Hanmi Pharm Terminates Belvarafenib Licensing Agreement... Genentech Returns Rights

Genentech Issues Notice of Termination; Agreement Ends on December 27
Hanmi Pharm Will Keep the 80 Million Dollar Upfront Payment

Genentech, which had licensed Hanmi Pharmaceutical's investigational new drug candidate "Belvarafenib" in 2016, has returned the rights to the drug after about ten years.

On September 29, Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced that it had received a formal notice from Genentech regarding the termination of the technology transfer agreement and the return of rights for Belvarafenib.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical R&D Center. Hanmi Pharmaceutical

Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Genentech signed a technology transfer agreement for the oral targeted anticancer drug Belvarafenib on September 28, 2016. The deal was valued at a total of $910 million (approximately KRW 1.234 trillion), which included an upfront payment of $80 million (approximately KRW 108.5 billion).

With the termination of the agreement, Hanmi Pharmaceutical regains the rights to Belvarafenib from Genentech. The upfront payment of $80 million received from Genentech will not be returned.

A Hanmi Pharmaceutical representative stated, "This disclosure is the 'contractual closure procedure' for the matter that Genentech had already formalized several years ago by announcing it would cease development, and it was an anticipated outcome." The official added, "Currently, Hanmi is smoothly conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in Korea of Belvarafenib as an oral anticancer therapy for malignant melanoma."

Hanmi Pharmaceutical also plans to further strengthen its development partnership with Genentech for its obesity treatment candidate HM17321, which was out-licensed in September this year for up to $2.3 billion (approximately KRW 3.1723 trillion).

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