Hanmi Pharmaceutical has struck the largest drug licensing deal in its history since the death of founder Lim Sung-ki, drawing fresh attention to the research and development leadership of Lim Ju-hyun, vice chairman of Hanmi Group and the founder's eldest daughter. The deal, worth up to 3 trillion won, is being credited to sustained investment in drug development that continued despite turmoil inside and outside the group, including a dispute over management control.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical said on the 24th that it had signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche, for HM17321, a drug candidate for obesity and metabolic disease, turning the spotlight onto the management strategy of Vice Chairman Lim, who spearheaded the drug development project. The deal draws particular attention because it surpasses the drug development achievements of the late chairman Lim, who died in August 2020, as the largest technology export in the company's history. The agreement is worth up to about $2.3 billion (approximately 3.19 trillion won), including an upfront payment alone of $190 million (approximately 262.9 billion won).
HM17321 is the core pipeline of 'H.O.P,' the obesity and metabolic disease project that Vice Chairman Lim designed and drove forward. 'H.O.P' is a project to build a full-cycle treatment solution for obesity, under which Hanmi Pharmaceutical operates six pipelines in total, including efpeglenatide, HM15275, HM17321 and HM500197.
Under Vice Chairman Lim's leadership, Hanmi Pharmaceutical has sharply expanded its R&D investment. Revenue in the first half of this year came to 860.2 billion won, of which 125.5 billion won, or 14.6%, went to research and development. That marks an 18.2% increase from the same period a year earlier. After putting 161.5 billion won into R&D in 2021, the company posted increases for four consecutive years through last year.
A Hanmi Pharmaceutical official said the vice chairman's full support was behind the company's ability to focus on drug development despite the turmoil that followed the founder's death. "Without the role of supporting employees so they could concentrate on research and blocking various outside pressures, it would have been difficult to achieve these results," the official said.
