Korea Q4 Roundup: International Growth A Key Factor For Major Firms

Hanmi’s Neutropenia Drug Off To Solid US Start

Aside from record earnings reported by a number of Korean pharma companies, the industry saw a diverse range of headlines in the fourth quarter, including cross-border acquisitions and business diversification.

earnings
Korean Pharmas Sought Business Diversification, Acquisition In 2022 • Source: Shutterstock

Several major South Korean pharma companies reported strong earnings in the fourth quarter and for the whole of 2022, led by in-house developed or other key prescription drugs, as well as growing overseas sales.

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Compass’ Bispecific BTC Contender Meets Phase II/III Endpoint

 
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Compass' bispecific antibody tovecimig hits primary efficacy endpoint in Phase II/III top-line data in advanced biliary tract cancer, and may have class side-effect advantages. But additional survival data may be needed to support US approval.

LigaChem Eyes Future Acquisition Of IKSUDA Following 26.6% Stake

 
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South Korea's LigaChem is kickstarting a growth and globalization drive through a potential future acquisition of UK ADC player IKSUDA.

Korea Needs To Think Bigger On M&As: KHIDI

 

A new report from a domestic institute on South Korea’s biopharma M&A trends shows a pickup in activity, but that this remains relatively weak and small-scale. It calls for broader domestic government support to build expertise, drive innovation and globalization.

Japan-Korea Venture Collab Grows With VC And Regulatory Meetups

 
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Cross-Asian initiative has already brought several South Korean gene and cell therapy startups and Japanese VCs closer, with further hopes for product development and launches in Japan, regulatory harmonization and gliobalization.

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Sumitomo Offloads Asia Pharma Ops To Marubeni For $480m

 
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The latest in a long line of restructuring measures will see Sumitomo Pharma making a stepped sale of its pharma operations in Asia to major Japanese trading house Marubeni.

How Big Pharma Is Redefining, Scaling India GCCs Amid Tech Advances

 

Senior executives from AstraZeneca, BMS, Novo Nordisk, Takeda and Regeneron outline how big pharma's global capability centers (GCCs) in India are evolving beyond cost efficiency, focusing on innovation, “agile experimentation” and new technology including GenAI, virtual & augmented reality, with some positioned as COEs. Will Indian multinationals use the GCC approach?

Asia Deal Watch: Dr. Reddy’s Gets Regional Rights To Pair Of Bio-Thera Biosimilars

 

Plus deals involving GV20/Mitsubishi Tanabe, Kaken/Alumis, AstraZeneca/Alteogen and deal terminations involving Clover/Gavi Alliance and Rhythm/RareStone.