Hanwha Corp is no longer seeking to by Dow
Chemical’s (NYSE:DOW] chlorine and epoxy businesses following KRW 1.85 trn (USD
1.7bn) deal with Samsung Group unveiled last week, a company spokesperson
confirmed. Hanwha Chemical, a chemical unit of Hanwha Corp, said in March that
it was reviewing the potential bid for Dow Chemical’s basic chemical business
although details had not been finalized.
Following the agreement to acquire Samsung’s
chemical units, Hanwha does not now need the Dow assets and will focus on
growing the acquired petrochemical units and realigning its related chemical
and materials operation, said the spokesperson. South Korea’s largest
conglomerate, Samsung Group, announced last Wednesday that it will transfer its
chemical units to Hanwha Corp as part of a wider deal that saw the latter agree
to buy 32.5% stake in Samsung Techwin, the parent company of Samsung Total, for
KRW840b. Hanwha Chemical and Hanwha Energy acquired a 56.01% stake in Samsung
General Chemicals for KRW 1.06 trn (USD 953m). The transactions, in total worth
around KRW 2trn (USD 1.8bn), will be completed by July 2015. Hanwha said it
will settle the acquisitions in installments over two to three years. Hanwha
Corp, Hanwha Energy and Hanwha Chemical have healthy cash flow with an annual
EBITDA of KRW 200bn, according to the spokesperson. Hanwha Corp has internal
cash of KRW 150bn, which could be used to finance the deal, he added.
Daewoong
Pharmaceutical reviewing Southeast Asian target after dropping Dipharma deal
Daewoong Pharmaceutical, a listed South Korean
pharmaceutical company, has turned its attention to a Southeast Asian target
after abandoning a deal to acquire assets from Italian company Dipharma, a
source familiar with situation said. The KRW 777.5bn (USD704.5m) market cap
company targets to expand its business and reach USD 2.5bn in sales by 2020,
the source said. Its priority markets are Asian countries including China,
Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, the source said.
Daewoong had mandated an undisclosed financial
advisor for the Dipharma deal, but walked away from even before the due
diligence stage because the transaction was too large, the source said. It had
been reviewing Dipharma since 2013, the source added. Daewoong is looking at
targets valued at less than KRW 50bn in the active pharmaceutical ingredients
manufacturing and bio related industries, the source said. The company has
overseas presence in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and
the US, as well as 12 affiliates including Daewoong Bio, Daewoong Life Science,
Healience, ids Trust, Daewoong Management Institute and MD Well, according to
the company’s website.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical acquired Liaoning
Baifeng Industry, a China based pharmaceutical manufacturer, for USD 16.17m in
2013 to expand its business in China market, as reported. Its previous law firm
is BKL, based on mergermarket’s data. Daewoong has worked with financial
advisor Samil Pw in the past, a person familiar with company noted. The
company’s core products are brain function improvement medicine, antiulcer
drugs, high blood pressure treatment, liver disease medicine, diabetes
treatment and botulinum toxin formulation (anti-wrinkle treatment).
Daewoong expects to generate at least KRW
170bn of sales with its anti-wrinkle product, also known as ‘NASBOTA,’ after
launching in the US in 2017, an analyst said. Founded in 1945, Daewoong posted
KRW 675bn of sales with KRW 71.3bn of operating profits as of 2013--end, based
on the company’s financial report. Its cash and cash equivalents were at KRW
69.3bn as of June 2014.
Hubit welcomes
partnership with dental materials maker, aims to list in midterm
Hubit, a private, South Korean orthodontic
bracket manufacturer, welcomes strategic partnerships to help it improve its
domestic market share, a source familiar with situation said. Partnership
options could include a stake sale or a joint venture with dental material
makers, especially those that manufacture implants and ceramic brackets, the
source said. He named Osstem Implant, a listed dental implant manufacturer in
South Korea, and Henry Schein, a listed US-based dental supplies equipment
distributor, as industry peers. Hubit is currently supplying its orthodontic
products to Henry Schein, he added. The company is also aiming to list on
KOSDAQ in around three years’ time, as financial investor Korea Development
Bank Capital, and other venture capital funds expect to exit by then, the
source said. These investors entered in 2007. Hubit is waiting to generate KRW
20bn (USD 20) in revenues before it lists on KOSDAQ. Hubit will appoint an IPO
advisor closer to this milestone, the source noted. It is likely to record approximately
KRW 8bn in sales at the end of 2014, the source said. The company specialized
in manufacturing orthodontic ceramic materials including brackets, wires, tubes
and other accessories, according to its website. It supplies its products to 67
countries, including the US, China, and Russia, the source said, adding that
overseas sales account for 60% of its total sales, respectively. Foreign
orthodontic bracket materials makers have around 90% of the market in Korea,
with Hubit’s share at 5%. Other foreign peers are US-based 3M, Rocky Mountain
Orthodontics, Japan’s Tomy and Germany- based Forestadent, the source said.
