4 of 5 listed pharma companies expand investments

Yuhan Corp’s R&D to sales ratio surges

16 out of 20 major pharma-bio companies increase R&D investment YoY

‘Leclaza FDA approval' Yuhan’s R&D investment increases 49% YoY...Samsung Biologics and Dong-A ST’s investments also surge

R&D to sales ratio of top 10 companies increased by 17%

Pharmaceutical companies have significantly expanded their research and development (R&D) investments to discover their next item.

 

Five out of five major pharma and biotech companies increased their R&D spending this year compared to the previous year.

 

The top pharmaceutical companies in terms of sales have been investing heavily in R&D to develop new drugs.

 

Yuhan Crop, Celltrion, and Dong-A ST showed a significant increase in R&D expenditures.

 

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 25th, the cumulative R&D investments of 20 major pharmaceutical and biotech companies totaled to KRW 1.867 trillion in Q3, up 14.5% from the KRW 1.6387 trillion in the same period last year.

 

The data was compiled from 20 listed pharmaceutical companies with the highest sales of main drug products.

 

Ildong Pharmaceutical, which spun off its R&D subsidiary last year, was not included in the survey.

 

Sixteen of the 20 major pharmaceutical companies increased their R&D investment this year compared to the same period last year.

 

Celltrion, Samsung Biologics, Yuhan Corp, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, SK Biopharmaceuticals, Chong Kun Dang, Dong-A ST, HK Inno.N, JW Pharmaceutical, Boryung Pharmaceutical, Daewon Pharm, Huons, Dongkook Pharmaceutical, Dongwha Pharmaceutical, and Celltrion Pharmaceutical showed an increase in R&D expenditures through the third quarter compared to last year. 

Yuhan Corp showed the largest increase in R&D expenditure this year.

 

The company invested KRW 201.1 billion in R&D through the third quarter, up 48.5% from KRW 135.4 billion it had invested in the same period last year.    The increase was largely due to the reallocation of technology fees it accrued from its anti-cancer drug Leclaza.

 

In August, the U.S.

 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Leclaza in combination with Rybrevant for the first-line treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a confirmed epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R substitution mutation.

 

Yuhan Corp received a USD 60 million technology fee from Janssen Biotech for the FDA approval of Leclaza.

 

Of the total Leclaza royalties received, 40% was paid to the original developer, Oscotec.

 

In 2016, the company acquired the preclinical development rights to Leclaza from Oscotec and its subsidiary Genosco.

 

The technology fees redistributed to Oscotec were recognized as R&D expenses.

 

This significantly increased the company’s R&D expenses as Yuhan paid more than KRW 30 billion to Oscotec out of the royalties it had received for Leclaza.

 

In the first half of the year, Yuhan’s R&D expenses were high due to the introduction of promising technologies from bioventures.

 

In March, the company paid KRW 6 billion to acquire the technology of SOS1-inhibiting anti-cancer drug candidates from Cyrus Therapeutics and Kanap Therapeutics.

 

In the second quarter, the bank paid KRW 3 billion in technology fees to a biotech company, J Ints Bio.

 

Celltrion reported cumulative R&D expenses of KRW 312.8 billion in the third quarter, up 34.0% YoY.

 

Celltrion has received approval for 2 biosimilars in Europe so far this year.

 

In May, the company received marketing authorization from the European Commission for its first biosimilar of Xolair, Omlyclo.

 

Xolair is an antibody-based biological drug used to treat allergic asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and chronic idiopathic urticaria.  In August, the company received approval for SteQeyma, a biosimilar to the autoimmune disease treatment Stelara, received European marketing authorization.

 

Stella Stelara is a Janssen-developed autoimmune disease treatment for plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

 

Celltrion has acquired 8 and 6 approvals in Europe and the U.S., respectively.

 

Celltrion is developing follow-on biosimilars for Keytruda, Prolia, Actemra, Cosentyx, and Ocrevus.  Dong-A S&T's R&D expenditure through the third quarter was KRW 103 billion, up 25.5% YoY.

 

Its clinical expenses for new drug development increased significantly.

 

DA-4505, an immuno-oncology drug, was approved for Phase I/IIa clinical trials in Korea in November last year.

 

DA-4505 showed improved tumor suppression through preclinical studies compared to AhR antagonists being developed by global pharmaceutical companies.

 

A Phase III clinical trial for DA-8010, a treatment for overactive bladder, was completed in Korea in May.

 

However, DA-8010 did not show a statistically significant difference.  In October, Dong-A ST’s Stelara biosimilar Imuldosa received final approval from the FDA, marking the company's entry into the U.S.

 

market.

 

The company passed the U.S.

 

market gateway 11 years after starting the development of Imuldosa in 2013.

 

SK Biopharmaceuticals, Boryung, Samsung Biologics, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals, and HK Inno.N have expanded their R&D expenditures by more than 10% YoY through the third quarter of this year.  The increase in R&D expenditures was larger among pharmaceutical companies with larger sales.

 

Samsung Biologics, Celltrion, Yuhan Corp, GC Biopharma, Chong Kun Dang, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Boryung Pharmaceutical, and HK Inno.N have invested KRW 1.49 trillion in R&D this year, up 16.8% from the previous year.

 

Of the top 10 companies by revenue, nine, except for GC Biopharma, increased their investment from last year.

 

It is analyzed that large pharmaceutical companies, which have accumulated experience in developing new drugs and are actively seeking to expand globally, have been actively investing in R&D to discover new items.

 

SK Biopharmaceuticals had the highest R&D investment-to-sales ratio, at 30.7%.

 

Dong-A ST and Daewoong Pharmaceutical followed with 19.9% and 18.3%, respectively, while Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Yuhan Corp, Celltrion, and JW Pharmaceutical also invested more than 10% of their sales in R&D.