[Reporter's View] Silent efforts pay off in the market

In the first half of this year, South Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies achieved notable success through technology exports.

 

A series of major licensing deals were signed based on the companies’ innovative drug development platforms and clinical trial results the companies steadily developed and accumulated over the years.

 

In April, ABL Bio signed a technology licensing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for its blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttle platform, ‘Grabody-B,’ for the development of new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.

 

Through this deal, ABL Bio received approximately KRW 73.9 billion as a non-refundable payment.

 

The total contract value is estimated at around KRW 4 trillion.

 

This is ABL Bio's seventh technology export deal.

 

Previously, the company had successfully licensed its technology to major pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi and Yuhan Corp.

 

Alteogen has transferred its subcutaneous (SC) formulation change platform ‘ALT-B4’ to MedImmune, a subsidiary of AstraZeneca.

 

Alteogen has signed two licensing-out deals with MedImmune's US and UK subsidiaries.

 

The two contracts are worth KRW 65.5 billion, with the total contract value, including milestone achievements, exceeding KRW 2 trillion.

 

Alteogen has also signed licensing deals with leading global pharmaceutical companies such as MSD and Daiichi Sankyo.

 

Through the agreements, the company’s formulation change technology will be applied to major immuno-oncology drugs like Keytruda and the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Enhertu.

 

In February, Olix Pharmaceuticals successfully exported its technology for OLX75016, a new drug candidate for obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), to Eli Lilly.

 

OLX75016 is a MASH and obesity treatment candidate based on siRNA technology, a short double-stranded RNA genetic material that plays a key role in RNA interference.

 

OLX75016 is being developed as a subcutaneous (SC) formulation obesity treatment that can be administered once every three months.

 

The common thread among the three companies lies in their long-standing pursuit of innovative drug development platform technologies.

 

ABL Bio's blood-brain barrier (BBB) shuttle technology, Alteogen’s SC formulation conversion technology for anticancer drugs, and Olix's siRNA platform for obesity treatments are the result of repeated animal studies and early-phase clinical trials—achievements compelling global pharmaceutical companies to initiate deals.

 

The upfront payments alone amount to hundreds of billions of won, with total contract values exceeding the trillion-won mark.

 

These technology export cases are not simple pipeline transactions.

 

It holds significance in that global pharmaceutical companies are knocking on Korean companies’ doors, recognizing the platform itself as a technological asset.

 

Platform technology is not limited to a single substance but can be expanded to the development of multiple candidate substances, which is an option that reduces long-term risk for partner companies.

 

In particular, these achievements are not one-time contracts.

 

They have great potential to lead to subsequent pipeline expansion, joint development, and long-term commercialization partnerships.

 

This demonstrates the power of a ‘technology platform’ that goes beyond simply selling a single technology that enables a future together with partners.

 

Developing a model that can prompt a series of technology exports to multiple partners based on a single platform is the direction that the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industry should seek.

 

It is time to move away from licensing out just a single pipeline and adopt a platform-based approach that has scalability and repeatability.

 

Once again, the recent licensing out deals have shown how technology with ‘sustainability’ and ‘consistency’ rather than those that chase the latest R&D trends will ultimately be chosen by the market.

 

Clinically validated technologies, rather than optimistic projections for investor appeal, are increasingly emerging as the true standard of competitiveness on the global stage.