CEO HagDong Yoo is the largest shareholder in
Hubit, which was founded in 2005, the source said.
Celltrion’s infliximab biosimilar set to capture FDA
regulatory nod experts
Celltrion should garner FDA approval for its
biosimilar of Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) Remicade (infliximab),
according to experts. They noted they were uncertain as to whether the agency
will allow full label extrapolation. The company’s previously announced data
underscores approval, the experts agreed. Celltrion announced August 11th that
it had completed the 351(k) filing procedure for its infliximab biosimilar
Remsima. The product is the first monoclonal antibody (mAb) application to
undergo the US biosimilar pathway, introduced in 2009, and the second drug
filed under the pathway, according to a release. Celltrion could not be reached
for comment. Approval expected there is no evidence to suggest that Celltrion’s
data is insufficient for the FDA to approve Remsima, said Kate Keeping, senior
director of biosimilars research at Decision Resources Group. Both Canadian and
EU regulators cleared the product based on Phase I and III data, as well as
likely extensive nonclinical work to establish the molecule is highly similar
to the reference product, the director said. These studies are arguably more
important as the clinical efficacy study is meant to be confirmatory, the
director and a US biosimilars expert said. The randomized, double-blind
PLANETAS Phase I study (NCT01220518) reported in 2012 that the pharmacokinetic
(PK) profiles of Remsima and Remicade were equivalent in active ankylosing
spondylitis (AS) patients (Park et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2013 Oct; 72 (10): 160512).
It also reported Remsima was well-tolerated, with an efficacy and safety
profile comparable to Remicade up to week 30. The randomized double-blind Phase
III PLANETRA study (NCT01217086) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients reported
Celltrion’s drug demonstrated equivalent efficacy to Remicade at week 30, with
a comparable PK profile and immunogenicity. Again, it was well tolerated, with
a comparable safety profile to Remicade. It was also reported Remsima was
well-tolerated, with an efficacy and safety profile comparable to Remicade up
to week 30.
After FDA consultation, Celltrion conducted
additional clinical trials, lasting six months, to determine the bioequivalence
of the originator products with Remsima. Specifically, Celltrion tested for PK/pharmacodynamic
(PK/PD) equivalency and safety equivalency for the originator products sold in
the US, the originator products sold in Europe, and its own product. This
additional clinical trial data, were submitted to the FDA as part of its
application, according to a Celltrion press release. The data as well the
Celltrion statement, is hopeful for approval, said a second US biosimilars
expert and Nigel Rulewski, head, Global Biosimilar Unit, Quintiles.
“It’s a slam-dunk” in terms of approval, said
Dr. Nathan Wei, rheumatologist and founder, Arthritis Treatment Center,
Frederick, Maryland. The data is solid, including the PK/PD analysis and
studies’ sample sizes are adequate, he noted. There is a strong case for
approval based on the data, said Dr. Stephen Hanauer, professor in
Medicine-Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois and previous chair of the FDA’s
Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee.
Full label extrapolation uncertain Remicade is
indicated in the US for pediatric and adult DC, pediatric and adult UC, RA,
psoriatic arthritis (PA), AS and plaque psoriasis (PS). Hanauer said he
believed the efficacy in RA and other indications can be extrapolated to
Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), two other indications in
which Remicade is approved. Hanauer said the data supports full label
extrapolation.
The FDA is open to extrapolation as long as
the product is highly similar and the criteria in the agency’s draft guidance
documents are met (such as respect to the same MOA), said a second US
biosimilars expert. Yet Keeping and Wei disagreed that RA and AS data can be
extrapolated to gastrointestinal (GI) indications because of the potentially
different MOA to the rheumatic/dermatology indications. Rulewski noted that
extrapolation to other indications is still “an open question.” Extrapolation
is more likely to happen when MOA is the same, the second expert said. When the
MOA is different, full extrapolation is less likely. Thus, since the MOA for
Remicade may be different in GI indications, “it will be interesting” to see
whether the FDA will grand all indications since clinical trials have not been
done in each unique disease state, the expert added.
