The exclusive agreement with Alvotech will help drive its biologic medical product across Asia Pacific.
Media release
Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2020 – DKSH has entered into an exclusive license partnership with biopharmaceutical company Alvotech Hf, headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland. The aim of the collaboration is to introduce the biologic medical product AVT02 in selected markets across Asia Pacific. AVT02 is an adalimumab biosimilar, a biologic medical product used to treat autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis.
AVT02 is a biosimilar monoclonal antibody to AbbVie's HUMIRA®, which is a leading drug indicated for the treatment of several autoimmune diseases. AbbVie's HUMIRA® recorded sales of about USD 20 billion in 2018, making it the largest-selling blockbuster medicine worldwide.
Under the partnership, Alvotech Hf will be responsible for the development and supply of AVT02, while DKSH will oversee its registration and commercialization. AVT02 will be filed in the second half of 2020 with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and with United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) through Alvotech Hf's US affiliate.
Mark Levick, Chief Executive Officer of Alvotech commented: “We are very proud to announce our new partnership with DKSH, a leading healthcare company with deep market experience in Asia. Through the partnership, Alvotech gains access to DKSH's strong commercial network, which will ultimately benefit patients who will get better access to high-quality biosimilar medicines.”
Bijay Singh, Global Head of Business Unit Healthcare, DKSH, added: “We see this partnership with Alvotech as a great opportunity to accelerate our development in the biosimilar space and strengthen our position in this fast-growing segment across Asia. We are extremely excited to be able to enrich the lives of Asian patients and their loved ones by providing them with access to a state-of-the-art and cost-effective biologic.”
For further information, please contact:
DKSH Business Unit Healthcare
Sheena Flannery
Director, Group Communications
+66 2 220 9739
sheena.flannery@dksh.com
About Alvotech
Alvotech is a multinational biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and manufacture of high quality biosimilars for global markets. The company specializes in biotechnology, seeking to be a global leader in the biosimilar space by delivering high quality, cost-competitive products and services to its partners and to patients worldwide. Its fully integrated approach, with high-quality in-house competencies throughout the value chain, enables the accelerated development of biosimilar products. Alvotech’s initial pipeline contains several monoclonal-antibody and fusion-protein biosimilar candidates aimed at treating autoimmunity, oncology and inflammatory conditions to improve quality of life for patients around the world.
For more information, please visit Alvotech’s website, www.alvotech.com.
About DKSH
DKSH is the leading Market Expansion Services provider with a focus on Asia. The Group helps companies to grow across the Business Units Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Performance Materials and Technology. The service portfolio covers sourcing, market insights, marketing and sales, eCommerce, distribution and logistics as well as after-sales services. Publicly listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, the Group operates in 36 markets with 33,350 specialists, generating net sales of CHF 11.6 billion in 2019. With its Swiss heritage, DKSH has been deeply rooted in Asia Pacific since 1865. The DKSH Business Unit Healthcare distributes pharmaceuticals, consumer health and overt-the-counter (OTC) products as well as medical devices. With around 8,220 specialists, the Business Unit generated net sales of CHF 6.0 billion in 2019.