Inhaler manufacturer Kindeva Drug Delivery has been the subject of two quick-fire major announcements in the form of a drug launch and UK Government grant.
The launch is with global healthcare company Viatris for the production and distribution of Breyna, the first generic version of AstraZeneca’s Symbicort. Both are combination drugs used for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
This news is the culmination of a years-long legal battle with AstraZeneca, which had its Symbicort patent struck down in November of 2022 but gained another six months of exclusivity through a separate lawsuit in December of the same year.
Viratris had already gained FDA approval of its generic but was unable to produce it commercially until the end of July.
The news has served Viatris well, with the company reporting strong financial results in both Q1 and Q2 of 2023. Breyna was mentioned by name in its Q2 earnings report, suggesting that it sees the drug as an important part of the company’s growth strategy. Given that Symbicort sales totalled around $2.5bn in 2022, this seems like a sound plan.
Its number of active job listings are up year on year, with a particular spike in February fuelled by new postings.
Kindeva has also entered into a joint investment totalling £33m (around $42m) with the UK Government through their Life Sciences Innovation Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF). The money will go towards building the manufacturing capacity of their Loughborough and Clitheroe UK sites in order to produce new green pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs).
The government has announced the investment will create 40 new high-skill jobs and safeguard 218 existing full-time jobs. It is a part of their £650m ‘life sci for growth’ fund announced in May, so it is likely there will be more news on UK pharmaceutical and medical device investment in coming months.
The deals follow the company's acquisition by investment firm Altaris in 2020 and subsequent rebrand. Last year, Kindeva expanded its capacities through the acquisition of iPharma Labs and a merger with another Altaris company, Meridian Medical Technologies.
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