Friday, January 10th, 2014
SEOUL, KOREA - "Kanarb," a high blood pressure drug developed by Boryung Pharmaceutical Co., will be exported to China, the first such instance for a Korean-made medication.
The company signed on January 9 a license-out contract with China's Harbin Gloria Pharmaceuticals at its head office in Seoul's downtown. The Korean drug company will be paid US$5.4 million for the licensing fee within this month, with a steady income of at least $75.5 million for the next ten years.
Kanarb (Fimasartan) has been one of the most successful drugs ever developed by a Korean pharmaceutical company. It has been sold in 13 countries including Mexico, Brazil, and Russia worth $115 million. With the latest licensing agreement with the Chinese company, the total export volume would be about $200 million.
Yang Hongbing, president of Harbin Gloria, said, "In large-scale clinical tests, Kanarb has been proven more effective than any other globally recognized high blood pressure drugs. We are confident it will be successful in the Chinese market too."
Kanarb won the approval by the food and drug authorities in September 2010. It has since been one of the most popular drugs, ranking No. 1 in terms of sales among top-20 new drugs developed in Korea during the 15-year period between 1999 and 2013.