A Sydney-based biotechnology company NeuClone has inked a licensing agreement and joint development partnership with Serum Institute of India to manufacture and supply 10 biosimilar monoclonal antibody drugs globally.
The products would treat diseases including cancer and autoimmune disorders.
According to a recent company statement, the partnership would leverage NeuClone’s patented technology to generate protein drugs at much reduced cost from proprietary manufacturing cell lines and the immense biologics manufacturing capability of Serum Institute, the world’s largest vaccine producer.
“After several years of technology development and building our team expertise, NeuClone is very pleased to launch this multi-product co-development programme with Serum Institute.
“Our products will exemplify the competitive advantages of our NeuMAXTM technology platform for cell line development,” Noelle Sunstrom, NeuClone’s Founder and CEO, said.
NeuClone has retained licence to the jointly developed biosimilars for the developed markets of USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
For these markets NeuClone has been seeking partnerships with large Pharmaceutical and Generics companies who can best deliver these products via their existing market channels.
For the rest of the world, including India, China, South East Asia, The Middle East, South America and Africa, Serum Institute has exclusive licence for marketing and sales.
“We plan to extend the vision set by Dr C S Poonawalla to develop biosimilar monoclonal antibodies at an extremely affordable cost through this collaboration, ” A C Poonawalla, CEO & Executive Director, Serum Institute of India, said.
Umesh Shaligram, Serum Institute’s Director of R&D said: “For this new strategic initiative in the biosimilar monoclonal antibodies market we are combining our extensive biologics manufacturing and distribution expertise and cost advantages with NeuClone’s technology for high quality and low cost of goods“.
The partnership will have multiple products in development simultaneously such that all 10 products will transition through clinical trials and enter the market.