INCHEON, Korea--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced that its rapidly growing biosimilar business will expand into mainland China through a licensing agreement with 3SBio Inc. The agreement covers multiple biosimilar candidates from Samsung Bioepis, including SB8, a biosimilar candidate referencing AVASTIN® 1 (bevacizumab).
Under the agreement, Samsung Bioepis and 3SBio will collaborate across a number of areas, including clinical development, regulatory registration and commercialization in China. Samsung Bioepis will receive upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalties on sales. Additional financial details were not disclosed.
“We are very excited to expand our biosimilar business into China, where we hope to see our biosimilars play an important role in widening patient access to high-quality healthcare. We are confident we will achieve this goal through our partnership with 3SBio, which brings together Samsung Bioepis’ proven development platform with 3SBio’s strong commercialization platform,” said Christopher Hansung Ko, President and Chief Executive Officer, Samsung Bioepis. “At Samsung Bioepis, we will continue to demonstrate our enduring commitment to biosimilars by further strengthening our pipeline and widening their availability for patients and healthcare systems across the world.”
Established in February 2012, Samsung Bioepis currently has four biosimilars approved and marketed across Europe, which include the anti-TNF trio of BENEPALI™ (etanercept), FLIXABI™ (infliximab) and IMRALDI™ (adalimumab), as well as an oncologic biosimilar, ONTRUZANT® (trastuzumab). In the United States, the company has one biosimilar approved and marketed, RENFLEXIS® (infliximab), with both SB5 (adalimumab) and SB3 (trastuzumab) biosimilar candidates currently under regulatory review.
In total, over 100,000 patients across the world are currently under treatment with Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilars, with over 6 million doses administered.
About 3SBio Inc.
3SBio is a fully-integrated biotechnology company in China with market-leading biopharmaceutical franchises in oncology, auto-immune diseases, nephrology, metabolic diseases and dermatology. 3SBio is focused on building an innovative product pipeline, with over 30 products candidates under development. 3SBio’s manufacturing capabilities include recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies and chemically- synthesized molecules, with production centers in Shenyang, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Cuomo, Italy. Please visit www.3sbio.com for additional information.
About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.
Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world's leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology and hematology. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com.
1 Avastin® is a registered trademark of Genentech Inc.