohn Dong-hee