Alteogen's Injection Technology Leading the 'War of Money'

Total Technology Transfer Amount Reaches 7.6 Trillion Won in Five Years

A 'money war' is raging over the 'injection technology' SC (subcutaneous injection) formulation. Global big pharma companies are actively seeking out Korean companies for technology transfers worth trillions of won. At the center of this so far is Korea's leading bio startup, Alteogen.

According to the pharmaceutical and bio industry on the 26th, the total amount of technology transfers made by Alteogen through SC formulation technology over the past five years has reached approximately 7.67 trillion won. Earlier this month, they signed a contract with the UK’s AstraZeneca to develop an SC formulation anticancer drug, a deal worth around 2 trillion won. The upfront payment alone was 66 billion won. After signing a contract worth 420 billion won in November last year with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo to apply SC formulation technology to the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) anticancer drug 'Enhertu,' Alteogen succeeded in an additional technology export within just over four months. Developing the new modality ADC, currently the hottest topic in the global pharmaceutical and bio industry, as an SC formulation is a world first by Alteogen.

Alteogen Headquarters View. Photo by Alteogen

Earlier, in 2020, Alteogen transferred development rights for six products, including Merck’s immuno-oncology drug 'Keytruda' (active ingredient pembrolizumab), for a total of 4.7 trillion won. Subsequently, by changing the contract form to exclusive technology transfer, the total contract amount with Merck reached 5.29 trillion won.

Alteogen’s SC formulation technology, 'ALT-B4,' is a platform technology that converts existing intravenous (IV) injectable treatments into subcutaneous injections. Instead of the IV injections administered in hospitals that typically take 4 to 5 hours, changing to the SC formulation allows patients to easily self-inject into the abdomen or thigh at home within 5 minutes. When injecting drugs into the subcutaneous layer under the skin, a substance called hyaluronic acid interferes with drug absorption. Alteogen’s SC formulation technology breaks down hyaluronic acid to create space that facilitates drug absorption. The drug is designed to be absorbed slowly, prolonging its effect and reducing dosing frequency. Due to the convenience and efficacy of administration, global pharmaceutical companies are rushing to convert existing IV formulation drugs into SC formulations.

Another reason lies in patent expiration defense. Regulatory authorities in major countries such as the US and Europe allow patent registration for new formulations to extend market exclusivity of existing products. In the case of Keytruda, whose patent expires in 2028, the launch of the Keytruda SC formulation is expected to extend this period until 2040. Merck has applied for FDA approval for Keytruda SC, with approval expected this year. Keytruda is the world’s top-selling drug, with annual sales exceeding 40 trillion won in 2023-2024. This explains why the 5 trillion won technology transfer contract is not considered a loss. While competitor Halozyme’s SC formulation patent expires in 2030, Alteogen’s patent expires in 2040, which is why big pharma companies are reaching out to Alteogen one after another.

After the contract between Merck and Alteogen, Halozyme filed a patent lawsuit, but recent technology transfers with another big pharma, AstraZeneca, have largely alleviated concerns over patent disputes. Minyong Eom, a researcher at Shinhan Investment Corp., said, "The contract between Alteogen and AstraZeneca this month is the largest ever in terms of contract size relative to sales. Such a contract would be impossible if there were uncertainties due to the Halozyme patent dispute." With a series of major technology transfer announcements, Alteogen succeeded in turning a profit last year. Last year’s sales increased by 6.5% year-on-year to 102.8 billion won, and operating profit reached 25.4 billion won. This is the first time Alteogen has posted an operating profit in nine years since 2015.

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