Astellas Pharma signs logistics management pact for Prograf to improve patients safety
Astellas Pharma India, a subsidiary of Japan's second largest drug major Astellas Pharma signed a logistics agreement with Vardhman Health Specialities Pvt Ltd, the largest pharma cold chain management facility provider in India. The agreement will allow Vardhaman to provide logistics management and appropriate temperature controlled clean air storage condition for Astellas flagship product, Prograf.
Astellas Pharma Inc. – a global leader in the transplantation and urology segment – plans to foray into the Indian market and establish its business in the country by developing sales and marketing infrastructure for its products base. The company plans to first introduce its flagship product, Prograf, used after organ transplantation to prevent organ rejection.
Mr. Teruo Yasufuku, Managing Director, Astellas Pharma India, said, "We are committed to providing consistent, best quality healthcare products to patients. Appropriate management of products at a controlled temperature & proper storage environment maintains product effectiveness throughout the storage and transportation cycle and also helps meet all regulatory specifications. Worldwide, regulatory guidelines and standards today accord greater attention to proper storage and transportation and adhering to them is vital."
Mr Jayantilal Chowhan, Chairman & Managing Director, Vardhman Health Specialities Pvt Ltd, said, "We are extremely happy that Astellas – one of the largest pharma companies in Japan – has chosen VHSPL as its distribution company in India because of our proven record in this vital industry segment."
Both companies are confident the tie-up will prove beneficial for the industry by boosting patient safety. Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader by combining outstanding R&D and marketing capabilities and continuing to grow in the world pharmaceutical market.
Sanofi-aventis and Regeneron expand strategic Antibody Collaboration
Sanofi-aventis and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that they have entered into agreements to expand and extend their existing global collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies.
Sanofi-aventis will increase its annual funding commitment from $100M to $160 million beginning in 2010, and the research funding will now extend through 2017. The companies aim to advance an average of four to five antibodies into clinical development each year. In addition to its VelocImmune technology, Regeneron will contribute to the collaboration its next generation technologies related to antibody generation.
Regeneron and Sanofi-aventis have advanced four therapeutic antibodies into clinical development and have filed an IND for a fifth additional antibody. Among the four antibodies in clinical development, three are antibodies to (1) the Interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R), being developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, (2) Nerve Growth Factor, being developed for the treatment of pain, and (3) Delta-like Ligand 4 (Dll4), being developed for the treatment of advanced malignancies. The targets of
the two other antibodies have not been disclosed.
The antibody collaboration entered into in November 2007 was scheduled to expire at year-end 2012. As amended, the collaboration will continue at higher levels of funding through 2017. As under the original terms, Sanofi-aventis has the exclusive option to co-develop with Regeneron each antibody drug candidate discovered under the collaboration. Development costs for drug candidates co-developed by the parties will be shared, with Sanofi-aventis funding development costs up front and Regeneron reimbursing half of the development costs for all collaboration drug candidates from Regeneron's share of future profits from commercialization of collaboration products to the extent future profits are sufficient for this purpose. In the United States, profits will be shared equally, while outside the United States, profits will be split on a predetermined sliding scale with Sanofi-aventis' share ranging from 65 percent to 55 percent.
For any products successfully developed as part of the collaboration, Sanofi-aventis will take the lead in commercialization activities and will consolidate the sales. Regeneron will have the right to co-promote any and all collaboration products worldwide. In addition, Regeneron is entitled to receive up to a total of $250 million of sales milestone payments when collaboration products achieve certain aggregate annual ex-U.S. sales levels, starting at $1 billion.
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