Formycon and Fresenius Kabi conclude global commercialization partnership for FYB202, a biosimilar candidate to Stelara®1 (ustekinumab)

Press Release February 2, 2023

Formycon and Fresenius Kabi conclude global commercialization partnership for FYB202, a biosimilar candidate to Stelara^®1 (ustekinumab)

Munich – Formycon AG (ISIN: DE000A1EWVY8/ WKN: A1EWVY), as the exclusive owner of the global commercial rights to FYB202, a biosimilar candidate to Stelara^® (ustekinumab), announced the conclusion of a global license agreement with Fresenius Kabi AG (“Fresenius Kabi”). Provided successful approval by the respective health agencies, Fresenius Kabi will commercialize FYB202 in key global markets.

Upon conclusion of the agreement Formycon receives an upfront payment as well as milestone payments contingent on the successful achievement of certain regulatory events which are expected to total in the mid double digit million Euro range. Post-commercialization value will be shared approximately equally by both companies. Semi-exclusive commercialization rights for Germany as well as rights for parts of the MENA² region and Latin America remain with Formycon.

Fresenius Kabi is a global healthcare company that specializes in pharmaceuticals, medical technologies, and nutrition products for critical and chronic conditions. In the field of biosimilars, Fresenius Kabi focuses on the development and marketing of biosimilars in the area of autoimmune diseases and oncology.

In August 2022, Formycon published positive interim results for efficacy for FYB202 from the clinical phase III study VESPUCCI. The randomized, double-blind multi-centric phase III study achieved the primary endpoint, demonstrating comparable efficacy of FYB202 and the reference medicine Stelara^® in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis vulgaris (plaque psoriasis).

In the extended phase I pharmacokinetics study, the recruitment of study subjects was successfully completed in October 2022. European and U.S. regulatory submissions for FYB202 are planned for the third quarter of 2023.

FYB202 is a proposed biosimilar referencing Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara®, a human monoclonal antibody that targets the cytokines interleukin-12 and interleukin 23 for treatment of immune-mediated disorders. Stelara® is approved for treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis as well as active psoriatic arthritis with a global sales volume of more than USD 9.5 billion in 2022.

"We are delighted about the conclusion of the agreement and are looking forward to a successful commercialization of our Ustekinumab biosimilar after approval. The combination of Formycon’s development expertise and Fresenius Kabi’s global commercial competence offers an excellent basis for providing access to our highly efficacious product to many patients,” says Nicola Mikulcik, Chief Business Officer at Formycon AG.

“We welcome the potential of this agreement to build on the strengths of our companies across the value chain from development to commercialization. With the commercialization of the Ustekinumab biosimilar we are expanding our product portfolio with another autoimmune disease treatment option. In line with our Vision 2026, this is yet another key milestone for Fresenius Kabi in delivering on our strategic priority of providing access to biosimilars for patients worldwide,” says Dr. Michael Schönhofen, Fresenius Kabi’s Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Fresenius Kabi Management Board.  

1) Stelara® is a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson
²⁾ Middle East and North Africa

About Formycon:
Formycon (ISIN: DE000A1EWVY8 / WKN: A1EWVY) is a leading, independent developer of high-quality biopharmaceutical medicines, especially biosimilars. The company focuses on treatments in ophthalmology, immunology and on other key chronic diseases, covering the entire value chain from technical development to the clinical phase III as well as the preparation of dossiers for marketing approval. With its biosimilars, Formycon is making a major contribution towards providing as many patients as possible with access to vital and affordable medicines. Formycon currently has six biosimilars in development. Based on its extensive experience in the development of biopharmaceutical drugs, the company is also working on the development of a COVID-19 drug FYB207.

About Fresenius Kabi:
Fresenius Kabi is a global health care company that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. The company’s products and services are used to help care for critically and chronically ill patients. Fresenius Kabi’s product portfolio comprises a comprehensive range of I.V. generic drugs, infusion therapies and clinical nutrition products as well as the devices for administering these products. In the field of biosimilars, Fresenius Kabi focuses on autoimmune diseases and oncology. In 2019, the first biosimilar product by Fresenius Kabi was launched. Within transfusion medicine and cell therapies, Fresenius Kabi offers products for collection of blood components and extracorporeal therapies.

For more information visit the Fresenius Kabi’s website at www.fresenius-kabi.com
For more information about the company’s work in biosimilars, please visit https://biosimilars.fresenius-kabi.com

About Biosimilars:
Since their introduction in the 1980s, biopharmaceuticals have revolutionized the treatment of serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and eye diseases. In the coming years, many of these biotech drugs will lose their patent protection – and by 2025, medications with revenues of approximately USD 100 billion will be off patent. Biosimilars are follow-on versions of biopharmaceuticals, for which exclusivity has expired. They are approved via stringent regulatory pathways in highly regulated markets (such as EU, US, Japan, Canada, Australia) based on proven similarity of the biosimilar with the originator biopharmaceutical reference product. Currently, global sales of biosimilars are estimated at more than $15 billion. By 2030, analysts estimate that this figure could rise to over $60 billion.

Contact:
Sabrina Müller
Senior Manager Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
Formycon AG
Fraunhoferstr. 15
82152 Martinsried/Planegg/Germany
phone +49 (0) 89 - 86 46 67 149
fax + 49 (0) 89 - 86 46 67 110
Sabrina.Mueller@formycon.com // www.formycon.com

Disclaimer:
This press release may contain forward-looking statements and information which are based on our current expectations and certain assumptions. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, performance of the company, development of the products and the estimates given here. Such known and unknown risks and uncertainties comprise, among others, the research and development, the regulatory approval process, the timing of the actions of regulatory bodies and other governmental authorities, clinical results, changes in laws and regulations, product quality, patient safety, patent litigation, contractual risks and dependencies from third parties. With respect to pipeline products, Formycon AG does not provide any representation, warranties or any other guarantees that the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially exploitable and/or successful. Formycon AG assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in case of developments which differ from those anticipated. This document neither constitutes an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for securities of Formycon AG. No public offering of securities of Formycon AG will be made nor is a public offering intended. This document and the information contained therein may not be distributed in or into the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Japan or any other jurisdictions, in which such offer or such solicitation would be prohibited. This document does not constitute an offer for the sale of securities in the United States.