Indian pharma company Biocon Limited has forged a partnership with Tabuk Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company to commercialize certain specialty generic medicines in the Middle East.

Tabuk Pharmaceutical is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astra Industrial Group, a pharma company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

As per the agreement terms, Tabuk Pharmaceuticals will have the marketing authorization for the specialty products and will handle their registration, importing, and promotions in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East nations.

According to Biocon, the tie-up will enable its expansion into MENA to include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Iraq apart from Lebanon and Jordan.

Siddharth Mittal — CEO and Managing Director of Biocon said: “Our partnership with Tabuk Pharmaceuticals is another significant step as we continue to expand our global presence with our portfolio of high quality, vertically-integrated generic formulations, to address unmet medical needs.

“We are extremely pleased to collaborate with Tabuk, whose deep expertise will help us build a solid foundation in key Middle East markets.”

The Indian pharma company called it another major milestone, reflecting its commitment to give patients around the world affordable medications, by establishing a robust global portfolio of products, either directly, or via strategic tie-ups.

As part of the out-licensing agreement, Biocon will be responsible for developing and manufacturing the products, while Tabuk Pharmaceuticals will commercialize them.

Wisam Alkhatib — Vice President of Strategy and Business Development of Tabuk Pharmaceuticals said: “We are excited at Tabuk to partner with an innovation-led company like Biocon to commercialize difficult to make products that build on our strategy to expand our specialty business and reinforces our leading position in the region.

“Our aspiration is to be the partner of choice to Biocon in the region and consider further collaboration with a rich pipeline of products.”

  Astra Industrial Group, Biocon, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Middle East, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Siddharth Mittal, Tabuk Pharmaceutical, UAE, Wisam Alkhatib