April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Bioepis, a joint venture between Samsung Biologics and Biogen, said on Aug. 21 that it has signed an agreement with Japan’s largest drug maker Takeda Pharmaceutical to jointly develop multiple novel biologic therapies.

The first project for the two companies will be Takeda’s acute pancreatitis therapy candidate TAK-671, according to Samsung Bioepis.

Under the partnership, the pair will work together on medication development process ranging from drug discovery to clinical trials and commercialization. Additional terms of the collaboration have not yet been disclosed.

The strategic collaboration underscores the five-year-old Korean company’s ambitions to expand its drug pipeline to original therapies from its existing product lineup focused on biosimilars -- copy versions of licensed biologics.

“Takeda’s extensive knowledge and expertise in drug development makes the company an ideal partner as we open a new chapter at Samsung Bioepis,” Samsung Bioepis CEO Ko Han-sung said in a press release.

Currently, Samsung Bioepis has six biosimilars referencing global drug makers’ top-selling therapies including one candidate under development. The firm also sells Brenzys, its version of Amgen’s blockbuster drug Enbrel in Europe, Australia, Canada since 2016, and received both European and US approval for its copy of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade. Its versions of AbbVie’s Humira and Roche’s Herceptin are under review by the European Medicines Agency.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)