Handok strengthens global pharma partnerships

From orphan drugs to obesity drugs

Signed a licensing deal with Biocon for liraglutide obesity drug…will be commercialized after 2025

Introduced rare disease drugs, Empaveli and Doptelet, at the end of last year…minimized the gap left by Soliris

In February, Handok launched ‘Aprovasc,‘ a combination therapy for hypertension that was co-developed with Sanofi

Handok is strengthening its partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies.

 

At the end of last year, Handok signed deals with the Dutch company Argenx and Swedish biopharmaceutical company Sobi for three rare disease treatments.

 

This year, the company also launched a combination therapy for high blood pressure co-developed with Sanofi.

 

On May 24, Handok signed a deal with India’s global pharmaceutical company Biocon for liraglutide, a GLP-1 agonist used to treat diabetes and obesity.

 

Handok plans to fill the pipeline gap caused by patent expiration and license endings through these partnerships.

 

Handok signs a licensing deal with India’s pharmaceutical company Biocon for a product containing the same active ingredient as Saxenda According to industry sources on May 25th, Handok signed a licensing deal with India’s global pharmaceutical company Biocon for liraglutide.

 

Liraglutide is the same active ingredient as Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and obesity treatments, Victoza and Saxenda.

 

Handok stated that this product has not yet been launched in the global market, but it recently received approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

 

Its global product name has not been determined.

 

Handok signed a licensing deal with India’s pharmaceutical company Biocon for a product containing the same active ingredient as Saxenda.

It is expected to be commercialized in South Korea after 2025.

 

Saxenda and Victoza’s patents are set to expire by 2025.

 

Saxenda is protected by two accounts of patents, each expiring in November this year and November next year.

 

Victoza has four patents registered, and one has already expired.

 

The expiration dates for the rest are June 2024, November 2025, and March 2037.

 

However, the patent set to expire in 2037 is based on Liraglutide’s effect on cardiovascular diseases.

 

Handok will not infringe on patents by launching Liraglutide after 2025 and by not commercializing it for the purpose of treating cardiovascular disease.

 

Although new obesity drugs of the GLP-1 class, like Wegovy and Mounjaro, have not been officially launched in South Korea, the industry has a high expectation for follow-up drugs with the same active ingredient since Saxenda is practically dominating the obesity treatment market.

 

According to a pharmaceutical market research company IQVIA, Saxenda topped KRW 66.8 billion in sales last year, up 13% YoY.

 

The stock market response is also positive.

 

On May 24th, Handok’s stock hit KRW 17,010, up 23.3% from the previous day.

 

It was the highest amount in recent years, and the analysis suggests that Hadok’s announcement to introduce GLP-1 obesity and diabetes treatments has been viewed as good news.

 

Introduced three orphan drugs consecutively…co-developed a hypertension drug with Sanofi In the second half of last year, Handok initiated partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies In September last year, Handok signed an exclusive marketing deal with Dutch Argenx for VYVGART, a treatment for myasthenia gravis.

 

VYVGART is the first-in-class subcutaneous formulation for myasthenia gravis to be approved by the U.S.

 

FDA.

 

In October, Handok signed a strategic partnership deal with Sweden’s global pharmaceutical company Sobi, introducing two rare disease drugs, Empaveli and Doptelet.

 

Empaveli targets an adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH).

 

It has received approvals in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan.

 

Doptelet is indicated to treat adult patients with primary chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

 

Last year, Handok introduced three rare diseas drugs, VYVGART, Empaveli, and Doptelet, to South Korea.

In February, Handok launched ‘Aprovasc,‘ a combination therapy for hypertension that was co-developed with Sanofi, in South Korea.

 

It is the first combination therapy of amlodipine and irbesartan, to receive approval in South Korea.

 

In October 2019, Handok signed a licensing deal with Sanofi for the domestic development, manufacturing, and approval for a combination therapy to treat high blood pressure.

 

In November, Aprovasc received the approval of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

 

Sanofi has development and marketing rights as an original developer, and Handok will be responsible for domestic manufacturing and co-promoting Aprovasc with Sanofi.

 

Will it fill the gap left by the patent expired 'Tenelia' and licensing retrieved 'Soliris'? Handok plans to expand cooperation with global pharmaceutical companies to fill the gap left by previous core products.

 

Previously, Handok had Tenelia·Tenelia M, diabetes treatments of the DPP-4 inhibitor class, and Soliris and Ultomiris, rare disease treatments, as its key pipeline.

 

However, in October 2022, Tenelia’s substance patent expired.

 

Consequently, a many Tenelia generics were launched.

 

In February last year, AstraZeneca Korea retrieved sales rights of Soliris and Ultomiris.

 

Initially, Handok introduced these two drugs to South Korea from Alexion Pharmaceuticals.

 

When AstraZeneca acquired the original developer Alexion Pharmaceuticals, the domestic sales rights transferred to AstraZeneca Korea.

 

Handok had a sales gap from its previous core products for chronic diseases, Tenelia (left), due to patent expiration, and for rare disease area core products, Soliris (middle) and Ultomiris (right), due to sale rights retrieval.

 

Consequently, Handok was left with no drugs related to diabetes treatment and rare disease treatment, which used to be its key pipeline.

 

Handok plans to fill the gap in rare disease treatment area with VYVGART, Empaveli, and Doptelet.

 

Empaveli and Doptelet are considered to be the suitable substitutes as they have indications for PNH and myasthenia gravis, as in Soliris and Ultomiris.

 

Furthermore, Handok is expected to succeed in the novel drug market since it has already established a business network by overseeing domestic sales of Soliris and Ultomiris after these drugs received reimbursement coverage in 2018.

 

Additionally, Handok plans to fill the gap in chronic disease treatment area with Aprovasc, a combination therapy for treating high blood pressure, and liraglutide, a treatment for diabetes and obesity.

 

Handok aims to expand to the high blood pressure market, which was previously its weakness, with Aprovasc.

 

And, its diabetes treatment portfolio is expected to grow with liraglutide.

 

Handok’s diabetes portfolio includes various diabetes drugs, including the sulfonylurea (SU) class ‘Amaryl,‘ the SGLT-2 inhibitor class ‘Suglat,‘ the DPP-4 inhibitor class ‘Tenelia,‘ and medical devices, such as blood glucose monitoring device.

 

Adding liraglutide to this list will strenghthen Handok’s completion of the diabetes portfolio.