Samsung BioLogics inks manufacturing deal with Sun Pharma
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Samsung BioLogics CEO Kim Tae-han, left, shakes hands with Anli Kumar Jain, CEO of Sun Pharma’s active pharmaceutical ingredients business, after reaching a manufacturing deal at Samsung’s headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Samsung BioLogics
By Kang Seung-woo
Samsung BioLogics struck a manufacturing deal, Tuesday, with India’s Sun Pharma for the latter’s psoriasis drug.
The company said Tuesday that the value of the long-term contract to produce tildrakizumab is $55.5 million (63.7 billion won), but other details of the agreement, including its terms, were confidential.
The contract is based on the minimum manufacturing cost, so if the drug sells well in the future, the contract value will rise.
Tildrakizumab is a monoclonal antibody designed for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The drug was co-developed by Germany’s Merck and Sun Pharma, but the latter acquired worldwide rights to it in 2014.
This is the first time for India’s largest drug maker to form a strategic partnership with a Korean biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organization (CMO).
The Indian company is the seventh global client for Samsung Group’s biologic drug producing arm, which has also signed contracts with the U.S.’s Bristol-Myers Squibb and Swiss drugmaker Roche.
“Samsung BioLogics is pleased to join hands with Sun Pharma and is looking forward to delivering best-in-class manufacturing services with global quality standards,” CEO Kim Tae-han said after signing the deal at the firm’s headquarters in Songdo, Incheon.
Anil Kumar Jain, CEO of the Sun Pharma’s active pharmaceutical ingredients business, and Vice President Nilesh Gandhi attended the signing ceremony.
“Our collaboration with Sun Pharma is an important milestone for Samsung as it is a testament to our ability to provide a reliable supply through our certified manufacturing facility to pharmaceutical companies, which aim to expand their global market,” Kim added.
Kirti Ganorkar, Sun Pharma’s global business development head, said, “Samsung BioLogics is a globally renowned CMO. Through this partnership we will leverage Samsung’s manufacturing knowledge and world class quality systems to provide high quality products for the tildrakizumab pipeline.”
The manufacturing signing carries extra significance for Samsung given that the Korean player is now expanding its market into Asia after the U.S. and Europe.
“China and India are said to be catching up with Korea in biomedicine, but India’s largest drug maker signing with Samsung BioLogics means there is still a technology gap between Korea and those countries,” said an industry official.