Seeking to increase its foothold in the emerging market for generic biologic drugs, Novartis committed to pay a Cambridge, Mass., biotech firm up to $263 million and collaborate on four drugs. As part of the accord between Sandoz — the generic unit of Novartis — and Momenta Pharmaceuticals, the two will develop three new product candidates, one from Momenta and two from Sandoz. The firms would not disclose them. The companies already collaborate on a generic version of Lovenox, a blood thinner from Sanofi-Aventis, for the US market, and the new agreement extends that pact to Europe. Sandoz agreed to make an initial payment of $75 million to Momenta for the purchase of a 13% stake in the biotech company. Momenta is eligible to receive up to $188 million in additional milestone payments. Biotech copycats are a key part of the growth strategy for Sandoz, which this year brought to market the first follow-on biologic—the Omnitrope human growth hormone. The partnership with Momenta aims to establish an approach to facilitate development and registration of generic versions of recombinant biotech drugs.
Novartis enters deal to develop biotech copycats
Seeking to increase its foothold in the emerging market for generic biologic drugs, Novartis committed to pay a Cambridge, Mass., biotech firm up to $263 million and collaborate on four drugs.