Hanmi Pharmaceutical (128940) signed a licensing deal worth up to 1.9 trillion won with Eli Lilly, the global leader in obesity treatments, once again proving the competitiveness of its proprietary platform technology, "LAPSCOVERY." With the candidate offering potential expansion across multiple indications beyond short bowel syndrome, attention is turning to Hanmi's future development strategy.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced on the 1st that it has signed a licensing agreement with Lilly for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of its biologic drug candidate "sonepegludutide (LAPSGLP-2 analog)." Under the agreement, Hanmi will receive an upfront payment of $75 million (about 112.9 billion won) and up to an additional $1.185 billion in milestones tied to clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercialization. The company will also receive separate royalties after product launch.
The deal carries particular significance as the candidate selected by Lilly is a novel drug applying Hanmi's long-acting platform technology, LAPSCOVERY. The platform extends the in-vivo duration of protein and peptide drugs to improve dosing convenience and represents one of Hanmi's flagship technologies built up over many years.
Sonepegludutide is a GLP-2 analog-based drug candidate currently undergoing global Phase 2 clinical trials for short bowel syndrome. Short bowel syndrome is a rare disease in which patients struggle to absorb nutrients due to a congenitally short intestine or surgical resection. The only approved treatment for the condition on the global market is Takeda Pharmaceutical's "Gattex," which records annual sales of around 1 trillion won.
However, market attention is focused less on short bowel syndrome itself and more on the "multiple indications" rights Lilly has secured. Through the deal, Lilly obtained exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize sonepegludutide worldwide, excluding Korea. Hanmi will complete the ongoing global Phase 2 trial for short bowel syndrome, after which Lilly will lead further clinical development and indication expansion.
Sonepegludutide is drawing attention because it ties into the GLP class of therapies, a key theme in the global pharmaceutical industry. Wegovy and Mounjaro, which currently dominate the obesity treatment market, are GLP-1 drugs that induce weight loss by suppressing appetite and regulating blood sugar. By contrast, sonepegludutide is a GLP-2-based therapy that promotes intestinal growth and protects and regenerates the intestinal mucosa. GLP-1 and GLP-2 are hormones derived from the same precursor and are used in the metabolic and intestinal disease fields, respectively.
The industry views Lilly as having preemptively secured the candidate not only to enter the short bowel syndrome treatment market but also to leverage GLP-2's broader applicability, including intestinal growth promotion and mucosal protection and regeneration. Hanmi also sees the deal as recognition of the candidate's intrinsic development potential and the competitiveness of its platform, rather than of any single indication.
A Hanmi Pharmaceutical official said, "It is significant that Lilly highly valued the development potential of sonepegludutide," adding, "We will continue to expand our competitiveness in the global market through innovative new drug development."
