Samsung and Takeda agree to co-develop new drugs for a number of different diseases.

Samsung Bioepis is a relatively-young company and a business of the well-known South Korean electronics firm Samsung Group. Initially founded to develop biosimilars, Samsung recently took the first steps — largely expected in the industry — to participate in the novel drug development space. It has made this step by forming a partnership with Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda.

“With novel biologics, we will look to bring medicines to treat unmet diseases by breaking down two major hurdles facing biologics development — cost overruns and time delays,” Samsung said, according to the Financial Times. Samsung Bioepis was the first to launch a biosimilar of Amgen’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel in Europe, a product that has generated sales of more than $250 million — to date, according to Bioepis.

The two companies will first work to co-develop Takeda’s candidate TAK-671 for the treatment of severe acute pancreatitis. The companies will collaborate on clinical trials and if successful, licensing and commercialization. Several other joint programs targeting diseases that lack effective treatments are also planned, with Samsung becoming involved much earlier in the development process. 

Image Courtesy of Samsung Bioepis