Oncopeptides signs license agreement with SCBIO for Pepaxti in South Korea
Oncopeptides today announces it has signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with SCBIO Inc., a Korean pharmaceutical company for the commercialization of Oncopeptides’ flagship drug Pepaxti in South Korea.
Oncopeptides estimates the total potential deal value to be SEK 150-300 million (USD 15-30 million) until 2032 consisting of a fixed share of all sales of Pepaxti in the country, an upfront payment and several one-time payments after reaching certain milestones including the submission of a marketing authorization application and first commercial sales of Pepaxti. Should longer market exclusivity be granted, which is the ambition of the parties, market potential is larger. Based on the high unmet need of Pepaxti, Oncopeptides and SCBIO are aiming for an accelerated regulatory approval path with first sales potentially in 2026.
“Based on the strong interest among physicians, the high unmet medical need and the expanding market opportunity with a growing elderly population we believe that South Korea is an ideal steppingstone into our communicated endeavor to expand sales of Pepaxti outside EU”, said Sofia Heigis, CEO of Oncopeptides. “In SCBIO, we have found a solid partner providing a good network within multiple myeloma.”
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Daejon, South Korea, SCBIO is a pharmaceutical company specialized within immune-oncology, focusing on improving wellbeing to all patients in need by smart and timely solutions for R&D, product selection, and launch strategies.
South Korea, a country with a population of just over 50 million, with both an aging population and a high average lifespan, has been identified as a good fit for Pepaxti as a maintained quality of life is particularly beneficial for elderly multiple myeloma patients. South Korea was also included in the development program of the drug and experts in the country have clinical experience from using Pepaxti.
This year, Oncopeptides has announced partnership agreements for the sale of Pepaxti on a so called named-patient basis in the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia. The agreement with SCBIO marks the company´s first licensing agreement, where SCBIO will support Oncopeptides through multiple steps in the value chain, from regulatory approval to commercial sales. Oncopeptides continues to explore similar agreements for other markets including China and Japan.
For more information, see questions and answers for investors below and watch the latest episode of Oncopeptalks here.
Questions and answers for investors
What is this?
Oncopeptides has signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with SCBIO for the commercialization of its drug Pepaxti in South Korea, with the potential deal value estimated at SEK 150-300 million (USD 15-30 million) until 2032. The agreement includes regulatory and commercial milestones, with the first sales anticipated by 2026, and marks Oncopeptides’ first licensing deal, reflecting their strategy to expand globally.
What makes this announcement different from previous partnership announcements?
Oncopeptides has during 2024 announced a number of partnerships through the World Orphan Drug Alliance, in the Middle East and North Africa, and recently Sub-Saharan Africa and Eurasia. These partnerships are all on a so called named-patient basis meaning that Oncopeptides’ partners in these countries support us in marketing Pepaxti and identifying patients in need of the drug.
A licensing and supply partnership instead means that Oncopeptides and a partner, in South Korea SCBIO, together works for a full approval and commercialization in the market with the full indicated patient population as a target group. This provides a much larger potential but takes more time as opposed to named patient sales where first could come as early as 3-6 months after the initiation of the partnership agreement.
In South Korea, we estimate first sales in 2026 provided all milestones are reached in an optimal time.
How have you estimated the deal value and what does it consist of?
The deal value is the total sum of the share of sales received once Pepaxti is launched and several one-time payments following these milestones: the signing of the partnership, the submission of a marketing authorization application, the receipt of the marketing authorization and first sales of Pepaxti.
Why don’t you communicate the specific value of certain milestones?
We have agreed with SCBIO to not communicate the value of the individual parts of the agreement. Furthermore, we are currently in similar discussions in other markets and communicating details could risk disturbing these.
Is there a chance that the value could be higher or lower?
Yes. If longer market exclusivity beyond 2032 is reached, the potential will be larger following additional years of sales at peak level. There is always a risk that the value is lower than the figure that the two parties have estimated, but we believe there is a high probability of us succeeding in South Korea together with SCBIO.