HONG KONG – While prominent household names like Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Celltrion Inc. and Samsung Biologics Co. Ltd. seem to be hogging the global stage, inking large numbers of out-licensing deals worth billions, lesser-known South Korean drugmakers are also looking outward – just not in the same direction.

Such is the case with Boryung Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., which recently inked an out-licensing deal with South African company Kiara Health.

"The internationalization of South Korean pharmaceutical firms is a trend that is firmly in play," Ang Weizheng, pharmaceuticals and health care analyst at BMI Research, told BioWorld Today. "With regards to the specific markets chosen by South Korean drugmakers, this is largely contingent on the respective company strategies. However, most firms have developed a sizeable exposure to emerging markets."

The five-year Boryung agreement is to supply cancer drugs worth KRW7.8 billion (US$6.93 million) to 10 African countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya. Drugs include injectable medicine doxorubicin, which is used in cancer chemotherapy, commonly to treat a wide range of cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma, as well as solid tumors and soft tissue sarcomas.

Kiara Health is a well-known leading medical distributor based in Johannesburg, with six branches across Africa. "Our focus is not just South Africa, but across Africa," said Andrew De Pao, chief business officer at Kiara Health. "Today, the African pharmaceutical market is worth $25 billion and projected to reach $50 billion to $65 billion by 2020, according to McKinsey & Co. and IMS Health.

"In our effort to make innovative technologies available to Africa, we have earmarked a number of Korean companies for potential partnerships," said De Pao.

For Boryung, the latest move is an extension of a deal two months ago. In June, the company won a KRW8.4 billion contract to supply antibiotics to Kenyan and Nigerian pharmaceutical companies.

The South Korean company will not only seek to diversify markets within the continent but also plans to actively promote introducing novel drugs such as the antihypertensive Kanarb (fimasartan).

Also in June, Boryung signed a deal with Sandoz Inc., a generics division of Novartis AG, to export cilnidipine, a hypertension drug, to six Southeast Asian countries for the next 10 years.

Cilnidipine is a calcium channel blocker (CCB) currently sold in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and India. Boryung obtained the commercial rights to sell the drug from one of the co-developers, UCB Japan Co. Ltd., in 2014, and can sell it worldwide, except for in Japan.

The drug is a fourth-generation CCB hypertension drug, blocking both L- and N-type calcium channels. So far, most of the CCB drugs have only blocked L-type channels to lower blood pressure. Cilnidipine prevents the increase of cardiac contractions and heart rate by blocking the N-type channel, according to Boryung.

"We expect cilnidipine will help Boryung expand its presence in the hypertension market in Southeast Asia as we have already introduced the angiotensin II receptor blocker hypertension medicine, Kanarb and Kanarb Plus, to the market," company CEO Choi Tae-hong said.

The company will have the license to exclusively supply the medicine to Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong through Sandoz.

The contract is expected to generate $73 million in revenue for Boryung during the period.

Aside from South Africa, Boryung has also made a successful foray into the Latin American market, with Kanarb achieving significant traction. Following the signing of a contract with Mexico-based Laboratorio Stendhal in September, Boryung's product will be sold in 25 markets across Central and South America including Chile and Uruguay.

Kanarb is a nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist used for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure.

Dong-A ST Co. Ltd. similarly struck a deal last year to sell its diabetes treatment evogliptin to 17 Latin American markets, including Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru.

The progress also extends to more advanced treatments, with Celltrion receiving approval for Remsima (infliximab) last year from the National Health Surveillance Agency in Brazil – the first biosimilar monoclonal antibody approved for use in the country.

Going forward, BMI expects out-licensing of potential drug candidates to be an integral approach of South Korean firms to commercialize their product pipelines.