Lupin-Mylan team up for biosimilar Etanercept

MUMBAI: US drug maker Mylan and India's Lupin have come together to market the biosimilar drug Etanercept in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia as both the companies look at expanding their presence in the next wave of drug business. Etanercept is indicated to treat certain autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, plaque psoriasis among others. In 2017, Etanercept had a global brand sales of approximately $11.6 billion according to consulting firm IQVIA.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lupin will receive an up-front payment of $15 million and potential commercial milestones together with an equal share in net profits of the product, the companies said.

Lupin successfully completed its Etanercept biosimilar Phase 3 clinical trial in February 2018. Lupin has filed the product with the European Medicines Agency and plans to file the product in other jurisdictions.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this partnership as both Lupin and Mylan share a commitment to bring affordable and high quality medicines to market, especially in areas of unmet need", said Vinita Gupta, CEO Lupin Pharma. Ms Gupta added that the partnership enables Lupin to accelerate Etanercept market plans across multiple regions globally.

This is the second Indian partnership for Mylan, almost a decade ago it partnered with Bangalore based Biocon for six biosimilar drugs including Etanercept. However in January this year Biocon and Sandoz signed an agreement to market Etanercept for regions like Europe. So all these four companies will be competing against each other over the same product.

“The collaboration with Lupin is yet another positive step in our ongoing efforts to bring key biosimilars, like etanercept, to patients around the world as quickly as possible", said Rajiv Malik, President Mylan.