Sandoz, a division of Swiss firm Novartis in generic and biosimilar medicine, has entered into a development and commercialisation agreement with Korean firm Samsung Bioepis.

The agreement provides Sandoz with the exclusive rights to commercialise the biosimilar SB17 ustekinumab in the US, Canada, European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, and UK. 

The reference medicine Stelara (ustekinumab) is a monoclonal antibody medication to interleukin (IL)-12/23 for the treatment of autoimmune disorders including Crohn's disease, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis.

SB17, a proposed biosimilar to Stelara (ustekinumab), is Samsung Bioepis’ fourth candidate in its immunology pipeline, following SB4 (etanercept), SB2 (infliximab) and SB5 (adalimumab). Samsung Bioepis has a more than 5-year track record of supplying over 48 million units of immunology biosimilars in nearly 40 markets across the world.

The partnership's primary objective is to support Samsung Bioepis pipeline expansion and provide increased access to biosimilars.