Shares of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a leading South Korean pharma company, surged by more than 11 percent Friday following news that the company has moved a step closer to globally commercializing a lung cancer treatment drug that is under development.

Hanmi is looking to carry out the Phase II clinical trials of its third-generation lung cancer treatment drug HM61713 -- sold in July to Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim for around $730 million in the biggest local drug license agreement to date -- in a total of 10 countries across the globe, according to industry reports. 

The trials will be conducted in the United States, Italy, Spain, Thailand and the Philippines, among others, in a bid to better prepare the drug for commercialization in a diverse range of overseas markets, according to the Korean drugmaker.

Hanmi has already “begun recruiting participants in some countries after receiving official approval to begin the clinical trials,” according to a company official.

Industry watchers say that HM61713, if successfully developed, could rise up as a new global blockbuster drug for lung cancer, recording high sales and bringing in significant profits for the two companies.

Boehringer Ingelheim holds the commercialization rights to the drug in all markets except in Korea, China and Hong Kong, while Hanmi will receive 10 percent of the drug’s sales profits upon its commercialization, according to the joint deal.

The Phase II clinical trials, forecast to conclude at the end of 2017, are likely geared for success, according to industry experts, given the safety and efficacy of HM61713 was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual conference held in May in Chicago.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)