By Ron Chen, Bureau Chief, Asia

The multinational pharmaceutical company, Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc, has announced an exclusive licensing and commercialisation agreement with Rakuten Medical, Inc. (Rakuten Medical), a global biotechnology company developing and commercialising precision, cell targeting therapies based on its proprietary Alluminox™ platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hikma has an exclusive license to commercialise products in Rakuten Medical’s pipeline using its photoimmunotherapy technology platform, Alluminox™, in all its MENA markets.

Commenting on the agreement, Hikma’s Executive Vice Chairman and President of MENA, Mazen Darwazah said: “This agreementallows us to work with an excellent global partner to strengthen our growing portfolio in oncology and biotechnology. Most importantly, this allows us to bring a potentially transformative technology to cancer patients in MENA, helping to put better health within reach, everyday.”

Co-CEO of Rakuten Medical, Mickey Mikitani added: “We are already developing Alluminox™ treatment in several countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and India, and this agreement further accelerates our global expansion. With Hikma’s strong regional footprint and medical expertise, we expect the Alluminox™ platform to make significant progress in MENA.”