&w=3840&q=100)
Dr Reddy's, Alvotech to co-develop biosimilar of cancer drug Keytruda
Shares of DRL rose 3 per cent on Thursday on the BSE following the announcement.
Under the agreement, both parties will jointly manage development and manufacturing responsibilities, while sharing associated costs. Each company will also hold global commercialisation rights, subject to certain exceptions.
Keytruda, developed by Merck & Co., is used to treat a wide range of cancers, including lung, melanoma, and head and neck cancers. With patents for Keytruda expected to expire in major markets over the next few years, competition among biosimilar developers is intensifying.
The partnership is a strategic boost to Dr Reddy's oncology portfolio—a key therapeutic area for the company—and significantly expands Iceland-based Alvotech's biosimilar pipeline. The tie-up comes amid growing global demand for cost-effective biologic alternatives in cancer care, especially in immuno-oncology, where Keytruda remains a dominant therapy.
'We are happy to collaborate with Alvotech for the pembrolizumab biosimilar,' said Erez Israeli, CEO of Dr Reddy's. 'Oncology has been a top focus therapy area for us, and this collaboration further enhances our capabilities.'
Alvotech Chairman and CEO Róbert Wessman said the partnership would accelerate development while broadening global access to critical biologics. 'This agreement demonstrates our ability to leverage our R&D and manufacturing platform to pursue growing global markets,' he said.
Alvotech, listed on Nasdaq, is focused solely on biosimilars and already has approvals for adalimumab and ustekinumab biosimilars. Its pipeline includes candidates for autoimmune, respiratory, and oncologic indications.
Dr Reddy's, which has commercialised six biosimilars in India and over 30 countries, has been scaling up global biologics operations. It launched its first biosimilar in the UK—Versavo (bevacizumab)—in 2024, and pegfilgrastim in the US and Europe through partners.
With this collaboration, both companies aim to play a larger role in shaping the next phase of affordable cancer care globally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
F&O trade volumes slump nearly 20% after Sebi ban on Jane Street
Agencies Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Mumbai: Volumes on India's thriving futures and options dropped nearly a fifth last week after Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) ban on New-York-based quantitative trading firm Jane Street for alleged market manipulation . The recovery to the recent peak in trading activity may not happen immediately, which may squeeze exchanges' earnings. The daily average turnover in index options trade on the NSE, which commands the majority in derivatives trading volumes in India, declined by nearly 17.4% last week from previous week."The recent dip in options turnover is likely due to the exit of a large market-making participant, which has impacted market liquidity and efficiency," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, CEO, ASK Hedge interim, ex-parte order probed into alleged index manipulation by Jane Street involving bank shares and Bank Nifty index futures and options, while banning it from trading in Indian market. The regulator's investigations showed the trading firm was engaged in manipulative trades on expiry days of Bank Nifty derivatives that pushed outcome in its favour. The absence of Jane Street in market has had a ripple effect with other large firms cutting the size of their the weekly options expiry day of Thursday-the most active trading day-turnover was down over 21% to about ₹472.5 lakh crore from ₹601.2 lakh crore a week ago, as per data from ETIG. Vipin Kumar, assistant vice-president of derivatives and technical research at Globe Capital Market, said during the entire expiry week (July 4 to July 10), index futures volumes were down by nearly 24% while index options volume was down by 16.5%, when compared with the entire previous expiry week (June 27 to July 3). Shares of BSE listed on the NSE, and NSE traded in unlisted market, declined in face of drop in volumes. Since Sebi put out order on July 3, NSE shares have dropped 6% to ₹2,150 as on July 13, as per data from BSE stock is down 16%. "It's too early to determine if this loss of turnover is permanent, but it will certainly impact revenues at the exchange-level if prolonged," said said volumes may have also declined as a result of lower volatility due to choppy trading since the start of July. 'The index was trading in a tight range of less than a percent and volumes are usually low during this kind of market move,' he said.'On July 11, Nifty breached that range on the downside and we recorded a sharp uptick in the volumes of index futures, stocks futures and stocks options that were up by 17%, 18% and 28%, respectively compared with the same day the previous week.'Sanghavi said that while this may reduce turnover in the short term, it also creates a more level playing field, limiting the advantage of high-frequency or algorithmic traders who typically account for 40-45% of options volume. Rajesh Palviya, head of technical and derivatives research at Axis Securities, said liquidity could improve once mutual funds launch SIFs, which could build derivative books of Rs 30,000- Rs 40,000 crore over time
