Hanmi Pharmaceutical heading to best year ever with mega deals

Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. is heading toward its best year ever with six licensing deals and collaboration projects worth a combined 7.6 trillion won ($6.55 billion).
  

The South Korean company has bagged a series of deals on licensing of its pipeline products and collaborative research and development of early treatment for lung cancer and diabetes.
  

On Monday, Hanmi said it has struck a license agreement with ZAI Lab Limited of China to develop novel EGFR targeted therapy for lung cancer in China.
  

It follows a similar agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany in July and is the third contract reached this month.
  

On Nov. 9, Hanmi signed a license agreement with global drugmaker Janssen Pharmaceutical to develop a new diabetes-obesity drug, valued at US$915 million.
  

Under the deal, Belgium-based Janssen will have an exclusive right to develop and commercialize the new drug outside China and South Korea.
  

It came just days after Hanmi reached a landmark license contract with Sanofi, valued at up to 3.9 billion euros ($4.2 billion), to develop a portfolio of experimental, long-acting diabetes treatments.
  

The value of the agreement marks the largest license deal for a South Korean pharmaceutical firm ever.
  

Founded in 1973, Hanmi logged 761 billion won in sales last year. The ratio of R&D investment has grown from 13.9 percent in 2011 to 20 percent in 2014, its regulatory filing showed. (Yonhap)