Dive Brief:
- SunGen Pharma and Athenex agreed Monday to a joint venture to market seven FDA-approved injectable and oral drugs in the U.S.
- Athenex’s pharmaceutical division is expected to launch the drugs—many of which are aligned with the company’s existing pipeline of oncology products—at an undermined date.
- Athenex sees SunGen’s web of connections in Europe, Asia and the U.S. as a mode to improve its own drug pipeline and establish a stronger foothold in the U.S. market.
Dive Insight:
Neither company divulged the specifics of the drugs in the pipeline as a result of the joint venture. Yet, Athenex said in a Sept. 26 statement the "specialty products being launched in the near term are expected to create revenue and margin contribution to help subsidize the ongoing clinical trials and research and development projects for the Athenex proprietary pipeline."
The joint venture will become the marketing and sales arm of SunGen Pharma in the U.S., which will assist with compliance, product identification and regulatory support.
Athenex, meanwhile, said it intends to develop several other, similar partnerships in the near future.
SunGen co-CEO and President Isaac Liu said his company has worked in the past with Jeffrey Yordon, president of the Athenex pharmaceutical division.
SunGen is "very confident that the joint venture will be extremely successful," Liu said in the statement. "Furthermore, we believe our extensive network of companies around the world will result in additional products and opportunities for this joint venture."
Yordon added that Athenex’s marketing, sales and quality infrastructure, combined with SunGen Pharma’s product development expertise, "make for a formidable combination of skill sets."
Athenex is a privately held company based in Buffalo, NY and Hong Kong, with a focus on oncology products. SunGen is also privately held and based in Mumbai, with U.S. headquarters in Cranbury, N.J. The company develops oral, injectable, cream and ointment products.