Huons to export local anesthetics to Canada

Headquarters of Huons Global, holding company of Huons Group, in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province (Huons Global)

Huons, a local bio company, announced Tuesday that the company received regulatory approvals from Health Canada to export the company’s local anesthetics.

According to Huons, both ampoule and vial types of its lidocaine -- the most widely used local anesthetic -- have received approvals from Health Canada. The company will first send 70,000 vials of its lidocaine in the second quarter this year.

Formative Pharma, a Canadian firm specializing in the registration and distribution of pharmaceutical products, will be responsible for sales of Huons’ local anesthetics, the company added.

In May last year, Huons signed a supply agreement with Formative Pharma for its lidocaine products.

Huons, however, has not disclosed its future supply plans, as well as the size of the supply deal it made with Formative Pharma.

“Huons expects that it can help stabilize the supply of local anesthetics in the region, which has been suffering from a shortage in local anesthetics since 2010,” Huons said.

Huons said plans to increase its market share in the North American markets via the latest regulatory approval.

According to Huons, the company’s sales in the US market last year reached 12.3 billion won ($9.28 million), up 69 percent on-year, partly backed by sales of its local anesthetics.

The company’s ampoule and vial types of local anesthetic received approvals from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

By Shim Woo-hyun(ws@heraldcorp.com)