Weit said he expected the FDA to require
separate trials for GI indications. Health Canada did not permit full
indication extrapolation while the EMA did, the experts noted. Health Canada
approved in April Remsima for RA, AS, PA and PS. Celltrion announced on 28 June
2013 that the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) had
given positive opinion for Remsima.
Unless Celltrion has submitted new information
to justify extrapolation to CD/UC, there is a high risk that the FDA will come
to the same conclusion as Health Canada, Keeping said. The risk is also
underscored because there are known differences in the glycosylation pattern
between Remsima and Remicade, Keeping said. Celltrion is conducting 214
patients, randomized, double-blind, switching study (NCT02096861) in active CD
patients, which started in July and ends in March 2017, according to
ClinicalTrials.gov. The trial is not FDA required, a person familiar with the
company said, but is intended to accumulate scientific data to bolster physician
confidence to prescribe a biosimilar as interchangeable to the innovative
product. The company indicated in the CHMP pharmacovigilance plan that it would
conduct a randomized Phase III trial in CD, Keeping said. From a strategic
perspective, conducting a CD trial should help assuage gastroenterologists’
concerns about prescribing Remsima, assuming the results are positive, she
said.
Celltrion’s market cap is KRW 45bn (EUR
2.7bn).
Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical seeks smaller acquisitions
after dropping Dream Pharma bid
Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical is seeking smaller
domestic acquisitions to fortify its ethical drug business after dropping its
joint bid with South Korean private equity firm STIC Investment to acquire
Dream Pharma, a source familiar with the situations said. The South Korean
pharmaceutical and beverage company, which has a market capitalization of about
KRW 501.1bn (USD 499m), considers KRW 50bn--KRW 100bn to be a suitable deal
size. The source declined to comment on what sort of targets it could look at,
but a 2013 report from Mergermarket noted that Kwang Dong was interested in
acquiring peers specializing in cardiovascular systems and high blood pressure.
Kwang Dong’s over-the-counter and beverage business have grown, but its ethical
drug unit still has room to grow further, the source continued. It was
previously reported that about 40% of the company’s sales come from the pharma
business while 60% comes from beverage sales.
Kwang Dong announced in June that it had
decided to drop its bid for Dream Pharma, the pharmaceutical unit of South
Korean conglomerate Hanwha Chemical Corporation. According to local reports,
Dream Pharma could fetch about KRW 200bn. They noted that Kwang Dong and STIC
Investment had formed a consortium to bid but dropped out due to deal size,
without elaborating whether or not price expectation was too high. Kwang Dong
has a range of pharma products in gastrointestinal, respiratory, central,
endocrine and metabolic, allergy and immune system, and dermatology spaces, according
to the company’s website. That said, the company will also continue to be
opportunistic on beverage targets as that is its second priority, the source
added. Kwang Dong’s cash-cow products in the beverage segment include vitamin
drinks Vita500, corn silk tea water, and ginseng cold medicine drink KDP
Kwangdong Ssanghwatang, as reported by local media. Kwang Dong CEO Sung Won
Choi and the company’s executive members own a 17.79% stake in the company as
the largest shareholder, according to the company’s financial report. The
company, founded in 1963, generated KRW 468.4bn in sales and KRW 44.4bn in
operating profits as of the end of 2013, based on its financial report.
Bayer Korea/Korea MSD oral contraceptive business to
attract buyers following regulatory order sources
KFTC to send final order statement by end of
April Yuhan Corp allowed to buy Mercilon if it terminates existing distribution
license.
The South Korean arm of Bayer AG’s oral
contraceptive pill (Mercilon) business is likely to attract South Korean
pharmaceutical, Hanmi Pharmaceutical, II Dong Pharmaceutical, Yuhan
Corporation, and Green Cross, considering its leading market position, three
industry sources said. Korean strategic investors are monitoring the situation
closely as the seller is expected to conduct an auction in order to meet the
regulatory requirements and an end of September deadline. The deal value is
expected to be more than KRW 20bn (USD 19m), although it is premature to give
details, said a source. The six month deadline is not extendable and the
company could face with penalties if it fails to comply, the source added.
Mercilon generated sales of KRW 10.9bn and KRW 11.8bn in 2013 and 2014,
respectively, according to financial statement of Yuhan Corporation, the Korean
distributor of Mercilon. On March 23, 2015, the Korea Fair Trade Commission
(KFTC) issued a conditional approval for Germany based multinational
pharmaceutical company Bayer Korea’s proposed acquisition of Korea MSD, the
South Korea subsidiary of Merck & Co. Merck, the US based company
headquartered in New Jersey, manufactures the oral contraceptive pill Mercilon.
