Lupin, Zentiva ink pact to commercialize arthritis drug Certolizumab Pegol

Mumbai: Global Pharma major Lupin Limited and Zentiva Group, a pan-European pharmaceutical company, have entered into a license and supply agreement for commercialization of Lupin’s biosimilar Certolizumab Pegol, across multiple markets globally.

Lupin will be responsible for the development, manufacturing and supply of the product within the agreed territories.

Zentiva will oversee commercialization activities outside USA and Canada, predominantly in Europe and CIS markets, where it will leverage its extensive European commercial infrastructure and regulatory expertise. Lupin will undertake commercialization in the remaining regions, including USA and Canada. Both parties will invest in the development of the new biosimilar.

Lupin will receive an initial payment of USD 10 million upon execution of the agreement and total development and regulatory milestone payments up to USD 50 million. The profits from the defined markets will be shared between the two companies.

Certolizumab Pegol is a recombinant, humanized antibody Fab' fragment, with specificity for human tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), conjugated to an approximately 40kDa polyethylene glycol. It is indicated for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and Crohn’s disease.