Singapore biotech tycoon Huang Zhenhua has assets frozen over $1.1 billion suit by pharma giant
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Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk is accusing Mr Huang's firm, KBP Biosciences, of fraudulent claims over a hypertension drug.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SINGAPORE - Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk is seeking as much as US$830 million (S$1.1 billion) in damages, according to a ruling by a Singapore court, saying that it was misled by a local biotech firm about the effectiveness of an experimental hypertension drug.
The Singapore International Commercial Court, at the request of Novo Nordisk, ordered the freezing of the worldwide assets of Singapore-based KBP Biosciences and its founder Huang Zhenhua, according to the ruling on Feb 14, which was made public on Feb 18.
The Danish maker of blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy is launching legal proceedings against the company in New York, the Singapore court said.
Novo Nordisk bought the medicine, called ocedurenone, from closely held KBP Biosciences for as much as US$1.3 billion in late 2023.
Less than a year later, it halted a clinical trial because the treatment was not working and announced an impairment loss of about US$800 million.
KBP Biosciences and its founder led Novo Nordisk to believe they had “developed a new and effective drug to treat hypertension and kidney disease”, according to the Singapore court ruling.
KBP Biosciences “failed to disclose material information” including interim analyses of clinical trial results, the judge said.
Mr Huang “arguably knew and participated in these misrepresentations”.
The judge added that it was arguable “KBP knowingly failed to disclose material information”, including analysis of trial results which showed ocedurenone’s “inefficacy”.
Mr Huang, who hails from Shandong, founded KBP Biosciences in 2011. He owns 40 per cent of the company, according to media reports.
The Singapore-headquartered company has offices in China and the US.
Mr Huang and his wife Cai Jun, who became Singapore citizens, bought a bungalow in Jalan Tupai, behind Four Seasons Park condominium near Orchard Road, for $32.5 million, The Business Times reported in June 2024.
Mr Huang was an executive director and shareholder of Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group. The company was delisted from the Singapore Exchange in 2009 after a $458 million takeover offer. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
