South Korea’s clinical stage drug developer Isu Abxis Co. has signed a deal to license its investigational biosimilar of rare disease drug Soliris (eculizumab) to Russian pharmaceutical company Pharmasyntez, the Korean company unveiled on Tuesday.

The contract put Isu Abxis in a position to pull in a certain amount of money in milestones as the assets progress in addition to upfront payment and tiered royalties after launch, the two parties did not disclose financial details.

It marks the Korean company’s first license deal, but the market response was modest. Isu Abxis shares gained 0.93 percent to finish Tuesday at 7,560 won ($6.8).

Pharmasyntez plans to conduct a Phase 2 trial of the experimental drug ISU305. Isu Abxis completed a Phase 1 trial outside Korea in August.

ISU305’s reference drug Soliris developed by U.S. Alexion Pharmaceuticals in 2007 is a prescription medicine used to treat patients with a disease called paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). It is also used to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and generalized myasthenia gravis. Global sales of Soliris amounted to about $3.9 billion last year.

Pharmasyntez, established in 1997, is a Russian pharmaceutical company with a portfolio of more than 170 products including anti-tuberculosis, anti-hepatitis, anti-retroviral, and anti-cancer drugs.

By Minu Kim

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