Biocon ties up with Sandoz to develop new drugs

Indian biotechnology major Biocon on Thursday said it would develop, make and market new drugs in immunology and oncology for patients worldwide in partnership with Sandoz, an arm of Swiss-based Novartis.

"We have entered into an exclusive partnership with Sandoz to develop, manufacture and commercialise biosimilars (drugs) in immunology and oncology for patients worldwide," said the city-based pharma firm.

A biosimilar is a medical product identical to an original product made by another firm.

As part of the tie-up, both firms will be responsible for developing, manufacturing and securing regulatory approvals for drugs and have cost-profit sharing arrangement.

"Commercialisation responsibilities will be divided and each partner's strengths will be leveraged in specific geographies. Sandoz will lead commercialisation in North America and the European Union, while Biocon will do in rest of the world," said the statement.

Commenting on the development, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said the synergistic partnership would enable her firm to scale up capabilities for developing next generation drugs for an 'end-to-end' play in the global biosimilars space.

"We remain committed to pursue our mission of developing biopharmaceuticals that have the potential to benefit a billion patients across the world," asserted Shaw on the occasion.

Biocon Chief Executive Arun Chandavarkar said collaboration with Sandoz would bolster its biosimilar portfolio comprising antibodies, insulin analogs and enable it address the next wave of opportunities.

An early mover in the biosimilars space, Biocon has launched its insulin glargine in Japan, Trastuzumab and Bevacizumab in India and rh-insulin, insulin glargine and biosimilar Trastuzumab in a few emerging markets.

"The new partnership is a milestone in our journey of developing advanced therapies that have the potential to benefit billions of patients," noted the statement.

--IANS

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