Boryung Pharmaceutical and Zuellig Pharma solidified a partnership by signing an another licensing agreement for Boryung¡¯s new product, Kanarb Plus.
Participating in the signing ceremony held in Singapore on May 26 were Boryung Pharmaceutical President & CEO Choi Tae-hong, Zuellig Pharma CEO John Davison, and Korean Consul General in Singapore Kang Ju-hong.
Boryung Pharmaceutical inked the deal with Zanovex, the Southeast Asian sales and marketing company of Zuellig Pharma, in which the latter has exclusive rights to launch, market and distribute Kanarb Plus in 13 Southeastern Asian markets in return for $750,000 in license fees. The agreement also calls for supplying finished Kanarb Plus worth $27.71 million to six countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, for 15 years. Negotiations will be held for a separate agreement on Kanarb Plus¡¯ second market entry to seven more countries.
Kanarb is an ARB medicine that helps patients control high blood pressure. Kanarb Plus is a combination drug that can also treat edema in people with congestive heart failure.
The latest deal is the second agreement Boryung Pharmaceutical signed with Zuellig Pharma. The two companies signed a licensing agreement on Kanarb, Boryung¡¯s anti-hypertensive drug in June 2015.
The value of the Southeast Asian pharmaceutical market is estimated at about $220 billion, according to IMS Health. It is a ¡°phar-merging market¡± with an average annual growth rate of more than 16 percent since 2011. The Southeast Asian market is forecast to maintain an additional $2.2 billion in growth through 2017. In particular, the market is predicted to see its potential continue to grow with Bangladesh projected to surge 10.4 percent. ¡°Boryung Pharmaceutical and Zullig Pharma have gained ground to make Kanarb Plus the No. 1 anti-hypertensive drug brand in the ARB sector in Southeast Asia following Kanarb,¡± Boryung Pharmaceutical CEO Choi said.
The two companies will endeavor to enhance their product and brand values, he added.
Zullig CEO Davison said he was pleased to cement their partnership by signing an additional deal on Kanarb Plus. Zullig Pharma will continue to devote itself to ensuring a stable supply of Kanarb and Kanarb Plus and enhance the quality of patients¡¯ lives, the company said.
Sale approval for Kanarb is now under way in six countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Zuellig Pharma will be launching Kanarb in Singapore, possibly in late 2016.
In a related development, Kanarb topped the weekly prescription drug in the cardiology sector in Mexico last August, demonstrating a possibility of becoming a new global drug. Kanarb won permission to be launched in eight of 13 Central and South American countries Mexico, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia and Guatemala. Kanarb Plus gained permission to be put on the market in El Salvador in April 2015 following Mexico. Other Central and South American countries are expected to follow suit.
Kanarb, which has successfully undergone a Phase III clinical test in Russia, is to be launched there in the first half of this year.
Kanarb is an ARB-class drug, which is the most-used among anti-hypertension drugs. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) approved it on Sept. 9, 2010 for its safety and significant effect in decreasing blood pressure for those patients with hypertension.
Kanarb not only embraces the merits of existing ABR-class drugs, but provides solutions to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-class drugs¡¯ side effects, such as coughs and edemas, and t also employs technology to overcome lower efficacy.