Icelandic Biopharmaceutical Company Alvotech Signs Huge Contract with Teva
Róbert Wessmann, CEO and founder of Alvotech. Photo/Sigurjón Ragnar
A collaboration agreement, one of the largest business contracts ever made with an Icelandic company, has been signed between the Icelandic biopharmaceutical company Alvotech and Teva Pharmaceuticals, mbl.is reports. According to Fréttablaðið , the contract ensures Alvotech income amounting to hundreds of billions of ISK for the coming decade.
According to a joint press release, published on businesswire.com , the companies plan to collaborate in the US biosimilar market, and the collaboration is one of the broadest partnerships within the US biosimilar industry to date, aimed at accelerating improved patient access for high quality biosimilar medicines in the US biosimilar industry.
The production will take place at the Alvotech headquarters in Reykjavík. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon
The partnership involves the commercialization in the US of five biosimilar product candidates, addressing multiple therapeutic areas.
According to the agreement, Alvotech will be responsible for the development, registration and supply of the biosimilars – all of them produced in Iceland - while Teva will be exclusively commercializing the products in the U.S. The originator products of these five candidates currently generate about USD 35 billion in U.S. sales. The two companies will share profit from the commercialization of the biosimilars.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is more than a century old business, producing more than 3,500 products in nearly every therapeutic area.
“We are very proud to announce our strategic alliance with Teva – a leading global pharmaceutical company, to accelerate the introduction and adoption of new biosimilar medicines for patients in the U.S. market,” states Alvotech CEO and founder Róbert Wessman. “This is not only a big moment for the biosimilar industry but also a very special moment for Alvotech, as we continue to join forces with leading global and regional partners around the world.”
He tells Fréttablaðið that the development and production of biopharmaceuticals could become one of the main components of Icelandic exports.
Alvotech already employs 480 people and now expects to hire an additional 70 scientists and specialists.
