[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Alteogen, a bio-platform company, announced on the 21st that it recently received a down payment of $ 20 million (about 26.5 billion won) from the US MSD for the contract change.

In February, Alteogen announced that it had changed its existing non-exclusive contract with global pharmaceutical company MSD to grant exclusive licenses for immuno-cancer drug Keytruda (Pembrolizumab) products. As a result, the company decided to receive $20 million in down payment by the 25th, but the payment was recently completed.

The total milestone, including the down payment, is about $ 1.093 billion. The time of royalty receipt is after the sales volume (private) set by MSD has been achieved.

MSD is making every effort to develop subcutaneous injection (SC) formulations ahead of the expiration of the Keytruda material patent in 2028. We joined hands with Alteogen, which has a core technology to transform intravenous injection (IV) formulation into subcutaneous injection (SC) formulation. Keytruda became the world's No. 1 sales drug last year with sales of about 33 trillion won. It is a core asset that accounts for about 42% of MSD sales.

[ⓒ AlphaBIZ. 무단전재-재배포 금지]