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Startups prep for exits as Chinese backers find little love
Udaan, Pocket FM and Vedantu have joined the league of startups looking to offer exits to their Chinese backers as the industry's appeal to ease restrictions on such investments has failed to secure a policy shift, according to four people familiar with the matter. Udaan and Pocket FM count Tencent among their investors, while Vedantu's Chinese backers include Legend Capital and the TAL Education Group. There has been a recent spike in discussions around Chinese investors looking to pull out, several Indian investorsMintspoke with confirmed separately. 'We can expect more block deals within listed startup entities as well, as Chinese investors don't want to stay invested given the current geopolitical scenario," said one of the investors. This shift is more visible in highly regulated sectors such as gaming and fintech. The people and investors quoted earlier spoke withMint on the condition of anonymity. In recent months, Antfin have exited or trimmed stakes in firms like Paytm and MakeMyTrip. Last year, Tencent sold its stake in Dream11 parent Sporta Technologies Ltd to Singapore-based Tiga Investment Pte Ltd for $150 million, as the gaming unicorn sought to comply with regulations on Chinese investments. This wave of exits and stake sales follows a long wait among Indian founders, who anticipated that the government may ease rules governing Press Note 3 (PN3)—the 2020 pandemic-era notification that placed investments from neighbouring countries under a more stringent approval route. The move was largely aimed at curbing inflows from China after a deadly clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh's Galwan valley. 'Many (Chinese) funds, and even some board directors, have stepped back," said Rajat Tandon, president of the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), a key industry body. 'The entire wind-up of Chinese funds has happened. While their investments in Indian startups still exist, those startups are now actively exploring exit mechanisms." A spokesperson for Tencent said the firm has no plans to exit and remains committed to its investments in India. 'The information regarding Tencent is purely speculative, and we have no comments to offer on it. Pocket FM remains a high-growth company with strong investor confidence and continues to engage with several global investors," a spokesperson for Pocket FM said as the company looks to raise $100 million. Queries emailed to Vedantu, Udaan, Legend Capital and TAL Education Group did not elicit a response at the time of publishing. Some of these companies are struggling to raise successive rounds of capital as the funding tap dried from the pandemic highs, which has now led to investors chasing fewer startups with a profit-oriented mindset and strong fundamentals. Several Chinese investment firms may also offload stakes through initial public offerings of startups as a part of the offer-for-sale component. For instance, Hong Kong-based Hillhouse Capital, alongside other investors, is expected to sell some stake in CarDekho when the company goes public, Mint exclusively reported in September last year. Shrinking Chinese exposure From 2005, close to $16.8 billion in funding has been channelled from China into India, according to China Global Investment Tracker by public policy think tank American Enterprise Institute. Tencent has been among the most active Chinese investors in India, backing firms including Swiggy, Byju's, Dream11, Udaan, and PolicyBazaar. Shunwei Capital has invested in ShareChat, Meesho, Pratilipi, Koo, and Cashify, among others. The investor has reportedly exited Pratilipi and Koo. Alibaba, through Ant Group, had stakes in Paytm and Zomato, which have since been pared down. Hillhouse Capital has backed Zomato and Koo, while Qiming Venture Partners has invested in Pratilipi, partially exiting a few months ago. Since PN3 came into effect, new Chinese investments in India have plunged. From 17 deals worth $5.2 billion in 2021, the number fell to 10 deals worth $780 million in 2022. While this drop reflected the broader slowdown in funding post-2022, the contrast has become starker more recently. Overall, private equity and venture capital funding is showing signs of recovery. Indian startups raised $17.1 billion between January 2024 and June 2025. Yet, Chinese participation has continued to shrink, recording only five deals worth $317 million during the 18-month period, indicating a strategic retreat. What it means The PN3 restrictions not only apply to direct investments but also slow down approvals for Chinese investors acting as limited partners (or LPs) in domestic funds, or to global funds with Chinese exposure, affecting recent deals. LPs are investors who pool in capital but are not involved in managing funds. 'About 85% of the capital in India currently is international. Chinese money, in particular, was quite significant at one point, with a lot of capital ready to be deployed. Now, most Chinese investors have exited. Only a small, single-digit percentage remains," said Tandon. He said IVCA had formally requested the government to limit PN3 to general partners or fund managers, given that LPs typically do not influence fund deployment. 