[2024 JPMHC] SK Biopharm "Will Become a Top 50 Global Pharma Company by 2029"

"By 2029, we aim to become a top 50 global pharmaceutical company developing new drugs. To achieve this, we plan for Cenobamate's US sales to reach 1 billion dollars (approximately 1.32 trillion KRW) annually, prepare our next product, and build direct sales capabilities so that we can have all competencies from clinical trials and development to production locally in the US." (Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of SK Biopharmaceuticals)

Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of SK Biopharm, is giving a presentation at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference held on the 9th (local time) in San Francisco, California, USA.
[Photo by SK Biopharm]

SK Biopharmaceuticals has unveiled a strategy to grow into a leading global pharmaceutical company by leveraging Cenobamate, an epilepsy treatment drug expected to be the "first domestic global blockbuster new drug." Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of SK Biopharmaceuticals, announced this on the 9th during a presentation and press conference at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPMHC) held in San Francisco, California, USA.

The core of the strategy is Cenobamate, a purely domestic new drug developed entirely by SK Biopharmaceuticals. CEO Lee emphasized, "SK Biopharmaceuticals independently conducted everything from drug discovery to clinical trials and even commercialization for Cenobamate," adding, "By 2029, it will become the first Korean blockbuster drug with 1 billion dollars in sales in the US." The company expects Cenobamate to rapidly grow in the US market and to secure the number one market share by the first quarter of this year, surpassing competing products.

SK Biopharmaceuticals has selected three new platforms still in early stages as its next growth engines: Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD), Radiopharmaceutical Therapy (RPT), and Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT). The choice of these three key areas was significantly influenced by the new drug development task force (TF) formed together with SK. Besides CEO Lee, Choi Yoon-jung, head of business development and eldest daughter of SK Chairman Choi Tae-won, who was recently promoted to executive, also participates in the TF. Ms. Choi attended the presentation venue on the same day to listen to the announcement.

The "second product" intended to bridge the gap between Cenobamate and next-generation platforms is planned to be a candidate substance licensed in, focusing on central nervous system (CNS) diseases, which is either in Phase 3 clinical trials or close to commercialization.

SK Biopharm's 'Cenobamate' (U.S. product name Xcopri) [Photo provided by SK Biopharm]

The TPD technology, which degrades and removes target proteins to address the root causes of diseases, is led by SK Life Science Labs, a US-based company acquired last year. CEO Lee stated, "We pursued this with the belief that research, development, and production must all be located in the US," emphasizing, "We proceeded with the judgment that having experience with patented new drugs and possessing development and production capabilities are essential to reach a global level." He added, "SK Life Science Labs owns the 'MOPED adhesive platform,' which is our exclusive technology that can identify more target proteins and E3 ligases, components of TPD."

Next-generation anticancer therapy RPT, which combines radioactive isotopes that kill cells with target substances to attack only cancer cells, centers on the therapeutic radioactive isotope Actinium-225 (Ac-225) produced by TerraPower, a nuclear venture company invested in by Bill Gates and SK. An exclusive supply contract covering four Asian countries, including Korea, has been signed. CEO Lee said, "We decided to enter the RPT field by leveraging the ability to procure radioactive isotopes," adding, "We are reviewing directions including in-house development of new drugs."

For CGT, SK’s contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) subsidiary SK Pharmteco has secured production capabilities by acquiring or investing in CGT-specialized CDMOs such as France’s Iposketch and the US’s CBM. The plan is to create synergy within the group by having SK Pharmteco manufacture substances developed or licensed by SK Biopharmaceuticals.

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