Pharma News
Celltrion to build facility in China and increase new drug output
South Korean biotechnology company Celltrion has announced plans to build its first overseas factory in China. The company also intends to release one new biosimilar per year until 2030.
Merck to create spin off for women’s health and biosimilars
US pharma giant Merck is to create a spin-off company for its women’s health, biosimilars and legacy products, allowing the main company to focus on blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab).
US health insurers partner with generics maker Civica
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a federation of health insurers in the US, has formed a partnership with generics manufacturer Civica Rx to reduce the costs of generic drugs.
Coherus signs licensing deal for bevacizumab biosimilar in the US
US-based Coherus BioSciences (Coherus) announced on 13 January 2020 that it had entered into a licensing agreement with Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Innovent Biologics (Innovent) for its bevacizumab product, IBI305.
Top 10 most read GaBI Online articles in 2019
It has once again been a busy year for biosimilars. One of the most important milestones for biosimilars in 2019 was the World Health Organization (WHO) pilot programme to prequalify rituximab and trastuzumab biosimilars. Other subjects of interest for biosimilars were US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) approvals, naming and regulation of biosimilars, as well as biosimilar guidance, uptake and switching.
Mundipharma and Samsung Bioepis partner for biosimilars in Hong Kong and Taiwan
Mundipharma announced on 13 January 2020 that it had entered into a partnership with Korea-based Samsung Bioepis (Samsung and Biogen’s joint venture) to commercialize four biosimilar candidates from Samsung Bioepis in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Japanese firms to collaborate on Eylea biosimilar
Japanese pharmaceutical firms Gene Techno Science and Kishi Kasei announced on 2 December 2019 an agreement for the joint development of an aflibercept biosimilar, a treatment for macular degeneration to rival the reference drug Eylea.
Samsung Bioepis expands biosimilars agreement with Biogen
Korean biosimilars giant Samsung Bioepis has extended its commercialization agreement with Biogen to include biosimilars to two ophthalmology drugs, Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Eylea (aflibercept). The agreement also allows Biogen to commercialize Samsung’s blockbuster anti-inflammatories in Europe for an additional five years.
Alvotech signs agreements with Stada and Yas Holding
Alvotech has entered into a strategic biosimilars collaboration with German company Stada. The company has also announced a significant investment from Abu Dhabi-based company Yas Holding for the exclusive supply of biosimilars in the Middle East and North Africa.
Lupin to sell its Japanese arm and Sandoz to acquire Aspen’s Japanese business
On 11 November 2019, India-based Lupin announced that it has agreed to sell its entire stake in its Japanese subsidiary Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co to Japan-based private equity firm Unison Capital for an enterprise value of Yen 57.36 billion.
