The planned merger of Korea's Hanmi Pharm Group with OCI Group hits a major speed bump as the two sons of Hanmi's founder and other candidates recommended by them secture board seats. But it remains to be seen how the Lim brothers will fulfil their ambitious promises.

10 orphan drugs imported from overseas, and 40 new drug approvals, including many from domestic developers, capped 2023 as one of the busiest years for China's drug regulatory agency, as Beijing pivoted to emphasizing affordable innovation and expanding access to newer therapies for rare conditions.

Aside from mixed earnings at major South Korean pharma firms, recent updates across the local industry have included the ongoing leadership dispute at Hanmi Group, the approval and reimbursement of Yuhan’s lazertinib as a first-line NSCLC therapy and the US approval of GC Biopharma’s immuno-globulin product.

A number of recent significant transactions in the South Korean biopharma space indicate some emerging trends as the sector develops and expands internationally. Scrip takes a look at the over-arching themes in M&A activity over the past few years and how these may differ from those being observed globally.