China's Taihua to sell paclitaxel in Korea

Taihua plc, the London, UK Alternative Investment Market-listed subsidiary of the like names Chinese firm, is moving into a new regional market following the award of a licence to sell its anticancer active pharmaceutical ingredient paclitaxel in South Korea. It plans immediate sales through direct distribution to Korean drug manufacturers, following the licencing of the agent by the Korean Food and Drug Administration.

Paclitaxel, derived from yew trees, is the API used in drugs to combat cancer of the ovaries, breast, lung and skin, notably Bristol-Myers Squibb's Taxol. The product is estimated to have generated revenues in excess of $9.0 billion since it came to market, according to Taihua, which also manufactures another anticancer API, homoharringtonine, and supplies a growing market for traditional Chinese medicines.