Kolon Life inks technology transfer deal with Juniper Biologics

South Korea’s pharmaceutical company Kolon Life Science Inc. signed a technology export deal worth up to 723.4 billion won ($589.1 million) with Singapore’s Juniper Biologics Pte.

Kolon said on Tuesday it inked a contract to transfer the technology for TissueGene-C (TG-C), a cell and gene therapy for osteoarthritis, with the Singaporean healthcare company. TG-C is the world’s first osteoarthritis cell gene therapy that had been sold under the Invossa name in South Korea.

The country’s health authority canceled the drug’s license in March 2019, following a scandal surrounding Kolon manufacturing the drug with the main ingredient different from that labeled at the time of approval in July 2017.

But the company’s cell therapies unit Kolon TissueGene Inc. has been conducting phase 3 clinical trials in the US on TG-C for knee osteoarthritis since December of last year. The US Food and Drug Administration also approved its phase 2 clinical trials for hip joint osteoarthritis, for its target expansion.

“The TG-C’s technology and value were recognized in the global market through the technology export,” said Kolon CEO Lee Woo-sok, referring to the deal with Juniper.

The deal includes an upfront payment of 15 billion won and sales milestone payments of 708.4 billion won, according to Kolon’s filing to South Korea’s financial regulator.

TO DEVELOP, COMMERCIALIZE IN ASIA PACIFIC, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA

Juniper said it has gained the licensing rights to develop and commercialize TissueGene-C low dose (TG-C LD) for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.

TG-C LD is a non-surgical investigational treatment that has been hailed as the world’s first cell-mediated gene therapy for knee osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of arthritis, Juniper said. Osteoarthritis is estimated to be the 11th leading cause of disability worldwide with an estimated 300 million patients in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa alone suffering from the debilitating effects of the degenerative joint disease, it added.

The Singaporean company is set to develop and commercialize TG-C LD for medical professionals and hospitals within the Asia Pacific excluding South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, as well as the Middle East and Africa. Kolon plans to support the development and supply of TG-C LD.

“We believe this innovative investigational treatment will bring relief to millions of patients across the region,” said Juniper CEO Raman Singh in a statement.

Juniper, a company focused on researching, developing and commercializing novel therapies, has been expanding licensing deals with global pharmaceutical companies. In December, it signed exclusive distribution, license and supply contracts with Swiss drugmaker Helsinn Healthcare SA for various products such as Aloxi, a prescription medicine for adults to prevent nausea and vomiting that occurs with certain anticancer drugs.

Write to Ji-Hyun Lee at bluesky@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.