Joint venture company for MAb production set up in Japan

Japanese companies Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Nippon Kayaku (TYO: 4272) have newly established a joint venture company for production of monoclonal antibody pharmaceuticals (MAbs) including biosimilars.

The company is aiming at starting operation of manufacturing facility by state-of-art technology within two years.

Back in late 2014, Nippon Kayaku launched the sale of Infliximab BS for IV Infusion 100mg, a biosimilar version of US health care giant Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade.

Now the growth of biologics, particularly monoclonal antibodies, is very prominent in domestic and global pharmaceutical markets, the parties noted in a press statement. MAbs have been more and more used as more effective and safer than traditional chemical drugs in many cases, whereas these are so expensive due to high cost for production and development that patients and social insurance bear heavy burden.

In addition, Japan is highly dependent on import of biologics, which is estimated to exceed $5 billion every year. “Made-in-Japan biologics” of high quality with stable supply security system are highly required, they stated. In recent years, a number of follow-on products of off-patent biologics (biosimilars) are being developed mainly in Europe and the USA, and some of them have been already authorized for marketing.