Alteogen to Receive First Sales Milestone Payment of 34.4 Billion Won for Keytruda SC

"Full-Scale Revenue Generation
Based on Product Sales"

Alteogen announced in a public filing on August 31 that it is scheduled to receive its first sales milestone payment of USD 25 million (approximately KRW 3.44 billion) from Merck & Co. (MSD), the U.S.-based global pharmaceutical company and Hybrozyme platform partner, based on the sales of the subcutaneous (SC) formulation of Keytruda.

This payment marks the first sales milestone to be received out of a total of USD 1 billion in sales milestones under the license agreement between Alteogen and MSD. Different from previous revenues tied to clinical or regulatory development stages, the company assessed this achievement as significant, as it means Alteogen has entered the phase of generating revenue based on actual product sales in the global market.

Aerial view of Alteogen headquarters and research institute in Daejeon. Alteogen

Keytruda Qurex recorded sales of USD 590 million (approximately KRW 812.1 billion) in the first half of this year, showing a rapid increase since its launch in October last year. The activation of a permanent J-code in the United States in April streamlined insurance reimbursement procedures, which appears to have positively influenced market expansion.

Keytruda, a leading immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting PD-1, is used as both a monotherapy and in combination regimens for over 40 different cancer indications. MSD is actively promoting the switch from intravenous (IV) to subcutaneous (SC) administration, focusing on monotherapy, oral anticancer combination therapies, and adjuvant treatment post-surgery.

An Alteogen spokesperson stated, "Achieving the first sales milestone as a result of our partner's successful market expansion marks a meaningful step in Alteogen's growth into a biotech company that generates revenue based on product sales, beyond technology licensing and development-stage achievements," and added, "We will continue to expand partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies so that more patients can benefit from the fast and convenient treatment options provided by subcutaneous injection formulations in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.