Alvotech and DKSH partner to bring key biosimilar to Asia

The exclusive agreement with Alvotech will help drive its biologic medical product across Asia Pacific.

Media release

Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2020 – DKSH has entered into an exclusive license partnership with biopharmaceutical company Alvotech Hf, headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland. The aim of the collaboration is to introduce the biologic medical product AVT02 in selected markets across Asia Pacific. AVT02 is an adalimumab biosimilar, a biologic medical product used to treat autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis.

AVT02 is a biosimilar monoclonal antibody to AbbVie's HUMIRA®, which is a leading drug indicated for the treatment of several autoimmune diseases. AbbVie's HUMIRA® recorded sales of about USD 20 billion in 2018, making it the largest-selling blockbuster medicine worldwide.

Under the partnership, Alvotech Hf will be responsible for the development and supply of AVT02, while DKSH will oversee its registration and commercialization. AVT02 will be filed in the second half of 2020 with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and with United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) through Alvotech Hf's US affiliate.

Mark Levick, Chief Executive Officer of Alvotech commented: “We are very proud to announce our new partnership with DKSH, a leading healthcare company with deep market experience in Asia. Through the partnership, Alvotech gains access to DKSH's strong commercial network, which will ultimately benefit patients who will get better access to high-quality biosimilar medicines.”

Bijay Singh, Global Head of Business Unit Healthcare, DKSH, added: “We see this partnership with Alvotech as a great opportunity to accelerate our development in the biosimilar space and strengthen our position in this fast-growing segment across Asia. We are extremely excited to be able to enrich the lives of Asian patients and their loved ones by providing them with access to a state-of-the-art and cost-effective biologic.”

For further information, please contact:

DKSH Business Unit Healthcare

Sheena Flannery

Director, Group Communications

+66 2 220 9739

sheena.flannery@dksh.com