Yuhan partners with Australian institute

Yuhan is partnering with Australia’s oldest medical research institute to boost progress in new drug development.

The largest pharmaceutical company by revenue in Korea announced Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Melbourne, Australia-based Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) to co-develop drugs and exchange scientific knowledge.

WEHI is a non-profit, biomedical research institute that specializes in researching and developing therapies for cancer, immunology and aging, Yuhan said.

The institute, which was founded in 1915 and has more than 1,100 employees, was ranked 19th among similar biomedical research centers in the world by Nature.

Under the agreement, the two entities will collaborate on new drug development.

WEHI will provide its expertise in basic sciences for first-in-class therapies, while Yuhan will offer WEHI researchers an opportunity to experience the commercialization process.

Yuhan invested 2 billion won ($1.7 million) in June to form a subsidiary in Australia as a part of its “open innovation” strategy.

Yuhan ANZ was established for Yuhan to build its pipeline and support global clinical tests.

According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the Australian pharmaceutical market is expected to reach 14.8 billion Australian dollars in size by 2022 from 11.9 billion Australian dollars in 2017.

BY KO JUN-TAE [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]