Actavis Heads into Biosimilars

Actavis, the Icelandic-headquartered generics group, has announced plans to enter the biosimilars field. According to a press statement, target areas for the company's proposed biosimilar R&D includes endocrinology and, potentially, oncology.

The plans come after as the group enters into an Initial Agreement with Polish-based biotech company Bioton - one of four recombinant human insulin producers in the world. If the companies agree to move forward with the deal, both parties have agreed to initiate a common assessment with respect to their cooperation in certain areas, including: the distribution of recombinant human insulin produced by Bioton; the co-development and distribution of the third generation hepatitis B vaccine manufactured by Bionton's subsidiary, SciGen Ltd.; and co-operation in other areas, in particular those related to biotechnological drugs.

On the plan to enter this new market, Actavis CEO Dr Claudio Albrecht commented: "We will have generic companies investing significantly more in research and we will see originator companies developing generics. Only the large generic players such as Teva, Sandoz, Mylan and Actavis have the capability to do this, either by themselves or in partnerships with originators."