Sandoz has signed an agreement to acquire the US biosimilar ranibizumab CIMERLI® (ranibizumab-eqrn) from Coherus BioSciences for an upfront cash purchase payment of $170 million.
This is inclusive of a biologics license application, product inventory, ophthalmology sales and field reimbursement talent, as well as access to proprietary commercial software.
Keren Haruvi, President, Sandoz North America, said: “I am pleased that we can add another high-value product to the growing Sandoz biosimilar portfolio, further strengthening our existing ophthalmology franchise.
“The addition of CIMERLI® reinforces our commitment to biosimilars and represents a huge step towards our goal of pioneering patient access to more affordable and much-needed medicines in the US.”
CIMERLI® solution for injection 0.3 mg (6 mg/mL) and 0.5 mg (10 mg/mL) is an FDA-approved biosimilar to reference product LUCENTIS® (ranibizumab injection) that is indicated for the treatment of multiple retinal diseases including wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME), macular edema following retinal vein occlusion (RVO), myopic choroidal neovascularization (mCNV) and diabetic retinopathy (DR).
CIMERLI® is an anti-VEGF therapy within a class of biologics that helps retinal patients maintain or gain vision. CIMERLI® was approved by the FDA in August 2022, having met FDA’s standards of biosimilarity to the reference product, including safety, efficacy, and quality. Launched in October 2022, it is the first and only FDA-approved biosimilar interchangeable with LUCENTIS® for all indications.
