Biocon partners Biomm to commercialise diabetes drug in Brazil

Biotechnology firm Biocon on Wednesday said it has tied up with Brazil-based Biomm SA for the commercialisation of its diabetes drug in the Latin American nation.

Under the terms of the agreement, Biocon will undertake the development, manufacturing and supply of Semaglutide (gOzempic), and Biomm will be responsible for obtaining regulatory approval and commercialization in the Brazilian market.

Biomm focuses on developing, manufacturing and commercialising complex biotech and biosimilar drug products at its production facility in Nova Lima.

"Our partnership with Biomm marks another important step forward in our strategy to expand our global footprint beyond the US and Europe for Peptides," Biocon CEO and MD Siddharth Mittal said in a statement.

This is also in line with the growth strategy of bringing to market a portfolio of complex, GLP-1 drug-device combination products, he added.

"We are confident that our collaboration with Biomm will provide patients in Brazil, who are living with diabetes, much needed access to advanced, high quality treatment options to help them manage the disease better," Mittal said.

Biomm CEO Heraldo Marchezini said Brazil is the fifth country in the world with the highest incidence of diabetes, having 16.8 million adults in the age group of 20 to 79 years with the disease, and an estimated 21.5 million cases by 2030, according to the Diabetes Atlas of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

"We have, therefore, prioritised strategic partnerships to expand the population's access to advanced treatments for this disease and enhance the quality of life for people," he added.
As per the IQVIA MAT data, the total addressable market opportunity of Semaglutide in Brazil is around USD 580 million.