Hikma ties up deal to market third biosimilar in MENA

19 December 2017

Jordanian drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE: HIK) now has exclusive rights to sell a biosimilar of Rituxan/MabThera (rituximab) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) after agreeing a deal with South Korean biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion (Kosdaq: 068270).

Celltrion’s Truxima is a copycat version of the monoclonal antibody originally sold by Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) and is used to treat patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis.

Hikma now has exclusive agreements with Celltrion for three biosimilar products – the other two referencing Roche’s Herceptin (trastuzumab) and Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) Remicade (infliximab) – in all its MENA markets. All three of the original biologics are among the world’s top 10 selling drugs.

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