Sun Pharma licenses AstraZeneca to sell its oncology drugs in China

The agreement will help to bring cost-effective and quality drugs to patients in China, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement.

Astra Zebeca also announced the signing of a new licensing agreement with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, India’s leading pharmaceutical company, to bring certain novel products into China and add to AstraZeneca’s China oncology portfolio, as part of its expansion in China.

As per the terms of the agreement, Sun Pharma will be responsible for development, regulatory filings and manufacturing the products covered in the agreement, while AstraZeneca will exclusively promote and distribute these products in China, Sun Pharma said.

The initial tenure of the agreement is 10 years from the first commercial sale of the said products in China, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries said.

The company, however, did not share financial terms of the agreement.

"AstraZeneca's leadership position will help us to make our products available to patients and doctors in China," Sun Pharma Director of Corporate Development Kal Sundaram said.

The company sees a great potential to introduce its speciality and generic products in the growing China market and this licensing agreement is another positive step in that direction, he added.

For AstraZeneca, the marketing of Sun Pharma products is part of a major initiative involving the setting up of a new Global R&D Centre, AI Innovation Centre and a joint investment fund with China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC) to underpin next phase of growth

AstraZeneca announced three large-scale initiatives to build on the Company’s long-standing commitment to China and advance global research and development (R&D) for innovative new medicines.

The announcements made at the second annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai include the creation of a new Global R&D Centre and an artificial intelligence (AI) Innovation Centre, both in Shanghai, and the creation of a first-of-its-kind Healthcare Industrial Fund with China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC).

Based in the Jing'an district of central Shanghai, the Global R&D Centre will carry out R&D for potential new innovative medicines and more than double AstraZeneca’s Shanghai R&D headcount to around 1,000. 

Its primary focus will be on diseases that are prevalent in China, home to around a quarter of world’s disease burden, as well as other parts of Asia. The centre will also aim to advance global medicine development and life-cycle management programmes, and create new partnerships within China’s emerging R&D ecosystem.