Kyowa Kirin International and NewBridge Pharmaceuticals Enter Into Agreement to Improve Access to Medicines for Rare Disease Patients Across Middle East and North Africa
August 07 2024 - 3:00AM
Business Wire
- Agreement will see NewBridge Pharmaceuticals act as a
multi-country distributor in four countries across the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA) region for Kyowa Kirin International’s
current rare disease portfolio
- Bringing access to medicines within a population of 100 million
across Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Jordan, the agreement supports
Kyowa Kirin’s International’s commitment to geographical expansion
to meet the needs of more patients across the international
region
Kyowa Kirin International (KKI), a wholly owned subsidiary of
Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (TSE:4151, Kyowa Kirin) and a Japan-based
global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today the
signing of a Promotion and Distribution Agreement with NewBridge
Pharmaceuticals for the distribution of its existing rare disease
portfolio across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Under the terms of the agreement, NewBridge will commercialise
CRYSVITA® (burosumab) for the treatment of X-Linked
Hypophosphataemia (XLH) and Tumour-Induced Osteomalacia (TIO), as
well as POTELIGEO® (mogamulizumab) for two subtypes of cutaneous
T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a rare non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
As part of the agreement, NewBridge will exclusively distribute
the two products across MENA countries of Algeria, Iraq, Libya and
Jordan. KKI and NewBridge also hope to collaboratively address a
number of challenges facing the rare disease community in the
region by supporting disease awareness, improving time to
diagnosis, and improving access to innovative treatments indicated
for rare and orphan diseases.
Jeremy Morgan, President of KKI, commented: “At Kyowa Kirin our
purpose is to deliver life-changing medicines and make people
smile. We are pleased to be entering into this agreement with
NewBridge Pharmaceuticals who have a clear mission to transform the
lives of MENA patients and their families. With a commitment to
delivering life changing value for people impacted by
under-diagnosed and under-served diseases, this agreement is key to
ensuring patients living with XLH, TIO and CTCL are able to access
the medicines they need, and is another positive step on our
journey.”
"Given the high prevalence of rare diseases in the MENA region,
I am personally inspired and proud that we at NewBridge are
building on our existing partnership with Kyowa Kirin with the
addition of their rare disease products to our region,” added Joe
Henein, President & CEO of NewBridge Pharmaceuticals. “This
collaboration totally aligns with our mission to provide access to
new therapies for patients, aiming to alleviate their suffering and
enhancing their quality of life."
About CRYSVITA (burosumab)
CRYSVITA (burosumab) is a recombinant human monoclonal antibody
(mAb) that binds to the protein fibroblast growth factor 23
(FGF23). This has the impact of inhibiting the action of FGF23,
allowing phosphate regulation in the body to be restored.1
About POTELIGEO (mogamulizumab)
Mogamulizumab is a first-in-class humanised mAb directed against
CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), a protein consistently expressed in
both mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome2–4 once mogamulizumab
binds to CCR4, it increases attraction of immune cells from the
immune system to destroy the cancerous cells.5
About Kyowa Kirin
Kyowa Kirin aims to discover novel medicines with life-changing
value. As a Japan-based Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, we
have invested in drug discovery and biotechnology innovation for
more than 70 years and are currently working to engineer the next
generation of antibodies and cell and gene therapies with the
potential to help patients affected by severe and rare diseases. A
shared commitment to our values, to sustainable growth, and to
making people smile unites us across our four regions—Japan, Asia
Pacific, North America, and EMEA/International.
You can learn more about the business of Kyowa Kirin at:
https://www.kyowakirin.com
About NewBridge Pharmaceuticals
NewBridge Pharmaceuticals is a regional specialty company with a
comprehensive pharmaceutical platform of services and expertise,
established to bridge the access gap and partner with global pharma
and biotech companies to in-license and commercialise innovative
therapeutics that address unmet medical needs into the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA) regions.
For more information, please visit www.nbpharma.com
References
1Electronic Medicines Compendium. Crysvita 10 mg solution for
injection. Available from:
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/9779/smpc#gref. Last
accessed: November 2023. 2Ferenczi K, et al. Increased CCR4
expression in cutaneous T cell lymphoma. J Invest Dermatol.
2002;119:1405–10. 3Yoshie O, et al. Frequent Expression of CCR4 in
Adult T-Cell Leukemia and Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type
1-transformed T cells. Blood. 2002;99(5):1505–11. 4Ishida T, et al.
Clinical Significance of CCR4 Expression in Adult T-cell
Leukemia/Lymphoma: Its Close Association With Skin Involvement and
Unfavorable Outcome. Clin Cancer Res. 2003;9:3625–34. 5Duvic M, et
al. Mogamulizumab for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma:
recent advances and clinical potential. Ther Adv Hematol.
2016;7(3):171–174.
KKI/INT/KKI/0959 Date of preparation: July 2024
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Stacey Minton Email: Stacey.Minton@kyowakirin.com