Under KFTC’s order, Bayer and Merck should sell Mercilon rights including
sales, trademark and imports, keeping just the manufacturing license within the
six month period. The clock started ticking from the date of the statement, and
the competition agency will issue a final order statement to Bayer by the end
of April, according to a source close to the KFTC. Bayer Korea and Korea MSD
will need to secure a buyer for the oral contraceptive unit by October, the
source close to the regulator said Buyers could be both domestic and foreign
investors, excluding the existing distributors of Bayer Korea or Korea MSD
products in Korea, he added. The Korean distributors include Dong-A Socio
Holdings which distributes Bayer’s four oral contraceptive products, and Korea
MSD’s distributor Yuhan Corporation. However, Yuhan Corporation could bid for
the asset if it were to terminate the existing licensing agreement with Korea
MSD, he said.
Mercilon has the largest Korea market share
with 43%. Dong and Crown Pharm, the unlisted Korean pharmaceutical firm, hold
3% and 1% each in terms of market share in South Korea for the same period,
according to KFTC data. Green Cross recently entered the business, launching
the contraceptive pill ‘Dear: me’ in March 2015. Bayer Korea is currently
working on the sale internally, a company spokesperson said, without further
explanation. Korea MSD did not respond to a request for comment. A competition
lawyer pointed out that the KFTC may have issued a conditional approval because
oral contraceptives are categorized as an over the counter (OTC) medicine in
South Korea. This means retail consumers are likely to be directly hit by any
potential price hikes post the combination of two companies. In other
jurisdictions, however, oral contraceptives are categorized as prescription
based medicines which could be less accessible to the consumers. Therefore
there should be less risk of potential competition restriction, the lawyer
said. In May 2014, Bayer announced the acquisition of Merck’s consumer
healthcare division for USD 14.2 bn. In order to finalize the international
transaction, Bayer’s South Korea based subsidiary Bayer Korea filed for a
merger review in October 2014 to acquire the licensing and relevant assets of
Korea MSD’s over the counter (OTC) medicine. Bayer AG was advised by BoAML and
EY while JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley advised Merck, according to Mergermarket
data.
Sharp agrees to settle CRT price fixing case against
Panasonic
Sharp Electronics Corporation and Sharp
Electronic Manufacturing Company of America agreed to settle with defendants
Panasonic Corporation and its units, including Beijing Matsushita Color CRT Co.
Ltd. (BMCC), in a price fixing case involving cathode ray tubes (CRTs),
according to 24 March court documents. The parties stipulated dismissal of all
claims with prejudice. The settlement is contingent upon final court approval.
The litigation stems from an investigation by the US Department of Justice
(DoJ) into a price fixing conspiracy by the makers of CRTs, an older technology
used in the displays of televisions and computers. Plaintiffs ViewSonic
Corporation and Target Corporation reached a settlement with defendant
Technicolor SA and its subsidiary in February. Plaintiffs Sears, Roebuck and
Co, and Kmart Corporation in February also dismissed their claims against
defendant Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and its subsidiaries. The parties
stipulated dismissal with prejudice.
In January, the trustees of the Circuit City
Store Inc. Liquidating Trust and defendant Toshiba Corporation and its
subsidiaries reached a settlement and stipulated voluntary dismissal. Plaintiff
Dell Inc. and defendant Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV also settled in
January. In November 2013, Costco Wholesale Corp. agreed to dismiss federal and
state claims against BMCC and state claims against Samsung SDI Co. Sharp is
represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Taylor &
Co. Law Offices. Panasonic is represented by Winston & Strawn and Weil,
Gotshal and Manges. The case is In Re: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust
Litigation, 07cv05944 in the US District Court for the Northern District of
California.
Proprietary extracts and summaries are
provided by PaRR’s global team on a daily basis.
Ybrain aims to launch wearable device for Alzheimer’s in
2016 ahead of Series B funding
Ybrain, a privately held South Korean wearable
medical device developer, plans to launch a wearable product for Alzheimer’s
disease by the first half of 2016 before it seeks Series B fundraising, said
founder and CEO Lee Kiwon. The company is currently focused on research and
development to commercialize the product and generate revenues as it completed
its Series A funding early this year. Ybrain expects to generate annual sales
of KRW 10bn (USD 9m) after product launch, Lee said. Ybrain received Series A
funding of KRW 3.5bn (USD 3.1m) from domestic investors Stonebridge Capital
(KRW 1.5bn), DSC Investment (KRW 1bn), and Company K Partners (KRW 1bn) in
August 2014, according to the CEO. Ybrain also raised KRW 0.9bn from Korea’s
Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy early this year.
