Anlysis of Bio - Pharma in East Asia - Trends Report

Featured Story of Korean Pharma:

Hanwha confirms abandoning bid for Dow

Chemical basic chemical units

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).

by Soo Young Park in Hong Kong

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.

by Soo Young Park in Hong Kong

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).

by Jennifer C. Smith-Parker and Jinan Harb in London

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.

by Soo Young Park in Seoul

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.

by Soo Young Park and Danbee Lee in Seoul

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

April 6, 2015

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.