'Since LPs don't play an active role, the PN3 framework should focus on general partners (GPs who manage funds), with all necessary background checks done on fund managers. That's the request we've submitted," he said. Apart from that, IVCA has also sought amendments like defining beneficial ownership (ultimate investor) using a '10% threshold" in line with Indian laws, introducing a 'green channel" for low-risk cases such as repeat investments, listed funds not controlled by land-border countries, and 'minority, non-controlling stakes below 25%". It has also recommended a '45–60 business day" timeline for PN3 approvals to reduce deal uncertainty, he said. Part of this shift stems from the disadvantages startups face when Chinese investors remain on the cap table. 'Any further fundraises by Indian startups from existing Chinese investors remain a challenge, which can materially affect their business plans and growth prospects," said said Vaibhav Kakkar, senior partner at Saraf and Partners. 'Apart from the regulatory hurdles posed by PN3, companies with Chinese ownership may also face negative perception among regulators and the public." The retreat, however, also results in the loss of certain advantages. 'Chinese tech majors historically brought patient capital, playbooks on super-apps, social commerce and embedded fintech, and access to low-cost hardware supply chains—advantages that helped Indian startups," said Siddharth Mody, partner at JSA. While the uncertainty around having a Chinese investor in the cap table complicates follow-on rounds, domestic regulatory pressure and a weaker yuan have also prompted Alibaba's Ant, Tencent and others to monetize offshore bets and repatriate cash, Mody said, emphasising that these factors have made the past year an opportune window for Indian founders to negotiate exits. The vacuum left by the Chinese capital is already being filled. 'For instance, Gulf sovereign-wealth funds such as ADIA have set up dedicated India vehicles worth US$4-5 billion each and are underwriting late-stage rounds, while North-American cross-over funds and large domestic family offices are increasingly active," said Mody '…Importantly, these new investors (non-Chinese/not sharing a border with India) are generally free of PN3 constraints, allowing quicker closings."
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Ejipura flyover work picks up after years of delay, completion target set for year-end
Bengaluru: After nearly eight years of slow progress, the city's much-delayed Ejipura flyover project is finally moving at a brisk pace. With 60% of the construction now complete, BBMP has set an ambitious goal of completing the 2.5km flyover by the end of this year. The flyover, stretching from Ejipura Main Road (Inner Ring Road Junction) to Kendriya Sadan Junction, is intended to decongest the heavily burdened 100-Feet Road in Koramangala. The contract was originally given to Simplex Infrastructure in 2017, but the project was marked by repeated delays, missed deadlines, and multiple contractor issues. Raghavendra Prasad, chief engineer, quality control division, BBMP, stated, "After a prolonged impasse, we are now confident of delivering the project within this calendar year." According to him, nearly 70 out of 84 pillars are complete, with 325 of the necessary 762 segments already installed. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Despite a contract deadline of Nov 2019, Simplex managed to finish only 42.8% of the project within five years, even after time extensions and incurring a penalty of Rs 2.5 crore. The urban development department eventually terminated the company's contract on March 3, 2022, and seized the security deposit of Rs 10.16 crore. BBMP floated fresh tenders three times, all of which went unanswered. In the fourth round, Hyderabad-based BSCPCL Pvt Ltd submitted a bid and was awarded the remaining work in Nov 2023, with a 15-month timeline. A senior BBMP official involved in the oversight mentioned, "Initially, there were coordination issues even with the new contractor. We had to issue two notices to BSCPCL, and the chief minister himself warned that delays would not be tolerated. That sent a strong message." The cost to complete the remaining construction, excluding GST, is now set at Rs 176.1 crore, which is Rs 48 crore higher than the original estimate. Payments totalling Rs 52.1 crore have already been released to BSCPCL by BBMP, tied to the project's physical progress. Down and up ramps are being constructed on the Madiwala-Ejipura side, and a loop towards Sarjapur is also underway. Upon completion, the flyover aims to make seven major junctions signal-free, thereby significantly improving travel times across one of the most congested areas of the city. One of the final challenges is the acquisition of 5,999 sq metres of land near St John's Medical College and hostel, required to complete the structure. "We are in discussions with the hospital authorities. Once that land is handed over, the final phase of construction will move faster. This flyover will transform mobility across the Koramangala–Ejipura–Madivala corridor," said Prasad. BBMP has also initiated the transplantation of 30–40 trees along the project alignment.
