Daewoong Pharmaceutical targets Dupixent biosimilar market with Zymeworks deal

Daewoong Pharmaceutical has partnered with a global contract development and manufacturing organization to stake an early claim in the biosimilar market for Dupixent, the blockbuster immunology drug that generates roughly 27 trillion won ($19.6 billion) in annual global sales.

The Seoul-based drugmaker said Monday it signed two agreements with Zymeworks Biologics, a global biopharmaceutical CDMO: a contract development and manufacturing agreement and a separate commercialization cooperation agreement for a Dupixent biosimilar.

The signing ceremony took place May 28 at Daewoong Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The two companies said the dual agreements establish a fully integrated collaboration structure spanning from early-stage development through to global commercialization.

The partnership operates on two tracks. Under the CDMO agreement, Zymeworks Biologics will apply its advanced biopharmaceutical process development and manufacturing capabilities to strengthen the stability of the candidate molecule and maximize production efficiency. A separate commercialization agreement goes beyond a standard contract manufacturing relationship, building a medium- to long-term partnership under which both companies will share and expand the commercial returns generated after a global launch.

Dupixent, the original drug Daewoong is targeting, is a biopharmaceutical that treats a broad range of immune-mediated conditions, including atopic dermatitis, asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, prurigo nodularis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The drug works by selectively blocking interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 signaling pathways and recorded approximately $17.8 billion in global sales in 2025, making it one of the world's top-selling medicines. With the original drug's global patents set to expire in 2029, the Dupixent biosimilar space is widely regarded as the most fiercely contested battleground in the global biosimilar industry.

Daewoong said the deal will allow it to further diversify its global biotech portfolio. Having grown its botulinum toxin product Nabota into a global anchor asset with annual sales of 228.9 billion won, the company plans to develop a Dupixent biosimilar as its next-generation core biotech asset and a new engine of long-term growth.

"This agreement will mark a critical inflection point as Daewoong Pharmaceutical moves aggressively to expand its territory in the global biosimilar business," CEO Park Sung-soo said. "We will continue to marshal our full development, production and commercialization capabilities to secure biotech products with unrivaled competitiveness in global markets."

Zymeworks Biologics CEO Jimmy Wei said his company would "actively support Daewoong Pharmaceutical's success with its Dupixent biosimilar and its entry into global markets, drawing on our comprehensive biopharmaceutical development expertise and globally compliant manufacturing capabilities."