Lilly maintains deal streak with $1.2B pact for Hanmi’s GLP-2 candidate

 

Expanding in the metabolic space, Eli Lilly has struck a back-loaded licensing deal with South Korea’s Hanmi Pharm for a mid-stage GLP-2 agonist being trialed for short bowel syndrome.

Eli Lilly’s late-spring dealmaking spree shows no sign of stopping as the pharma giant stuck a licensing agreement with South Korean biotech Hanmi Pharm worth up to $1.2 billion for access to a potential next wave of metabolic drugs.

Under the deal, Lilly will help develop Hanmi’s Phase 2 GLP-2 agonist sonefpeglutide with exclusive rights to manufacture and sell the therapy everywhere except Korea. Hanmi plans to complete the ongoing mid-stage study in short bowel syndrome while Lilly will “explore additional clinical trials for sonefpeglutide” based on existing data, according to a press release.

The deal includes an upfront payment of $75 million with the rest of the $1.2 billion subject to the achievement of certain milestones.

A rare disease that affects newborns as well as adults who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery, short bowel syndrome limits the absorption of nutrients in a shortened or damaged small intestine. Hanmi’s GLP-2 sonefpeglutide is designed to promote intestinal growth, reduce inflammation, and protect and regenerate the intestinal mucosa.

If sonefpeglutide eventually reaches the market, it wouldn’t be the first GLP-2 to do so, owing to the 2012 approval of Takeda’s Gattex, also for short bowel syndrome. Zealand Pharma also attempted to break into the space, only for its GLP-2 candidate glepaglutide to be rejected by the FDA in 2024.

Hanmi credits its protein and peptide discovery platform Lapscovery for sonefpeglutide’s progress. The company has used the platform to develop the white blood cell booster Rolvedon that was approved in 2022 and has five other clinical programs making use of the technology.

Lilly, which leads the GLP-1 weight loss space with blockbusters Zepbound and Mounjaro plus recently approved oral Foundayo and the standout investigational triple-agonist retatrutide, has expanded into gastrointestinal indications like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The Hanmi deal marks another step in that direction with sights set on short bowel syndrome.

Swimming in weight loss drug earnings, the U.S. pharma giant has been on the hunt for pipeline candidates across a wide range of therapeutic areas, as witnessed through a series of deals over the course of the last few months. A trilogy of vaccine agreements in May added up to a combined value of $3.8 billion. And the company has struck no fewer than five oncology deals so far this year, reflecting an R&D–focused growth mindset and an urge to bring a new generation of treatments to the market.

“It is highly meaningful that Lilly—one of the most closely watched innovators globally—has recognized the development potential for sonefpeglutide,” Hanmi Vice Chairman Jhuyun Lim said in a statement.

https://www.biospace.com/deals/lilly-maintains-deal-streak-with-1-2b-pact-for-hanmis-glp-2-candidate