SK Biopharmaceuticals (326030.KS) is moving to secure a brain disease pipeline to follow cenobamate, its epilepsy drug. A month after licensing an epilepsy drug candidate from Biohaven, the company has brought in a Parkinson's disease drug candidate from a domestic venture. The two deals are worth a combined 1.5 trillion won.
SK Biopharmaceuticals said on the 17th that it had signed a licensing agreement with FirstBio to secure global exclusive development and commercialization rights to a c-Abl and LRRK2 dual inhibitor, a Parkinson's disease treatment candidate. Under the deal, FirstBio will finalize the preclinical candidate and SK Biopharmaceuticals will then take over development.
The deal is valued at up to 430.8 billion won, with an upfront payment of 2.5 billion won. Development milestones tied to research, development and commercialization total up to 72.5 billion won, while sales milestones reach up to 355.8 billion won. SK Biopharmaceuticals also made a strategic equity investment of 3 billion won in FirstBio.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disorder in which dopamine-producing nerve cells are gradually lost, impairing motor function. Most treatments now in use focus on easing symptoms, leaving strong demand for therapies that can slow or alter the course of the disease itself. SK Biopharmaceuticals plans to develop the candidate as a disease-modifying treatment that intervenes in disease progression.
SK Biopharmaceuticals is expanding its central nervous system (CNS) pipeline, including brain disorders, to diversify a revenue base concentrated in cenobamate. Last month, it signed a deal with Biohaven worth up to $795 million, or about 1.0995 trillion won, securing global exclusive rights to the epilepsy drug candidate opacalim, other potassium channel (Kv7) activator compounds and the Kv7 discovery platform. An industry official said the need to secure follow-on pipelines is likely substantial because Xenon Pharmaceuticals' azetukalner, a potential competing product, is also nearing commercialization.
The global CNS treatment market is projected to grow to $273.3 billion in 2033 from $138.6 billion in 2025, according to market research firm Grand View Research.
