Mankind Pharma on Thursday said it planned to sell sintilimab, an advanced PD-1 immunotherapy, in India through a partnership with Innovent Biologics. The company further stated that this strategic partnership is designed to focus on the key issues faced in cancer therapy and make advanced treatment regimes more accessible in the region.
Cancer is now a significant threat to India’s population and is expected to reach 29·8 million DALYs in 2025, as stated by the NCRP1. Thus, the cooperation between Mankind Pharma and Innovent Biologics provides strategic direction for addressing this ever-burning challenge, which targets controlling the increasing number of cancer cases and enhancing patient prognosis in different parts of the country.
“TYVYT (sintilimab injection) is a high-quality PD-1 immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal Antibody jointly developed by Innovent and Eli Lilly Company. Its way of working is halting the PD-1/PD-L1 path that inhibits T-cells, making the body’s immune system again effectively kill cancerous cells. The drug showing excellent efficacy and safety profile and available as a treatment for eight cancers in China: NSCLC, liver cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, endometrial cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma. , affording millions of cancer patients improved therapeutic outcomes in the immunotherapy space since the commencement of its sales in mid 2018. This universal immunotherapy has the ability to greatly contribute to improve conditions of oncology patients in India,” the firm said in a statement.
According to the deal, Mankind Pharma will be licensed to register, import, commercialise, promote, and distribute sintilimab in the country. Innovent will also be responsible for producing and distributing the product because it is sure that it will be in high demand and require high quality.
Mankind Pharma is thrilled to exclusively tie up with Innovent Biologics to bring sintilimab to India. This particular immunotherapy is a breakthrough in cancer treatment, opening fresh possibilities for a multitude of patients diagnosed with various forms of cancer. Our mission is to bring this innovative therapy to India and enhance patient demographics while continuing to assert our company’s leadership in oncology treatments. Mankind Pharma is a leading Indian pharmaceutical company with an excellent field force of 16000+ people and over 13000 stockists well positioned all over India’s operation network. This ecosystem will be important in guaranteeing accessibility of sintilimab to not only the urban but the rural markets as well. It is not just a business association. It is a promise to change the face of Oncological care in India and to make advanced treatment more accessible across a broader patient base,” said Mr Atish Majumdar – Sr President – Sales & Marketing, Mankind Pharma Limited.
It said Innovent will also be entitled to receive upfront, regulatory and commercial milestones. It is our great pleasure to team up with Mankind Pharma to launch our innovative PD-1 inhibitor, sintilimab in the market No.7 country to offer hope to clients living with different types of cancer. By applying all the resources that Mankind Pharma has and the company’s experience, we believe that sintilimab will be available for patients soon. Combined, both parties will work towards improving patient care in India with easy and cost-effective innovative treatments,” added Dr. Samuel Zhang, Chief Business Officer of Innovent Biologics.
