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TAIPEI, June 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Taiwan-based Formosa Pharmaceuticals ("Formosa", 6838.TW) announced today that the company has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Samil Pharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd ("Samil", 000520.KS), for exclusive rights to the commercialization of clobetasol propionate ophthalmic suspension, 0.05% (APP13007), a patented innovative medicine for the treatment of inflammation and pain following ocular surgery in Vietnam. Samil, established in 1947, is one of the most prominent Korean manufacturers of pharmaceutical products across multiple therapeutic areas, with a core specialization and focus on ophthalmic medicines, and having long-standing partnerships with global players such as Samsung, Abbvie, Nicox, and Thea. The licensing agreement includes upfront payment, regulatory milestones, and royalties, throughout the term of the agreement. APP13007's active ingredient is the superpotent corticosteroid, clobetasol propionate, and is derived from Formosa Pharma's proprietary APNT® nanoparticle formulation platform. Approved by the US FDA and Health Canada, APP13007 enables a convenient and straightforward dosing regimen (twice daily for 14 days) while providing rapid and sustained relief of inflammation and pain. In a US survey of 100 ophthalmic surgeons, rapid resolution of pain (~80% pain-free four days post-surgery) and low incidence of adverse events (<2%) were highlighted as key drivers to prescribing APP13007. The number of cataract surgeries in Vietnam is reaching 300,000 annually, with overall market demand experiencing a steady 5% annual growth. According to 2024 IQVIA sales data, the ophthalmic corticosteroid market in Vietnam generated a total annual sales value of $4.26 million USD. "We are pleased to join efforts yet again with Samil with the mutual goal to serve its key regions, enabling patients to recover more quickly from ocular surgery. We are confident this step further strengthens our commitment and relationship with Samil and its status of being a leader in ophthalmology." said Erick Co, President and CEO of Formosa Pharmaceuticals. "Following our exclusive license agreement signed in January 2026 for the commercialization of APP13007 in South Korea, this new agreement for the Vietnam market further strengthens our partnership with Formosa Pharmaceuticals. We will move forward steadily with the regulatory approval and launch preparations in both the Korean and Vietnamese markets, further enhancing our competitiveness in the global ophthalmology business," said Seung-Bum Huh, CEO of Samil Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. About Formosa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Formosa Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (6838.TW) is a clinical stage biotechnology company featuring its "Double A" strategy, covering Antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and its proprietary APNT® nanoparticle formulation technology. APNT®, through which APP13007 was developed, improves the dissolution and bioavailability of APIs for topical, oral, and inhaler administration. Resulting formulations have high uniformity, purity, and stability, thereby allowing the utilization of poorly soluble or extremely potent drug agents which otherwise may face insurmountable challenges in delivery and penetration to target tissues. ADCs include TSY-110, a biosimilar of breast cancer therapy, Kadcyla®, and TSY-310, a novel bispecific ADC targeting EGFR and ROR1 for solid tumors such as NSCLC. For more details about Formosa Pharma and its Double A strategy, visit . About Samil Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. Samil Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (000520.KS), founded in 1947 and headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, is a pharmaceutical company with core expertise in ophthalmology, hepatology, gastroenterology, and CNS disorders. As part of its global expansion strategy, Samil operates overseas subsidiaries in North America, Vietnam, and Japan. Through ongoing partnerships with more than 10 global pharmaceutical companies, Samil Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. is expanding its business into CMO/CDMO services in the ophthalmology sector and has built a state-of-the-art facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, which has already obtained WHO GMP certification. The company is actively pursuing additional global certifications, including KGMP, cGMP, and EUGMP, as part of its strategy to expand into the global market. For more details about Samil Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., please visit: SOURCE Formosa Pharmaceuticals Inc., 21% more press release views with Request a Demo

iStock, retrorocket For the second time in 2026, the number of biopharma professionals affected by made or projected workforce reductions rose year over year. In May, layoffs spiked nearly 50%, mainly due to Takeda and BioNTech axing a combined 6,360 employees. Those hoping biopharma layoffs would slow this year might want to ignore what happened in May. Last month, biotech and pharma companies cut or planned to cut 6,956 employees, a 47% year-over-year increase and nearly double the previous monthly high of 3,713 in February, based on BioSpace tallies.* May marks the second time in 2026 that the number of biopharma professionals affected by layoffs increased year over year. Most of May’s cuts happened in the first two weeks of the month, when BioNTech and Takeda detailed plans involving 6,360 people total. On May 5, BioNTech announced it will close several manufacturing facilities by the end of 2027, affecting about 1,860 jobs . The German biotech’s affected sites include a Singapore location whose closure impacting 85 people was previously reported in April. On May 13, Takeda revealed in an earnings presentation that its efforts to streamline corporate operations include cutting around 4,500 employees during fiscal year 2026. The Japan pharma confirmed to BioSpace that the total includes an estimated 247 roles in Massachusetts and 387 in other states as outlined in a March Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act  notice . Other biopharmas making or projecting cuts were AbbVie, Amicus Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Valneva. At least 376 employees being laid off will need to find new positions sooner than later, as their effective dates are this year. The true number could be significantly higher, as BioNTech and Takeda did not say how many of the people they’re letting go have end dates in 2026. Some companies’ cuts are their first known layoffs this year Four of the seven biopharmas making or projecting cuts in May were disclosing layoffs for the first time this year. AbbVie is letting go of 85 employees