Biopharma major Biocon on Thursday said it has entered into a global partnership with Sandoz, a Novartis division, to develop, manufacture and commercialise multiple biosimilars in immunology and oncology. As per a regulatory filing, both the companies will share responsibility for end-to-end development, manufacturing and global regulatory approvals for various products and will have a cost and profit share arrangement globally.“The collaboration with Sandoz builds upon Biocon’s successful progress in its existing global biosimilars programme,” the company said in a press release. It also said commercialisation responsibilities worldwide will be divided and the strength of each company will be leveraged within specific geographies.“We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Sandoz for developing a set of next-generation biosimilar products. This synergistic partnership will enable us to scale up our capabilities for an ‘end-to-end’ play in the global biosimilars space,” said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and managing director of Biocon.
Further to this partnership, Sandoz will lead commercialisation in North America, Canada and in the EU region including European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Balkan states. Biocon will lead commercialisation in the rest of the World including India, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Earlier, Bengaluru-based Biocon had successfully launched its insulin glargine in Japan, trastuzumab and bevacizumab biosimilars in India and rh- insulin, insulin glargine and biosimilar trastuzumab in a few emerging markets. Sandoz has five biosimilars currently marketed worldwide, as well as a rich global pipeline.
This collaboration addresses some of the biosimilar opportunities beyond the near-term ones being addressed by Biocon’s existing global partnership with Mylan.“Our collaboration with Sandoz will bolster our existing global biosimilars portfolio comprising biosimilar antibodies and insulin analogs and will enable us to address the next wave of global biosimilars opportunities,” said Dr Arun Chandavarkar, CEO and joint managing director of Biocon. On Thursday, shares of Biocon closed down 2.07% at Rs 539.60 on the BSE.
