Sandoz has announced the early completion of its deal to acquire the Cimerli (ranibizumab-eqrn) US biosimilar franchise from Coherus BioSciences.
The deal for the interchangeable rival to Lucentis – first announced in late January (see sidebar) – will see Coherus’ dedicated retina sales and field reimbursement team integrated into Sandoz, “ensuring seamless experience for providers and patients,” according to the company.
The transaction, which featured an upfront cash purchase price of $170m, included the biologics license application for Cimerli as well as product inventory, the ophthalmology sales and field reimbursement talent, as well as access to proprietary commercial software.
Sandoz said the acquisition – which was completed “ahead of anticipated timelines” after the firms previously announced an expected completion by the end of the first half of 2024 – “builds on the leading Sandoz ophthalmic platform in the US and lays an even stronger foundation for future product launches,” with the firm indicating last year that a filing for a biosimilar rival to Eylea (aflibercept) was imminent. (Also see "Sandoz Puts Aflibercept In Its Sights With Phase III Data" - Generics Bulletin, 16 August, 2023.)
Sandoz Plugs Ophthalmology Gap With Coherus Ranibizumab Deal
“Today we further expand the Sandoz biosimilar portfolio, while advancing our mission in the US of pioneering patient access to more affordable and much-needed medicines,” commented Keren Haruvi, president of Sandoz North America.
“With the addition of Cimerli to our existing ophthalmology franchise, we can now offer even more treatment options for US patients with vision impairment and loss.”
According to recent data from Cimerli developer Formycon, by the end of December the biosimilar had “achieved a market share of 38% by volume in the US ranibizumab market and thereby continues to be the most successful biosimilar in this segment.” (Also see "Coherus And Formycon’s Ranibizumab Rapidly Ramps Up In US" - Generics Bulletin, 19 January, 2024.)
Meanwhile, from Coherus’ perspective, the deal with Sandoz “sharpens the focus of our business as we advance our novel immuno-oncology pipeline,” said chairman and CEO Denny Lanfear. “Completion of this transaction allows us to pay down debt, reduce interest costs, reduce headcount and overhead costs, thereby significantly advancing our efforts to become a sustainable and growing oncology business.”
As part of the company’s increasing shift towards innovative assets, Coherus’ pipeline includes its approved Loqtorzi (toripalimab-tpzi) next-generation PD-1 inhibitor, described as “the foundational therapy in our immuno-oncology pipeline”; the firm’s casdozokitug novel anti-IL-27 antibody that is currently in trials; and two solid tumor treatments, CHS-114 and CHS-1000 that are earlier in development.
Coherus has also just launched its long-awaited on-body version of its Udenyca (pegfilgrastim-cbqv) biosimilar, which the company hopes will allow it to capture a much larger share of a substantial pegfilgrastim market from Amgen’s Neulasta Onpro version. (Also see "Coherus Delivers First US Rival To Neulasta OnPro, As Biosimilar Interest Peters Out" - Generics Bulletin, 26 February, 2024.)
