Boryung has officially launched global sales of Taxotere, an original cancer drug acquired from French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi. It marks the first time a Korean pharmaceutical company has acquired the entire original oncology business of a global big pharma and begun direct sales in overseas markets.
Boryung announced Tuesday that it has closed the Taxotere global business acquisition agreement signed with Sanofi last year and started global sales. Taxotere revenue will be directly reflected in Boryung's earnings starting this month.
Through the acquisition, Boryung secured the full business rights to Taxotere — including marketing, distribution, licensing, manufacturing and trademark rights — across 19 countries and regions, including Korea, China, Germany, Spain, Latin America and the Middle East. The final deal size is up to approximately 170 million euros, or about 279.6 billion won. The figure was reduced by about 5 million euros from the initial maximum of 175 million euros, reflecting country-by-country inventory levels.
Taxotere is an original cytotoxic anticancer drug containing docetaxel. It received approval in Europe in 1995 and won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1996. The drug is used widely across seven cancer types — including breast, non-small cell lung, prostate, gastric and head and neck cancers — ranging from perioperative adjuvant therapy to first-line treatment for metastatic and advanced cancers. It also serves as a key agent in combination regimens with immuno-oncology drugs and targeted therapies, and docetaxel is listed on the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines.
"The Taxotere business acquisition is not simply the acquisition of a single legacy cancer drug. It transforms us into a company that directly takes responsibility for the licensing, quality, manufacturing and distribution of an essential global anticancer drug," said Kim Sung-jin, Boryung's Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). "We will use Taxotere as a stepping stone to expand our position as a major global supplier."
