On March 26, 2014, Dong-A ST (President Park Chan-il) announced that on the afternoon of March 25, President Park Chan-il and President Tao Gang of Suzhou Sino Import & Export Co., Ltd. signed an exclusive sales agreement of Closerin Capsule 250mg - multiple drug resistance TB medication - in China with the attendance of officials of the two companies at a ceremony held at the corporate headquarters in Yongsin-dong, Seoul. Established in 2003, Suzhou Sino is based in Suzhou, China, specializing in the import and marketing of antibiotics and TB medication or their raw materials.
Through the agreement, Dong-A ST will supply at least KRW 25 billion worth of Closerin for the next five years subject to an additional supply depending on sales increases while Suzhou Sino has the exclusive sales rights for the medicine in China. Clinical tests for Closerin have been completed in China. An application for the approval of a new drug will soon be submitted to the relevant authority. The final approval is estimated to be issued by the end of 2014. The sales will begin in 2015.
According to the WHO, China is the second highest TB burden country in the world only after India. Each year one million new patients join the ranks of TB patients in the country. There are 120,000 multi-drug resistant TB patients in China, the highest number of any country on Earth. The Chinese government has announced a specific plan to increase TB patients’ full recovery ratio to more than 85% by 2015. As the government is expected to expand its fight against TB, the Chinese market for TB medication is most likely to grow in a significant way.
So far, only one company has entered the Chinese market for multi-drug resistant TB medicine. Usually it takes 4-5 years for a company to enter the Chinese medicine market. Through the exclusive sales contract, Dong-A ST is expected to preempt the Chinese market and continue to expand its market share in the country for some time to come.
“China’s pharmaceutical market keeps growing significantly year after year, yet its trade barriers are high with difficulties imposed on the registration of new drugs and policies designed to protect local pharmaceutical companies,” said President Park Chan-il. “The advance of Closerin into the Chinese market is a momentous event in terms of the recognition of Dong-A ST’s outstanding technological capabilities following the company’s designation by the WHO as the first-tier supplier of Closerin in the global business sector for 2014. Beginning with the sales of Closerin, we will work hard to be able to market a diverse set of our pharmaceutical products in China.
Meanwhile, Dong-A ST has been active in expanding its presence in China for some time now, including:
1) The execution of an exclusive sales agreement of Zydena, a medicine for erectile dysfunction, with Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.
2) The signing of an out-licensing contract for new anti-diabetic agent DA-1229 with Luye Pharma Group Ltd in 2011.
3) The execution of a technology transfer agreement for antitumor agent Monotaxel with Gloria Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. In 2012
4) The closing of an export contract for Entecavir, pharmaceutical materials for hepatitis B, with Tosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in 2013.？