Drug major Cipla Ltd on Monday (January 8) said its wholly-owned subsidiary Cipla (EU) Ltd entered into a strategic collaboration with Kemwell Biopharma Private Ltd (via its subsidiary Kemwell Biopharma UK Ltd) and Manipal Education & Medical Group (via its subsidiary MNI Ventures, Mauritius).
The collaboration aims to establish a joint venture in the United States dedicated to advancing and commercialising novel cell therapy products targeting critical unmet medical needs in the United States, Japan, and EU regions.
Under this strategic alliance, Cipla (EU) is set to secure a 35.2% stake in the joint venture company. The collaboration draws upon the collective strengths of each partner, combining Cipla's prowess in product development and commercialisation, Kemwell's expertise in biologics, and Manipal's extensive experience in healthcare delivery.
The primary focus of the joint venture is to accelerate the development, manufacturing, licensing, import, and export of innovative cell therapy products that address major medical gaps, with a global reach to cater to patients across borders.
The collaboration is expected to leverage Cipla's leadership in product development and commercialisation, Kemwell's specialised knowledge in biologics, and Manipal's established healthcare delivery expertise to create a synergistic approach to advancing cutting-edge cell therapy solutions.
Umang Vohra, Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer of Cipla, said, "This joint venture reinforces our concerted efforts to move up the innovation curve and pioneer transformative treatments in the areas of stem cell and CAR T-cell therapies, enabled by advances in biotech, mRNA and cell-engineering research, that can make a difference to patient lives globally."
Anurag Bagaria, Chairman and CEO, Kemwell, said the company believes that cell therapies will become a major branch of medical treatment and will become a standard of care for challenging diseases. Kemwell has built a world-class cGMP facility in Bengaluru and made India an emerging hub for cell therapy development and manufacturing.
Dr Ranjan Pai, Chairman of Manipal Education & Medical Group, said, "We are very happy to partner with Cipla and Kemwell in bringing the next generation of biological therapies to address unmet medical needs globally. Physicians will have accessible, safe, and clinically effective cell therapies in their hands to fight against many serious indications."
Shares of Cipla Ltd ended at ₹1,271.05, down by ₹15.45, or 1.20%, on the BSE.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Jan 8, 2024 7:48 PM IST
