Mankind Pharma and Innovent Biologics have announced a partnership to exclusively licence and commercialise sintilimab, an advanced immunotherapy drug, in the Indian market.

Sintilimab is marketed as Tyvyt (sintilimab injection) in China, a monoclonal antibody co-developed by Innovent and Eli Lilly. “Its mechanism of blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway reactivates T-cells, enhancing the body’s natural ability to target and eliminate cancer cells,” a note from the company said.

Remarkable efficacy

The drug has demonstrated remarkable efficacy and favourable safety across multiple major cancer types with eight approved indications in China, including non-small cell lung cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, endometrial cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the company added. Tyvyt (sintilimab injection) is among the leading choices in immunotherapy, it said, benefitting cancer patients since its launch in 2018.

Mankind Pharma will have exclusive rights to register, import, market, sell and distribute sintilimab in India. Innovent will oversee manufacturing and supply of the product, ensuring consistent availability and adherence to quality standards, it added. Innovent will also be eligible to receive upfront, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, it added.

Atish Majumdar, Senior President (Sales and Marketing), Mankind Pharma, said, its distribution network with a field force of 16,000-plus personnel and over 13,000 stockists across India would help take sintilimab across urban and rural markets. Dr Samuel Zhang, Chief Business Officer of Innovent Biologics, said that introducing its PD-1 inhibitor, sintilimab in India would provide hope for patients battling various forms of cancer.