Biopharmaceutical major Biocon on Monday said wholly owned subsidiary Biocon Pharma has formed a partnership with Brazilian firm Libbs Farmaceutica to unveil generic drugs in Brazil, the world’s sixth-most populous country.
As part of the out-licensing deal, the Biocon arm will be responsible for drug development and manufacturing, while Libbs will leverage its expertise and reach in Brazil to import, distribute and market, subject to approvals from the Brazilian health regulator ANVISA.
The partnership, which marks the entry of Biocon’s generic formulations into Latin America, sought to build upon a successful association with Libbs that began in 2017 to introduce biosimilar Trastuzumab in Brazil, a release from Biocon said.
Biocon CEO and MD Siddharth Mittal said “Expanding our association with Libbs Farmaceutica to our generic formulations will help us establish a firm footing in Latin America, starting with Brazil.”
The partnership builds on Biocon’s ability to forward integrate its portfolio of complex and differentiated APIs into finished dosages, said Abhijit Zutshi, commercial head-Global Generics.