Hanmi shares rise on $420 mn leukemia drug license deal with Aptose

[Source: Hanmi Pharmaceutical]

Hanmi Pharmaceutical shares rose on Friday on news that the South Korean pharmaceutical company bagged a $420 million deal to license out its clinical-stage myeloid kinome inhibitor HM43239 to U.S. biotech firm Aptose Biosciences.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical shares were up 1.10 percent at 276,000 won ($232.70) in late morning trade on Friday, outperforming the broad Kospi market that is down 0.63 percent at 2,964.56.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical said in a regulatory filing Thursday afternoon it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Toronto-headquartered and Nasdaq-listed Aptose Biosciences to develop and commercialize HM43239 designed to target a distinct constellation of kinases operative in myeloid malignancies, including SYK and FLT3.

Under the agreement, Hanmi will grant Aptose exclusive worldwide rights to HM43239 for all indications in return for an upfront payment of $12.5 million, including $5 million in cash and $7.5 million in Aptose shares. Hanmi is eligible to receive up to $407.5 million in future milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on net sales.

HM43239 has demonstrated significant genotype-agnostic anti-leukemic activity in an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial in the U.S., including multiple complete responses in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

HM43239 received the orphan drug designation from the FDA in 2018 and from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2019.

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