Following a US$250 million licensing agreement for Annji's Pharmaceutical's new drug, Alar Pharmaceuticals Inc. has also announced that it has licensed its new three-month long-acting injectable drug, ALA-1000, to an international pharmaceutical company for markets outside the Greater China region for an initial US$5 million.

The first US$5 million contract was signed with a major international pharmaceutical company for a long-acting, three-month subcutaneous injection of ALA-1000, which has completed an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with FDA.

Focusing on the development of long-acting drugs for the treatment of the central nervous system, Alar was founded in 2016 by Lotus Pharmaceuticals' founder Charles Lin with NT$570 million. To mitigate operational risks and generate revenue at the same time, the company has not only applied for R&D grants, but is also actively seeking licensing opportunities from multinational pharmaceutical companies to create advantages.

With the progress of new drug development, Alar's stock closed at NT$115 at the end of last year and rose by 147% for the year, making it the top emerging stock. On 1 March, the stock hit a new record with NT$221 and closed at NT$209 on 3 March.

According to the licensing agreement, Alar Pharmaceuticals is entitled to receive the first licensing payment of US$5 million, and subsequently receive the second payment, R&D milestone payment, sales milestone payment and royalty of sales after the launch of the product.

Alar's Board of Directors on 21 February resolved to authorise the Chairman to sign the contract, and the signing of the contract was completed on 3 March.