Taking a page from Pfizer’s manufacturing playbook—and following in the recent footsteps of Eli Lilly and Merck & Co.—generics juggernaut Viatris is the latest drugmaker angling to boost production autonomy overseas.
By expanding an existing partnership with Cypriot pharmaceutical company Medochemie, Viatris aims to boost drug production in Vietnam and improve patients’ access to locally made medicines there. Specifically, Viatris will transfer technology that Medochemie will use under license to make certain drugs from Viatris’ noncommunicable disease portfolio, the companies said in a release.
Viatris did not say specifically which drugs will be made at Medochemie’s plants. The company did not immediately respond to Fierce Pharma’s request for comment.
On its website, Viatris lists several examples of noncommunicable diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The deal is expected to beef up local production of “complex solid dosage forms and injectable lifesaving antibiotics,” Daphne Pittas, Medochemie’s chief operations officer, added in a statement.
That work will take place across Medochemie’s five manufacturing sites in Vietnam. The company has pumped cash into the development of two “high technology” projects in the country, where it boasts nine different production lines for solid dosage forms to sterile powders for injection.
Viatris’ Vietnamese manufacturing accord echoes a similar move by Pfizer, which linked up with Medochemie in 2019 to crank out 11 products in the country comprising four sterile injectables and seven tablets.
At the time, a Pfizer spokesperson said the move was aligned with the Vietnamese government’s efforts to bolster the nation’s local pharmaceutical industry.
And Viatris is just the latest drugmaker to strike an international manufacturing accord this month.
Last week, Eli Lilly forged a licensing agreement with generic drug maker Eva Pharma of Egypt to expand distribution of insulin to middle- and low-income countries—most of them in Africa. Under the deal, Lilly will deliver active pharmaceutical ingredients at a reduced cost for its human and analogue insulin as well as provide a “pro-bono transfer” of the technology needed to formulate, fill and finish vials and cartridges.
Lilly’s insulin deliveries to Africa are expected to begin in 18 months. The goal is to be able to supply insulin to 1 million diabetes patients annually by 2030.
Separately, Merck & Co. struck a similar licensing deal with Indonesia’s Bio Farma for the state-owned drug manufacturer to produce Merck’s four-valent HPV vaccine locally. The pact is part of Indonesia’s bid to launch a national HPV immunization program in 2023.