Clinical stage oncology company, Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., recently announced it signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Mabtech Limited, a China-based holding company, to develop and commercialize multiple prespecified but undisclosed biosimilar antibodies.
The contract stipulates that Sorrento will be responsible for developing and marketing 4 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) within the North American, European, and Japanese markets. Each of these product candidates have passed Phase III clinical studies, with two pending marketing approvals in China, and two undergoing data reviews for subsequent NDA submission in the same territory.
One of these mAbs’ origin drug is reported to be a Top 10-selling anticancer drug and another a Top 5-selling antibody indicated for auto-immune diseases. The mAbs covered by the agreement will be targeting an existing market, with combined global sales of over $13 billion in 2014 alone. GBI Research reported the global biosimilar market could reach about $55 billion in 2020.
“Combining our expertise in immunotherapy and drug development with Mabtech’s experience in antibody development and commercial cGMP manufacturing positions the two companies well to increase access worldwide to biosimilars and improve global human health,” said Dr. Henry Ji, President and Chief Executive Officer at Sorrento. “We look at this collaboration as a transformational event for Sorrento and are excited about its potential to complement our expanding and deep internal biologics portfolio. With this exclusive license agreement, Sorrento takes a significant step toward becoming a major player in the biopharmaceutical industry.”
“We welcome the opportunity to work with Sorrento Therapeutics to bring our antibody products to a global market beyond the Greater China territory. During our discussions with the Sorrento team it became apparent that Sorrento is committed to be a leader in the antibody immunotherapy space,” added Mr. Zhen Jiao, Chairman of Mabtech and Chief Executive Officer of CDH Investments, the top private equity fund in Asia with more than $10 billion under management. “We believe that, together with Sorrento’s strong commitment and our vast resources, we will be able to provide much needed immunotherapies to patients and healthcare providers worldwide in an expedited and efficient manner.”
