Pharmaceutical manufacturer Fuji Pharma paid approximately $50m for a 4.2% stake in Iceland-based biosimilar drug developer Alvotech on Tuesday.
Investment vehicle and Alvogen backer Aztiq Pharma will remain Alvotech’s majority shareholder following the investment, while pharmaceutical company Alvogen will retain a minority stake. Fuji Pharma chairman Hirofumi Imai will join Alvotech’s board of directors.
Founded in 2013 as a sister company of Alvogen, Alvotech develops, manufactures and tests biosimilars: almost identical copies of medical products that have originally been developed by different companies.
Alvotech is working on treatments for conditions including cancer, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory diseases.
The company aims to bring its first batch of treatments to the market by 2020. Fuji’s investment, which values it at $1.19bn, will fund the development and commercialisation of biosimilars in Japan.
Robert Wessman, founder of Alvotech, said: “Alvotech has established itself as a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company, ranging from cell line development of biosimilars to manufacturing, clinical development and registrations.
“I am delighted to welcome on board such a prestigious investor, who brings significant industry experience in the [Asia Pacific] region.”