Biopharmaceutical multinational Gilead Sciences has expanded its strategic manufacturing partnership with South Korean producer Yuhan, finalizing an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) supply agreement valued at 210 billion Korean won (approximately $140 million) for an undisclosed therapeutic asset. The supply contract is scheduled to run through the conclusion of 2027. According to formal regulatory disclosures filed with the Korea Exchange (KRX), the financial volume of this transaction represents 9.6% of the total consolidated revenue generated by Yuhan in 2025, a firm exhibiting rapid operational expansion with international export sales increasing by 21% in Q1 2026.
The agreement marks the fourth dedicated drug ingredient contract brokered between the two entities, elevating their aggregate historical contract value to roughly $270 million. Previous supply collaborations featured an initial $45 million API layout for an HIV therapeutic regimen in 2018, followed by a secondary $81 million HIV drug supply framework signed in 2024. Outside of contract manufacturing, the companies previously initiated a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) co-development platform valued at up to $770 million, though the project was terminated in 2024 due to substandard preclinical performance metrics. Concurrently, Yuhan has separately closed a two-year, $38 million API supply mandate with BridgeBio for its cardiomyopathy treatment, Attruby.
Contractual dispute intensifies following Novartis’ unilateral termination of Porton’s CDMO lease
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has unilaterally revoked a facility leasing covenant executed with Chinese contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Porton Pharma Solutions at Novartis’ Mengeš campus in Slovenia. Alongside an immediate eviction mandate requiring Porton to vacate the premises within 90 days, Novartis has asserted its right to pursue legal claims seeking 54.7 million euros (approximately $63.7 million) in compensatory damages and accrued service fees. The structural breakdown originated when Porton suspended construction activities at the primary “B30” production facility after identifying historical regulatory discrepancies in the building’s foundational compliance documentation, a freeze Novartis interpreted as a material breach of contract.
The Slovenian installation represented a cornerstone in Porton’s global logistical layout, serving as its inaugural research and manufacturing asset within the European continent following a multi-year investment blueprint initiated in 2022 with a targeted 50 million euro budget. By the conclusion of 2025, the Chinese CDMO had already directed 447.6 million yuan ($65.8 million) into the infrastructure site. Porton management noted it contests Novartis’ legal positioning and remains engaged in localized negotiations, while cautioning that an unresolved escalation into formal litigation could trigger massive asset impairment charges, client default liabilities, and employee severance costs that would materially impact its 2026 financial returns. The potential multi-million dollar liability introduces a severe fiscal strain for Porton, which recorded a net income of under 100 million yuan ($63 million) against total revenues of 3.4 billion yuan in 2025.
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