Prestige Biologics partners with Indian company for CDMO

Prestige Biologics Co., a South Korean biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) company, is expanding its CDMO business through a partnership with a leading pharmaceutical company in India.

The group has announced that its subsidiary, Prestige Biologics, which specializes in biopharmaceutical CDMO services, has entered into a strategic partnership memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, a prominent pharmaceutical company in India.

Prestige Biologics will serve as a manufacturing hub in South Korea for the production, packaging and distribution of Dr. Reddy's pharmaceutical pipeline products. Following further negotiations, the two companies plan to sign a large-scale supply contract.

The latest MOU, valid for 15 years, positions Dr. Reddy's as the first global CDMO customer of Prestige Biologics after the agreement period.

Dr. Reddy's, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, achieved sales of $3 billion from various regions, including the US, Europe and Asia, last year.

Erez Israeli, CEO of Dr. Reddy's, visited South Korea in April and held discussions with Park So-yeon, Chairwoman of Prestige Biopharma, and Hyun Duk-Hoon, CEO of Prestige Biologics, in Singapore, India, South Korea and the US. After visiting the Osong plant and engaging in practical discussions, Dr. Reddy's selected Prestige Biologics as its large-scale CDMO manufacturing hub.

Prestige Biologics plans to commence technology transfer for product performance qualification at its Osong 2 campus in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, starting next month. This will enable the company to start production immediately upon concluding product-specific supply agreements.

Dr. Reddy's has a portfolio of 163 product families worldwide, with significant annual sales from four major biosimilar pipelines. After the MOU, the two companies plan to sign their first CMO production contract for multiple pipelines produced in South Korea.

The MOU encompasses not only supply agreements but also collaborative efforts in the CDMO business. Prestige BioPharma aims to create a win-win strategy by combining its custom manufacturing services and Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services to explore new customers and jointly expand contract manufacturing activities.

Write to Young-ae Lee at 0ae@hankyung.com