Solborn Venture Investment, a South Korean
venture capital firm, provided a seed funding of KRW 0.7bn, he said. The
company could seek another round of funding but details on size and timing are
not finalized since it has not finalized the clinical trials as yet, the CEO
said. Ybrain is working with 14 major hospitals in South Korea for clinical
trials and has appointed Quintiles Transnational Holdings and Seoul CRO as its
Contract Research Organization he said. Established in February 2013, Ybrain
develops big data platforms and medical wearables such as an electric nerve
stimulating headband, tentatively named Yband. The products are designed to
analyze brain signals and diagnose and cure neurological disorders including
Alzheimer’s. The company is also considering overseas expansion, especially to
the US and China, given the high growth potential of their medical sectors. It
could start clinical trials in the respective foreign countries as early as
next year, the CEO said. Ybrain, which is made up of engineers from Samsung,
signed an R&D technology partnership with Mensia Technology, the unlisted
French brain wave analysis company’s website. Lee owns a more than 50% stake in
the company as the largest shareholder, he said.
By Jun Young Chun
GemVax & KAEL to raise USD 5m-10m by 2015 for US
expansion and R&D
GemVax & KAEL, a listed South Korean
vaccine developer, is looking to raise USD 5m-10m by 2015 through a stake sale
to investors to fund its US expansion and research & development (R&D),
said the company CEO SangJae Kim. The company has acquired Epimmune, a
privately held San Diego, US based developer of drugs for genetic and
infectious diseases, in 2009, according to the company report. Epimmune plans
to go public in the US in the future, Kim mentioned without providing a
detailed timeline. In addition, GemVax & KAEL is having internal discussion
regarding Asian expansion, Kim added. The company would not hire advisors for
its fundraising, a person claiming knowledge said, adding that it could however
hire advisors for potential IPO of its subsidiary in the US. The company has
previously mentioned that it plants to further penetrate into the US market,
according to a report by Mergermarket in December 2013.
Meanwhile, it will commercialize its therapeutic
pancreatic cancer vaccine RIAVAX (GV 1001) this year since the product obtained
the approval of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) in September 2014,
according to its investment relations report. GemVax has invested KRW 400bn for
the RIAVAX trials, according to the local media report. It has completed Phase
I, II and III trial tests in overseas countries including the US, France and
the UK, as reported in November 2014. It has been working with UK based
Liverpool Cancer Trial Unit on GV 1001, according to a previous report by
Mergermarket. Its biological therapeutic portfolios are anticancer drugs,
peptide treatment, according to its company report. GemVax & KAEL’s
accountant is Jungil accounting and its legal advisor is KCL. It has two business
units; biotechnology and semiconductor/ display. The company owns four
subsidiaries; Samsung Pharmaceutical, Gemvax Technology, Norway based GemVax
A/S and Epimmune. Founded in 1989, the company posted KRW 70.6bn in sales and
KRW 6bn in operating loss as of September 2014, based on its financial report.
Celltrion infliximab biosimilars to be priced 25% lower
than J&J- Remicade in Spain
Celltrion Healthcare’s and Hospira’s Remicade
(infliximab) biosimilars with each enter the Spanish market at a 25% discount,
said Mercedes Martinez Vallejo, general sub-directorate for Quality of
Medicines and Healthcare Products, Spain’s Ministry of Health. Martinez Vallejo
spoke on the sidelines of the World Pharma Pricing & Market Access Congress
in London. Market entry into Spain for Celltrion’s Remsima and Hospira’s
Inflectra is expected March 1st, she noted. Remicade’s annual list price in
Spain for a fully compliant patient is EUR 10,347,
according to a paper by a Spanish patients’
association.
Remsima and Inflectra are both brand names of
the biosimilar infliximab which is developed and manufactured by Celltrion, a
Celltrion spokesperson said. In Europe, The South Korea based company uses a
two brand strategy and conducts the product’s sales marketing, and distribution
through its partners, including Hospira which uses the brand name Inflectra. In
some countries, like Spain, both Remsima and Inflectra will be marketed and
sold, she added. Remsima’s price in the UK is at least 30% lower than that of
Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) Remicade (imfliximab), according to news
reports. The average price for Remicade varies per patient, but for a fully
compliant patient the price is around GBP 9,164/patient per year, based on
current market pricing. Others outlets have reported that Inflectra is priced
16% below Remicade in Germany but that Remsima is more expensive. Other
biosimilars on the market filgrastim, epoetin alfa and human growth hormones
carry 30% price reductions to the originator products, said Martin Vallejo.
