Hanmi surpassed KRW 100B in technology fee revenue

Q2 technology fee amounted to KRW 112.8B…reflecting upfront payment from a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly

The largest revenue in 11 years since Q4 2015, when it posted KRW 394.4B

With technology fees, Hanmi posted the highest sales and operating profit in 11 years

Hanmi Pharmaceutical’s quarterly licensing revenue has surpassed KRW 100 billion for the first time in 11 years since 2015. The influx of a substantial upfront technology fee resulted from an out-licensing transaction with the global pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. Hanmi’s licensing revenues, which had fluctuated after exceeding KRW 500 billion in 2015, surged abruptly, resulting in an upward trend in the company’s financial performance.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical 

According to Hanmi Pharmaceutical on the 29th, the company recorded KRW 112.8 billion in licensing revenue for the second quarter. This is a more than 50-fold jump from the KRW 2.2 billion posted in Q2 of last year. In contrast, the company’s licensing revenue in the first quarter of this year was just KRW 100 million.

Hanmi secured an upfront payment from a licensing agreement with Eli Lilly. Last month, Hanmi entered into an exclusive out-licensing agreement with Eli Lilly for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of its novel biopharmaceutical candidate, 'sonefpeglutide'.  

Hanmi secured a guaranteed upfront payment of $75 million (approximately 110 billion KRW) from Lilly. The company can receive up to an additional $1.185 billion (approximately KRW 1.8 trillion) upon achieving specified clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercialization milestones. Under the agreement, Hanmi will receive royalties following commercial launch.  

Sonefpeglutide is a novel drug candidate developed using LAPSCOVERY, Hanmi's proprietary long-acting platform technology. Focusing on the biological functions of glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2), including promoting intestinal growth, reducing inflammation, and protecting and regenerating the intestinal mucosa, Hanmi conducted extensive non-clinical evaluations. The candidate is currently undergoing global Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of short bowel syndrome (SBS).

Hanmi’s Q2 licensing revenue is the largest quarterly technology income in 11 years since Q4 2015, when it posted KRW 394.4 billion. After generating KRW 512.5 billion in total licensing revenue in 2015, Hanmi’s annual technology fee income had not surpassed KRW 100 billion until now. 2017's KRW 57.7 billion was the second highest.

Following a series of mega-out-licensing deals in 2015, licensing revenue alone is a major cash cow for Hanmi.

In 2015, upfront payments received from partners including Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi, and Janssen generated a total of KRW 512.5 billion in licensing revenue. In 2016, KRW 27.7 billion in licensing revenue was recognized through tiered upfront payments from the Sanofi deal.

Hanmi subsequently posted licensing revenues of KRW 57.7 billion in 2017, KRW 44.6 billion in 2018, and KRW 20.4 billion in 2019. During this period, upfront payments from Genentech were separately received. Hanmi signed a licensing agreement with Genentech in September 2016 for its RAF-targeted oncology candidate 'HM95573' ($80 million upfront, up to $830 million in milestones), recognizing the upfront payment on its books over 30 months.
 

AI-generated image. Hanmi’s technology fee income by year (unit: KRW 100 million, source: Hanmi)

In 2020, licensing revenue reached over KRW 10 billion, reflecting a $10 million upfront payment secured from MSD for epinopegdutide. Epinopegdutide is a dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist that simultaneously stimulates insulin secretion and appetite suppression while increasing energy expenditure.  

In 2021, Hanmi generated KRW 22.7 billion in licensing revenue across two separate out-licensing transactions. In November 2021, the company licensed out 'HM43239', an FLT3 inhibitor in development for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), to US-based Aptose Biosciences. Under this deal, Hanmi received a fixed $12.5 million upfront payment (approx. KRW 15 billion), split into $5 million in cash and $7.5 million in Aptose stock. In late December 2021, Hanmi transferred exclusive Chinese rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the ophthalmic drug 'Luminate' to AffaMed Therapeutics, securing $6 million upfront.  

In 2023, Hanmi generated KRW 25.5 billion in licensing revenue. This included clinical milestones from MSD as epinopegdutide entered Phase 2b development, alongside sales royalties from its neutropenia treatment 'Rolvedon' following its US commercial launch. Rolvedon is a biopharmaceutical out-licensed by Hanmi to US-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals in 2012.

Last year, Hanmi entered into a global licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences and Health Hope Pharma, granting exclusive global rights for the development and commercialization of 'Encequidar', receiving an upfront payment of $2.5 million. Coupled with ongoing Rolvedon royalties, Hanmi posted KRW 16.6 billion in licensing revenue for the year.

With the licensing revenue stream, Hanmi’s second-quarter operating profit expanded 116.9% year-over-year to KRW 131.1 billion, while total quarterly revenue surged 29.3% to KRW 467.2 billion. Both quarterly revenue and operating profit reached their highest levels since Q4 2015.