Kyowa Kirin International and NewBridge Pharmaceuticals enter into agreement to improve access to medicines for rare disease patients across Middle East and North Africa

·         Agreement will see NewBridge Pharmaceuticals act as a multi-country distributor in four countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for Kyowa Kirin International’s current rare disease portfolio

·         Bringing access to medicines within a population of 100 million across Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Jordan, the agreement supports Kyowa Kirin’s International’s commitment to geographical expansion to meet the needs of more patients across the international region

Galashiels and Marlow, United Kingdom., 7 August 2024—Kyowa Kirin International (KKI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd. (TSE:4151, Kyowa Kirin) and a Japan-based global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today the signing of a Promotion and Distribution Agreement with NewBridge Pharmaceuticals for the distribution of its existing rare disease portfolio across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Under the terms of the agreement, NewBridge will commercialise CRYSVITA® (burosumab) for the treatment of X-Linked Hypophosphataemia (XLH) and Tumour-Induced Osteomalacia (TIO), as well as POTELIGEO® (mogamulizumab) for two subtypes of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a rare non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

As part of the agreement, NewBridge will exclusively distribute the two products across MENA countries of Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Jordan. KKI and NewBridge also hope to collaboratively address a number of challenges facing the rare disease community in the region by supporting disease awareness, improving time to diagnosis, and improving access to innovative treatments indicated for rare and orphan diseases.

Jeremy Morgan, President of KKI, commented: “At Kyowa Kirin our purpose is to deliver life-changing medicines and make people smile. We are pleased to be entering into this agreement with NewBridge Pharmaceuticals who have a clear mission to transform the lives of MENA patients and their families. With a commitment to delivering life changing value for people impacted by under-diagnosed and under-served diseases, this agreement is key to ensuring patients living with XLH, TIO and CTCL are able to access the medicines they need, and is another positive step on our journey.”

"Given the high prevalence of rare diseases in the MENA region, I am personally inspired and proud that we at NewBridge are building on our existing partnership with Kyowa Kirin with the addition of their rare disease products to our region,” added Joe Henein, President & CEO of NewBridge Pharmaceuticals. “This collaboration totally aligns with our mission to provide access to new therapies for patients, aiming to alleviate their suffering and enhancing their quality of life."

About CRYSVITA (burosumab)

CRYSVITA (burosumab) is a recombinant human monoclonal antibody (mAb) that binds to the protein fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). This has the impact of inhibiting the action of FGF23, allowing phosphate regulation in the body to be restored.1

About POTELIGEO (mogamulizumab)

Mogamulizumab is a first-in-class humanised mAb directed against CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), a protein consistently expressed in both mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome2–4 once mogamulizumab binds to CCR4, it increases attraction of immune cells from the immune system to destroy the cancerous cells.5

About Kyowa Kirin

Kyowa Kirin aims to discover novel medicines with life-changing value. As a Japan-based Global Specialty Pharmaceutical Company, we have invested in drug discovery and biotechnology innovation for more than 70 years and are currently working to engineer the next generation of antibodies and cell and gene therapies with the potential to help patients affected by severe and rare diseases. A shared commitment to our values, to sustainable growth, and to making people smile unites us across our four regions—Japan, Asia Pacific, North America, and EMEA/International.

You can learn more about the business of Kyowa Kirin at: https://www.kyowakirin.com   

About NewBridge Pharmaceuticals

NewBridge Pharmaceuticals is a regional specialty company with a comprehensive pharmaceutical platform of services and expertise, established to bridge the access gap and partner with global pharma and biotech companies to in-license and commercialise innovative therapeutics that address unmet medical needs into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.

For more information, please visit www.nbpharma.com

References

1Electronic Medicines Compendium. Crysvita 10 mg solution for injection. Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/9779/smpc#gref. Last accessed: November 2023.

2Ferenczi K, et al. Increased CCR4 expression in cutaneous T cell lymphoma. J Invest Dermatol. 2002;119:1405–10.

3Yoshie O, et al. Frequent Expression of CCR4 in Adult T-Cell Leukemia and Human T-cell Leukemia Virus Type 1-transformed T cells. Blood. 2002;99(5):1505–11.

4Ishida T, et al. Clinical Significance of CCR4 Expression in Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma: Its Close Association With Skin Involvement and Unfavorable Outcome. Clin Cancer Res. 2003;9:3625–34.

5Duvic M, et al. Mogamulizumab for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: recent advances and clinical potential. Ther Adv Hematol. 2016;7(3):171–174.