Alliance with Eli Lilly
Hanmi Pharmaceutical has signed a contract with Eli Lilly and Company to export its autoimmune disease technology and cooperate for the development and commercialization of its oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, HM71224.
Under the contract, Lilly will receive worldwide rights to the molecule for all indications of HM71224, except in China and Korea, and proceed with clinical development, regulation, manufacturing, and commercialization.
Hanmi will receive an initial payment of US$50 million (56 billion won) and can receive up to an additional US$640 million if certain milestones are achieved in clinical development, regulation, and commercialization. After the treatment is commercialized, it is eligible for additional double-digit sales royalty payments.
The agreement is subject to approval of the U.S. Fair Trade Act when the technology, which surpasses a certain scale, is adopted.
This small molecule is ready to enter Phase II, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Lilly plan to investigate HM71224 for the potential treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systematic lupus erythematosus, nephritis, and Sjogren’s syndrome.
Thomas Bumol, Ph.D. and senior vice president of Lilly, said, “Lilly is making every effort to satisfy patient expectations in new treatments.”
Lee Kwan-soon, CEO of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, said, “We were reassured that HM71224 could open a lot of new possibilities as a novel treatment for immunization diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, through a clinical trial in Europe.”