Celltrion has a distribution agreement with Hospira on Inflectra. Alvogen, in
partnership with Hopira, has launched Inflectra into Central and Eastern
Europe. Pfizer and Hospira announced 5 February they had entered into a
definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Hospira, for
approximately USD 17bn, according to a Pfizer press release. The transaction is
expected to close in the 2015.
Celltrion’s market cap is KRW 7.71 trn (USD
7bn). Hospira’s market cap is USD 15bn.
By Jennifer C. Smith Parker in London
MedyTox is strategic partnership talks to increase
Chinese market share
MedyTox, a South Korea based biopharmaceutical
company that specialized in manufacturing botulinum products, is in talks with
Chinese companies to establish a strategic partnership in China to increase its
market share in the country, a source familiar with the company said. The
company has just set up a joint venture with Taiwan based peer Dynamic Medical
Technologies (DMT) in February 2015, the source said, adding that the company
will select a suitable partner soon. The company is not likely to accept
additional approaches from other Chinese candidates since it has already
secured a list of potential partners, the source continued. MedyTox is
considering various options for its strategic partnership in China. It may set
up a JV with the Chinese partner or establish its own branch first, he
continued. It is likely to take about two to three years to penetrate the
Chinese market, the source added. The KRW 60.1 bn (USD 59m) market cap
Company’s Taiwanese JV will seek to penetrate Taiwan and Chinese speaking
markets like Hong Kong, as reported. MedyTox will hold a 60% stake in the JV
MedyTox Taiwan while DMT will hold 40%, according to a press release on 10,
February. The company did not hire a financial advisor for this JV, but hired
an undisclosed law firm as its legal advisor, the source said. In China,
Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products is the only legal producer of
botulinum toxin type A for injection is marketed under the brand name Hengli.
However, imported products have dominated the Chinese market, leaving little
room for domestic products due to their weak marketing ability. As for the
import market, only Botulinum Toxin Type A for Injection, or BOTOX, by the US
based manufacturer Allergan is approved to be sold in the Chinese market,
according to be sold in the Chinese market, according to the website of the
Chinese Food Drug Administration (CFDA). BOTOX is distributed by GSK and sub
distributed by Sinopharm in China, according to CFDA. Some Chinese companies
such as Hualan Biological Engineering are also eyeing the Botox manufacturing
industry and are trying to develop the technology, the industry source
mentioned. Hualan Biological Engineering could consider partnerships with
foreign peers, said its spokesperson. It has been putting effort into the Botox
industry but has not had any realistic achievement, he added. Lanzhou
Biological Institute and Sinopharm could not be reached for. MedyTox is currently
generating sales in overseas countries, with exports and domestic sales each
accounting for half of total sales, the source noted. MedyTox has entered more
than 50 countries, including Japan, Thailand, India and Brazil, according to
the company’s.
MedyTox owns botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid
filler and toxin detection and antitoxin therapeutics businesses, according to
its website. Its main Botox brand is Neuronox and its hyaluronic acid filler,
Neuramis Deep, temporarily improves facial wrinkles. Its global peers include
Allergan US based Solstice Neuroscience, France based Beaufour Ipsen, and China
based Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products, while its domestic peers are
Hugal and Daewoong Pharmaceutical, according to the company’s financial statement.
The company currently exports its products to Asian countries, South American
countries and to Ukraine. MedyTox was selected as a World-class advanced
Technology Center in 2011 by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, according to
the company’s website. Founded in 2000, the company generated KRW 61.5bn in
sales and KRW 43bn in operating profits as of September 2014, according to its
financial report
By Soo Young Park in Seoul and Jane He in
Shanghai
Min Wu
Analyst, Infinata BioPharm Insight
Min has worked with both BioPharm Insight’s
editorial team and commercial team. She was an account manager for the BioPharm
Suite in London before relocating back to the New York newsroom. Min was
previously a risk arbitrage analyst at sister-publication deal Reporter, where
she performed in-depth analysis on large-cap M&A transactions, as well as
regulatory-clearance analysis. Prior to deal Reporter, she was a senior
research associate at data analytics firm, Haver Analytics. She has a Master’s
degree in Financial Management from Pace University, Lubin School of Business.
She also holds a B.Sc. in taxation from Tianjin University of Finance and
Economics.