Cipla, Kemwell Biopharma, Manipal forge cell therapy alliance in US

Mumbai: Cipla (EU) Limited, UK a wholly owned subsidiary of Cipla
Limited, hereinafter referred to as Cipla has announced a
strategic collaboration with Kemwell Biopharma Private Limited (through its subsidiary
Kemwell Biopharma UK Limited) and Manipal Education & Medical Group (through its
subsidiary MNI Ventures, Mauritius) to incorporate a joint venture in the United States.

The
primary goal of this joint venture is to develop and commercialise novel Cell therapy
products for major unmet medical needs in the United States, Japan, and EU regions.
Cipla (EU) Limited will secure a 35.2% stake in the joint venture company.

“By capitalizing
on Cipla’s leadership in product development and commercialisation and aligning with
Kemwell’s expertise in biologics and Manipal’s expertise in healthcare delivery, this
strategic collaboration is aimed at expediting development, manufacturing, licensing,
import and export of cutting-edge Cell therapy products to cater to patients globally,” the release stated.

Commenting on this development, Umang Vohra, Managing Director & Global Chief
Executive Officer, Cipla, said, “This joint venture reinforces our concerted efforts to move
up the innovation curve and pioneer transformative treatments in the areas of stem cell
and CAR T-cell therapies, enabled by advances in biotech, mRNA and cell-engineering
research, that can make a difference to patient lives globally. As we steer Cipla into the
future and lead with purpose, our partnership with Kemwell and Manipal Group will be
integral in realising these advancements.”

Commenting on the tie up, Dr Ranjan Pai, Chairman, Manipal Education & Medical
Group, said, “We are very happy to partner with Cipla and Kemwell in bringing the next
generation of biological therapies to address unmet medical needs globally. Physicians
will have accessible, safe, and clinically effective Cell therapies in their hand to fight
against many serious indications. We believe that Cell therapy products will be a gamechanger in offering an advanced therapeutic treatment for millions of patients suffering
with painful diseases.”

Anurag Bagaria, Chairman and CEO, Kemwell added “We believe that Cell therapies will
become a major branch of medical treatment and will become a standard of care for
challenging diseases. Kemwell has built a world-class cGMP facility in Bangalore and
made India an emerging hub for cell therapy development and manufacturing. The
synergistic combinations of Cipla, Manipal and Kemwell will accelerate the
development of novel cell-based products for patients and transform the new JV into a
global player in cell therapeutics.”