Yuhan Corporation to Receive 43.2 Billion KRW in Royalties from Janssen for Lung Cancer Treatment Drug

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Yuhan Corporation announced on the 8th that it will receive milestone payments totaling $35 million (approximately 43.2 billion KRW) from Janssen Biotech for the lung cancer treatment drug 'Lazertinib.' This is the first milestone payment received since the technology was licensed out in November 2018, and it is the largest milestone amount ever received by a domestic company.

This milestone payment was made for the first time during Janssen's development of a combination therapy involving Lazertinib and its own anticancer drug (JNJ-372). According to the invoice issued by Janssen, Yuhan Corporation will receive the payment within two months. Janssen is currently conducting Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in the United States, including this candidate drug. The research aims to disclose the development progress through local conferences in the U.S. during the first half of this year.

Lazertinib is a targeted anticancer drug being developed for first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive and second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer patients with the EGFR T790M mutation. At the time of the technology export in 2018, it attracted attention as a large-scale contract worth up to $1.255 billion in milestone payments. In South Korea, Phase 3 clinical trials are underway, led by Professor Cho Byung-chul of Severance Hospital.

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