[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Yuhan Corporation (CEO Cho Wook-jae) received a notice of return regarding a new drug candidate that it had transferred technology to from global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The contract, originally worth 1.26 trillion won, was delayed, resulting in the company not receiving a significant amount of money.

Yuhan Corporation announced on the 7th that it had received a notice of termination of contract and return of rights for a fusion protein (YH25724) for the treatment of metabolic syndrome-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

The total technology export amount of the original contract was 870 million dollars, or 1.26 trillion won in our currency, of which Yuhan Corporation received only 50 million dollars (40 million dollars in contract money and 10 million dollars in milestone technology fees), or 72 billion won in our currency. It ended up not receiving the remaining 1.18 trillion won.

It is known that YH25724 has currently completed phase 1 clinical trials in Japan. Therefore, it may cost an astronomical amount of money to complete phase 3 clinical trials and sell it on the global market.

Since Yuhan Corporation's operating profit last year (KRW 54.9 billion) decreased by 3.8% year-on-year, the financial burden is expected to increase if it proceeds with its own development of YH25724.

On the day news of the contract termination was delivered, Yuhan Corporation closed at 118,900 won, down 4.73% (5,900 won) from the previous day.

As the news spread, Yuhan Corporation's stock price fell by up to 7% during morning trading.

Yuhan Corporation stated, “Based on the possibility of unmet medical needs for patients and the positive safety results from clinical trials, we are considering continuing development of YH25724,” adding, “There is no financial loss as there is no obligation to return the contract fee (USD 40 million) and milestone technology fee (USD 10 million) received through technology export.”