On January 8, 2024 Medison Pharma ("Medison"), a global pharma company focused on providing access to highly innovative therapies to patients in international markets, reported their exclusive multi-national agreement with Regeneron Ireland DAC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN), a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases, to commercialize Libtayo (cemiplimab), a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the immune checkpoint receptor PD-1 on T cells, in select European markets and additional markets around the world (Press release, Medison Pharma, JAN 8, 2024, View Source;agreement-with-regeneron-pharmaceuticals-to-commercialize-libtayo-cemiplimab-in-multiple-countries-302028359.html [SID1234639128]).
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Libtayo was invented in laboratories at Regeneron, which acquired exclusive worldwide development, commercialization, and manufacturing rights to the medicine from Sanofi in July 2022. Medison and Regeneron will work together with all stakeholders and regulatory authorities to facilitate a seamless transition of commercialization activities to Medison during the first half of 2024.
Libtayo, which was invented using Regeneron’s proprietary VelocImmune technology, is currently approved by regulatory authorities in more than two dozen countries, including by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In select markets, it is approved as monotherapy treatment for certain patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC), as monotherapy treatment for certain patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), as both monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy for certain patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and/or as monotherapy treatment for certain patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. Libtayo is a leading and first-in-class PD-1 inhibitor approved for the treatment of two non-melanoma skin cancers and is considered standard of care in these indications.
"Our multi-regional commercial platform is a great fit for Regeneron’s go-to-market plan and another great opportunity for Medison to facilitate access to highly innovative therapies for people suffering from rare and severe diseases," said Meir Jakobsohn, Founder and Executive Chairman of Medison. "Regeneron’s selection of Medison is yet another testimony of the unique value that our multi-regional solution can generate for innovative biotech companies wishing to focus on selected markets."
"We are proud to partner with Regeneron," said Gil Gurfinkel, CEO of Medison. "Our one-of-a-kind centralized, unified commercial platform, with single alliance management across multiple markets and regions, is of great value to more and more leading biotech companies. Our platform enables biotech companies to transform numerous complex and fragmented markets and regions into a unified territory."
About Libtayo
Libtayo is a fully human monoclonal antibody targeting the immune checkpoint receptor PD-1 on T cells and was invented using Regeneron’s proprietary VelocImmune technology. By binding to PD-1, Libtayo has been shown to block cancer cells from using the PD-1 pathway to suppress T-cell activation. In the U.S. and other countries Libtayo is indicated in certain patients with advanced BCC, advanced CSCC and advanced NSCLC, as well as in advanced cervical cancer in the European Union, Canada and Brazil. As of July 1, 2022, Libtayo is developed and marketed globally by Regeneron. Outside of the U.S., the generic name for Libtayo is cemiplimab.
The extensive clinical program for Libtayo is focused on difficult-to-treat cancers. Libtayo is currently being investigated in trials as a monotherapy, as well as in combination with either conventional or novel therapeutic approaches for other solid tumors and blood cancers. These potential uses are investigational, and their safety and efficacy have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority.
Select Approved Indications for Libtayo
Libtayo is a cancer medicine used in adults to treat:
a type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) when the cancer is locally advanced (has spread nearby) or metastatic (has spread to other parts of the body). It is used in patients who cannot have surgery or treatment with radiation to cure their disease;
a type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma (BCC) when the cancer is locally advanced or metastatic. It is used in patients who cannot tolerate treatment with a type of medicine called a ‘hedgehog pathway inhibitor (HHI)’ or whose disease has worsened after such treatment;
a type of lung cancer called non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when the cancer is locally advanced and cannot be treated with chemotherapy (medicines to treat cancer) and radiation therapy, or when the cancer is metastatic. It is used either alone in patients whose tumours have a protein called PD-L1 in more than 50% of cells and no mutations in the genes EGFR, ALK and ROS1 involved in the development of NSCLC, or together with platinum-based chemotherapy in patients whose tumours have PD-L1 in at least 1% of the cells and no mutations in the EGFR, ALK and ROS1 genes;
cervical cancer that has come back (recurrent) or is metastatic. It is used in patients whose disease has progressed during or after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.
It is not known if Libtayo is safe and effective in children.