DKSH Partners with Hyphens Pharma to Distribute Ustekinumab Biosimilar in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines

DKSH and Hyphens Pharma have announced their exclusive agreement to bring Ustekinumab biosimilar to Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The collaboration is under the DKSH subsidiary Favorex.

Singapore, 14 December 2021 – DKSH Business Unit Healthcare, Asia’s leading partner for healthcare companies seeking to grow their business in Asia and beyond, and Hyphens Pharma International Limited, Singapore’s leading specialty pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare group, have announced that its subsidiary, Hyphens Pharma Pte. Ltd. has signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with DKSH’s subsidiary, Favorex. Under the agreement, Hyphens will commercialize Ustekinumab biosimilar, produced by Alvotech, to Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Alvotech is a multinational biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the development and manufacturing of high-quality biosimilars for global markets. A biosimilar is a biologic medical product, highly similar to an already approved biological medicine. Unlike generic drugs, biosimilars are not exact copies of an existing drug’s chemical composition, but “highly similar”, meaning close enough in duplication to accomplish the same therapeutic and clinical results. The proposed Ustekinumab biosimilar, which is undergoing clinical studies, is a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of immune mediated disorders like plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease. According to an article in Nature earlier this year, the worldwide sales of Ustekinumab was estimated to reach US$ 8.4 billion in 2021.

Lim See Wah, Executive Chairman and CEO of Hyphens Pharma, commented: “Dermatology is one of our focus areas and we want to bring to market innovative medical dermatological products to meet the needs of patients suffering from various skin disorders. We were interested to add Ustekinumab to our product portfolio because of its dermatology indications, which we believe will help to enhance our dermatology product offerings for Asia.”

Peter Dolinsky, Vice President, Own Brands Healthcare, Asia Pacific, DKSH, remarked: “We are excited to partner with Hyphens Pharma to help bring Alvotech’s Ustekinumab product to Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. We are committed to bringing high-quality medical products to Asian patients and believe that biosimilars have a tremendous opportunity to enhance the standard of care for several diseases across Asian markets.”

For further information, please contact:

DKSH Business Unit Healthcare

Sheena Flannery

Director, Group Communications

Phone +66 2 220 9739

sheena.flannery@dksh.com

Hyphens Pharma International Limited

Foo En Yun

+65 6704 9284

enyun@cogentcomms.com

Gerald Woon

+65 8180 3641