MSD称Keytruda Qlex等韩企合作成功并继续开放BD合作

"The subcutaneous formulation of Keytruda that MSD developed with Alteogen (196170) is a prime example of how a Korean company's technology and MSD's global research and development capabilities came together as innovation for patients," said Grace Han McMahon, vice president of business development and licensing for the Pacific region at MSD. "Wherever we can offer patients a differentiated treatment opportunity, we look for partnership opportunities with Korean companies regardless of the disease area or modality."
McMahon said in an interview with the Seoul Economic Daily on the 31st that Korean biotech companies are gaining a larger presence in the global healthcare market. Her role covers identifying and evaluating early-stage innovative drug and vaccine candidates at companies and universities across Asia, including Korea, and the western part of North America, and pursuing strategic agreements with MSD.
"Korea has a dynamic and competitive pharmaceutical and biotech ecosystem that combines both the scale and the quality of innovation, spanning companies, researchers, academia and manufacturing capacity," McMahon said. "What has impressed me most is the creativity Korean companies have shown in the course of collaboration, their strong drive to develop innovative drugs and vaccines, their high level of integrity and passion for science, and their clear communication skills."
Behind that assessment is a view that partnerships with Korean companies to date, including Keytruda Qlex, co-developed with Alteogen and now launched, have been successful. "MSD is running a Phase 2 trial of efinopegdutide, a candidate for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, with Hanmi Pharmaceutical (128940), and we have also secured MK-8748, an eye disease candidate discovered by Ingenia Therapeutics," McMahon said. "We have signed 15 clinical trial collaboration and supply agreements based on Keytruda with 12 Korean companies, and the combination-therapy trials now under way show the value that can be created when innovative external science is combined with MSD's R&D capabilities."
MSD stressed that the scope for potential partnerships with Korean companies is open across every area. "Regardless of the disease or the modality, our top priority in evaluation is whether a candidate, backed by strong scientific evidence, can offer patients a differentiated treatment possibility," McMahon said. "We look at preclinical data as well as safety, efficacy and tolerability in the clinic, and at effectiveness in late-stage trials and whether an appropriate patient population can be secured." She added, however, that "since assets with no risk factors at all are rare, we assess whether a candidate can deliver sufficient scientific and clinical value even with some uncertainty, and ultimately whether it fits MSD's capabilities and strategy in the competitive landscape while offering meaningful clinical value to patients."
McMahon said MSD also places no limits on the form a partnership with a Korean company can take. "MSD works to understand our partners' long-term goals and to identify how our R&D and commercialization capabilities can best complement their strengths, and we provide feedback on that," she said. "Clarifying the direction — whether a partner wants to grow into an independent pharmaceutical company or to focus on early research with technology licensing as the goal — and discussing together how MSD can contribute to reaching that goal is the starting point for productive collaboration."
For Korean companies seeking to work with global pharmaceutical firms, McMahon advised that they "clearly define the problem they are trying to solve and, with a full understanding of the competitive landscape, make the case for what differentiated value their technology offers." She added, "Sharing not only positive data but also data that differs from expectations, transparently, is what promotes constructive discussion and builds trust, making collaboration more effective." She also said that "if you want to work with MSD, it is important to organize in advance the logical rationale for why a partnership with MSD, among the many pharmaceutical companies, is the best choice."
Against that backdrop, MSD Korea opened a business development and licensing office inside the Korea Bio Innovation Center in the first half of this year to strengthen communication with domestic companies. Through activities such as hosting an Open Innovation Week, MSD Korea works to convey Korean companies' technology to the global market and to align views. Albert Kim, managing director of MSD Korea, said, "MSD Korea aims to be more than a company that simply supplies innovative new drugs — we want to be a partner that contributes to the sustainable growth of Korea's healthcare industry." He added, "We will work closely with domestic researchers, academia, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, the government and related institutions to help ensure that Korea's excellent science leads to new treatment innovations for patients."