in Irvine, California, effective July 20, according to a WARN  notice . Amicus Therapeutics is cutting 58 people at its Princeton, New Jersey, headquarters from Aug. 7 through Oct. 30, the company disclosed in a WARN alert . Johnson & Johnson is laying off 56 employees in New Brunswick, New Jersey, effective Aug. 21, according to a WARN notice . Valneva is letting go of 10% to 15% of its workforce this year, the company announced May 13. BioSpace estimates the cuts could affect 67 to 101 people. Amicus’ cuts came just two weeks after BioMarin Pharmaceutical completed its acquisition of the company, an all-cash deal worth about $4.8 billion . Novartis has multiple cuts in May Of the biopharmas making or projecting layoffs in May, one had multiple rounds: Novartis. Combined, the Swiss pharma’s cuts will affect at least 296 employees. Novartis’ first workforce reduction came early in the month. The company announced May 5 it plans to close a Wehr, Germany, production plant by the end of 2028, which should nix 220 jobs. Novartis noted that the site, which makes solid oral dosage forms for mostly established products, is no longer competitive. On May 15, a company spokesperson confirmed to BioSpace in an emailed statement that the pharma was laying off an unidentified number of employees within its biomedical research organization. The affected location or locations and timing of cuts were not specified. “Novartis continually assesses opportunities to support our growth strategy as a focused innovative medicines company,” the statement read. “We regularly evaluate our organizational setup to ensure it remains aligned with evolving priorities.” In its last round of cuts for May, the pharma disclosed in a WARN notice that it’s letting go of 76 employees in East Hanover, New Jersey, effective Aug. 21. It was the third time this year that Novartis divulged it’s downsizing its New Jersey operations. The first cuts, affecting 114 employees, take place from June 26 through Nov. 27. The second round, involving 60 people, runs from July 24 through Nov. 20. *Layoff numbers exclude contract development and manufacturing organizations, contract research organizations, tools and services businesses and medical device firms. To tally the cuts,  BioSpace  compiles data for known workforce reductions. The number of employees affected is identified or estimated primarily through information in company press releases,  Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act  notices, SEC filings and other media outlets’ reports or via confirmation from company officials. Not all companies disclose downsizing, and some share only the percentage of staff affected. Some biopharmas provide total numbers retrospectively rather than disclosing individual workforce reductions as they happen.  .responsive-container { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; border: 1px solid #ededed; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } .column-left { flex: 1; max-width: 45%; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } .column-right { flex: 2; padding: 20px 20px 10px 20px; } @media (max-width: 768px) { .column-left, .column-right { max-width: 100%; flex: 100%; padding: 10px 0; } } Subscribe to Career Insider! 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Dive Brief:Takedas experimental autoimmune drug zasocitinib bested Bristol Myers Squibbs marketed medicine Sotyktu in a head-to-head study in psoriasis, the company said Thursday. Takeda didnt provide detailed data, but said that zasocitinib demonstrated statistical superiority against Sotyktu on all main and secondary study goals. After 16 weeks, zasocitinib helped completely eliminate the skin lesions in over a third of recipients, more than doubling what was seen with Sotyktu. Its the second time Takedas drug has beaten an approved therapy, following positive results in a trial testing it against Amgens Otezla.Zasocitinib is a newer kind of TYK2 inhibitor, a class of oral autoimmune medicines that have attracted significant industry investment in recent years. Its become a star prospect for Takeda, which acquired the therapy from Nimbus Therapeutics for $4 billion upfront and started a series of high-stakes trials to establish its commercial potential. But zasocitinib is close to entering a crowded market that includes many other medications, among them a new pill from Johnson & Johnson.Dive Insight:Sotyktu was the first TYK2 inhibitor to gain Food and Drug Administration approval.But it hasnt yet become the kind of seller Bristol Myers once hoped. The drug recorded $291 million in revenue in 2025 and, with an expected clearance coming in psoriatic arthritis, Bristol Myers recently revealed plans to no longer promote Sotyktu in dermatology in many markets.Polling by some analysts has suggested that many dermatologists prefer injectable biologics due to Sotyktus lower efficacy. Takeda, then, may have to convince doctors that zasocitinib is clearly better if it hopes to draw patients away from effective shots like AbbVies Skyrizi and J&Js Tremfya.The company, for its part, has been optimistic about zasocitinibs chances. On a May earnings call with analysts, CEO-elect Julie Kim claimed the drug is poised to be a leading oral treatment option with the potential to significantly expand the growing market for psoriasis pills.When you look at the market, oral treatments are already the fastest-growing segment, with the number of patients on advanced oral therapy expected to triple over the next decade, Kim told analysts.The study results disclosed Thursday could help Takedas case. In the head-to-head trial,zasocitinib helped 35% of the people who took it achieve a measure called PASI 100, a benchmark of complete skin clearance with no visible lesions. That figure was 2.5-times better than Sotyktu, a statistically significant difference that met the studys main goal. Takeda didnt state the exact number associated with Sotyktu, but in Bristol Myersclinical trials, up to 14% of trial enrollees hit the PASI 100 mark.Zasocitinib was also statistically better than Sotyktu on all secondary endpoints, which included partial skin clearance measures such as PASI 90 and PASI 75. The PASI 100 rate would fall short of whats been seen in testing of Skyriziand Tremfya, although zasocitinib hasnt been evaluated directly against those drugs.As expectations for oral therapies continue to rise, these findings support the potential of zasocitinib to help transform what patients and physicians can expect from an oral option in plaque psoriasis, said Linda Stein Gold, the director of dermatology clinical research at Henry Ford Health and a lead trial investigator, in a statement.An equally important trial readout is expected for zasocitinib in inflammatory bowel disease later this year. Two TYK2 drugs, including Sotyktu, have failed studiesin people with ulcerative colitis or Crohns disease. '