South Korea’s Hanmi Pharm has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of its novel metabolic treatment candidate, HM17321 (UCN2), for obesity and related conditions, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The agreement covers worldwide rights, excluding South Korea.
HM17321 is a proprietary UCN2 (urocortin-2) analogue with a non-incretin mechanism of action. It is being developed as a potential first-in-class treatment designed to promote weight loss while preserving lean body mass.
While existing GLP-1-based incretin therapies have demonstrated significant weight loss, they can also be associated with reductions in lean body mass.
In preclinical studies, HM17321 demonstrated both quantitative and qualitative improvements in weight reduction as a monotherapy and when combined with GLP-1-based therapies. As a peptide-based therapeutic, HM17321 may also have potential for development as a fixed-dose combination (FDC) or in combination regimens with incretin-based treatments.
In November 2025, Hanmi received Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of HM17321. The ongoing study is evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of HM17321 in healthy volunteers and people with obesity.
Under the agreement, Hanmi will complete the Phase 1 clinical trial, after which Genentech will assume responsibility for development beginning with Phase 2 clinical trials.
In-Young Choi, senior executive vice president and head of R&D Division of Hanmi Pharm, said the paradigm of obesity treatment is evolving beyond simple weight reduction toward improving body composition and restoring metabolic health.
Boris L. Zaïtra, head of Roche Corporate Business Development, said Roche is advancing a portfolio designed to meet the diverse needs of people living with obesity and related health conditions.
“By licensing this next-generation investigational therapy with first-in-class potential from Hanmi, Roche and Genentech will pursue a differentiated approach to selectively reduce fat mass while improving both muscle mass and muscle function,” he added.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hanmi will receive an upfront payment of USD 190 million from Genentech. Including development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, the total deal value could reach approximately USD 2.3 billion. Hanmi will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on future product sales following commercialization.
