Daewoong Pharmaceutical Licenses New GERD Drug 'Pexuprazan' to US... Technology Fee of 480 Billion KRW

Neurogastrics to Handle Pexuprazan Clinical Trials, Development, and Approval in the US and Canada
Daewoong Acquires 5% Stake in Neurogastrics, Totaling 13.5% Stake by IPO

Daewoong Pharmaceutical Exterior (Photo by Daewoong Pharmaceutical)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Daewoong Pharmaceutical is licensing out its new drug for gastroesophageal reflux disease, Pexuprazan, to the United States.

Daewoong Pharmaceutical announced on the 8th that it has signed a license-out agreement for Pexuprazan with Neurogastrix in the United States. Under this agreement, Neurogastrix will be responsible for clinical trials, development, and approval of Pexuprazan in the U.S. and Canada. Daewoong Pharmaceutical will receive a 5% stake in Neurogastrix at the time of the contract and a total of 13.5% stake by the time of the company’s initial public offering (IPO). In addition, Daewoong will receive technology fees worth $430 million (approximately 480 billion KRW) and running royalties of up to more than 10% based on U.S. sales of Pexuprazan. The company also plans to generate revenue through exports of finished products manufactured domestically.

Neurogastrix is a specialized company in the gastrointestinal field, invested in by global healthcare venture capital groups such as Ovimed and 5AM Ventures. The top management team plans to prioritize the clinical development of Pexuprazan, leveraging their development experience at Pfizer, Roche, Amgen, Pfizer, GSK, and Ironwood. Neurogastrix will prepare for an IPO simultaneously with clinical development.

Pexuprazan is a new drug for gastroesophageal reflux disease developed independently by Daewoong Pharmaceutical. It is a P-CAB agent that reversibly blocks proton pumps that secrete gastric acid in the stomach lining. Clinical trials have demonstrated that it provides faster and longer-lasting therapeutic effects compared to PPI-class treatments. In clinical trials, Pexuprazan showed immediate improvement in heartburn symptoms regardless of day or night from the initial administration and also improved cough symptoms, one of the atypical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. The two companies plan to enter Phase 3 clinical trials next year and swiftly pursue FDA approval.

Through this contract, Pexuprazan has achieved a technology transfer contract exceeding 1 trillion KRW as a single product across China, Latin America, and the United States. Contracts in other regions are expected to be finalized soon. The global anti-ulcer drug market is approximately 20 trillion KRW in size. Among this, the North American market is the largest at about 4.2 trillion KRW, followed by the Chinese market. By signing technology export contracts in the U.S., China, Brazil, and Mexico, Pexuprazan has established a foothold to enter markets accounting for 40% of the global market.

Jeon Seung-ho, CEO of Daewoong Pharmaceutical, said, "Pexuprazan is about to receive domestic approval, and it has been recognized for its excellence by leading pharmaceutical companies in China and Latin America, successfully licensing out the drug. Now, the entry into the U.S. market is imminent. Together with the specialized Neurogastrix, we will develop Pexuprazan into the world’s best gastric acid secretion inhibitor."

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