Celltrion and Celltrion Healthcare announced on Aug. 20 that they have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with British bio company "Intract Pharma" to develop infliximab for oral use.
Intract Pharma is a bio-company that was spun off from "University College London" in 2015, and has conducted joint research with various global pharmaceutical companies such as AbbVie, Janssen, and Merck with its own oral molding technology that efficiently delivers protein drugs to the intestine.
Based on its experience in successfully developing the world's first successful intravenous-type Remsima and the first subcutaneous-injection-type Remsima SC, the group announced that it has started to develop an oral Infliximab so that the Remsima brand can be introduced to the medical community with various options.
Under the terms of the contract, the group will supply Infliximab as a clinical raw material to Intract Pharma, and Intract Pharma will proceed with the development and verification of oral Infliximab products based on this.
The group has secured the right to exercise priority negotiation rights upon completion of Phase II clinical trials and the right to return part of its sales as royalties even in case of license out (export of technology).
The group expects that once commercialization is completed, the first oral Infliximab targeting the IBD market will be introduced to the market, which will have a significant impact on the Infliximab market as well as the TNF-α inhibitor market.
In particular, Intract Pharma is a leading player in the field of technology platforms that reliably deliver antibodies to the intestine, and expects that the cooperation between the two companies will help develop oral antibodies, including oral infliximab treatments.
The global IBD market is expected to grow to US$2 billion by 2026, and the group plans to further strengthen its competitiveness in the TNF- α inhibitor market by developing infliximab products that range from intravenous and hypodermic injections to oral tablets in line with various demands from the market.
A company official said, "The technology partnership with Intract Pharma has led to the joint development of oral Infliximab products with high efficacy, safety and convenience. Through close cooperation between the two companies, we will continue to prepare for development from the stage of clinical design."
