INCHEON, KOREA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced its expansion into the Brazilian biopharmaceutical market. The first product available in the country is BRENZYS™ (etanercept), a biosimilar referencing ENBREL^®.ⁱ BRENZYS™ was approved by Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (ANVISA), the country’s health regulatory agency, in December 2017 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

Samsung Bioepis is continuing its business expansion in multiple markets across the world, including mainland China, where the company entered into partnerships with 3SBio and C-Bridge Capital to develop and commercialize multiple biosimilar candidates from Samsung Bioepis.

BRENZYS™ is being supplied to Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), the country’s public health system, through a Productive Development Partnership (PDP) between Samsung Bioepis and local partners, Bionovis and Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz.

Under the PDP, Samsung Bioepis will supply biosimilar products or product intermediaries to the local partners for sale to SUS for a period of 10 years. During this period, Samsung Bioepis will provide technology transfer to the local partners, so that manufacturing responsibilities can be gradually transferred to enable local manufacturing in Brazil. The PDP scheme was introduced by the Brazilian government in 2008, in order to expand access to medicines and support the country’s pharmaceutical industry through technology transfer from established companies in return for guaranteed purchases from SUS.

In Brazil, over 75% of patients nationwide rely on SUS for health care coverage.ⁱⁱ While biologics represent approximately 4% of all medicinal products acquired by SUS, they account for approximately 51% of government spending on medicinal products.ⁱⁱⁱ

“We are excited to provide our high-quality biosimilars to patients across Brazil, and look forward to working with our local partners to enhance patient access to high-quality healthcare. Equally important, by sharing our scientific knowledge with our local partners, we hope to do our part in contributing to the long-term development of the Brazilian biopharmaceutical industry,” said Sang-Jin Pak, Senior Vice President and Head of Commercial Division, Samsung Bioepis. “At Samsung Bioepis, we will continue to demonstrate our enduring commitment to biosimilars by further strengthening our pipeline and widening their availability for patients and health care systems across the world.”

Samsung Bioepis’ products are now available across five continents: North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. The company currently has four biosimilars approved and marketed across Europe, which include the anti-TNF trio of BENEPALI™ (etanercept), FLIXABI™ (infliximab), and IMRALDI™ (adalimumab), as well as an oncologic biosimilar, ONTRUZANT^® (trastuzumab). Over 170,000 patients are currently under treatment with Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilars in Europe. In the United States, the company has one biosimilar – RENFLEXIS^® (infliximab-abda) – approved and marketed. ONTRUZANT^® (trastuzumab-dttb) received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2019, while ETICOVO™ (etanercept-ykro) and HADLIMA™ (adalimumab-bwwd) received FDA approval in April and July 2019, respectively.

About Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.

Established in 2012, Samsung Bioepis is a biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing healthcare that is accessible to everyone. Through innovations in product development and a firm commitment to quality, Samsung Bioepis aims to become the world’s leading biopharmaceutical company. Samsung Bioepis continues to advance a broad pipeline of biosimilar candidates that cover a spectrum of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, ophthalmology and hematology. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen. For more information, please visit: www.samsungbioepis.com.

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ⁱ ENBREL is a registered trademark of Pfizer
ⁱⁱ Jurberg C, Humphreys G. Brazil’s march towards universal coverage. Bull World Health Organ. 2010;88(9):646-7.
ⁱⁱⁱ Debiasi M, et al. Biosimilars in Brazil: The Beginning of an Era of Broader Access. Journal of Cancer Therapy. 2017; 8:814-826.

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