Bora and Celltrion Join Forces To Distribute Oral Drugs Across APAC

Taiwan’s Bora Pharmaceuticals and South Korea’s Celltrion Asia Pacific Pte, a subsidiary of Celltrion Group Inc, have announced a partnership to contract manufacture and bring to market a range of oral dosage form drugs (OSD) across the Asia-Pacific region. 

The oral drugs will be manufactured at Bora’s Zhunan site, which is one of the largest US FDA and MHRA-approved drug production plants in Taiwan. The manufactured products will be used to support Celltrion’s regulatory filings for approval in seven countries. 

This could include Celltrion’s oral infliximab, a tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The company is currently advancing the formulation with UK-based Intract Pharma.  

Apart from manufacturing, Bora will also aid the commercialization of Celltrion’s products through its complex oral dosage form and total-solution services. 

“We are extremely excited about this new partnership with Celltrion. As a trusted global partner, we look forward to serving our customers with the best technology and quality resources and supporting our partners to expand into various markets around the world,” said Bobby Sheng, CEO and Chairman of Bora. 

Related article: Bora Pharmaceuticals Expands with Eden Biologics’ CDMO Purchase 

Bora Acquires TWi and Eden Biologics

As part of its five-year growth strategy, Bora has been on a buying spree for companies with manufacturing abilities. Last October, the CDMO completed the acquisition of a fellow Taiwan-based company, TWi Pharmaceutical, adding two production plants to boost formulation development, sterile ophthalmic, and niche manufacturing technologies. 

A few months earlier, Bora brought in Eden Biologics’ CDMO assets with an initial investment of $50 million and up to $100 million in a bid to rapidly scale a presence in biological macromolecules and cell and gene therapy markets. 

The latest acquisitions have brought Bora’s number of CGMP manufacturing facilities to seven across Taiwan and Canada. Besides OSD drugs, Bora also offers end-to-end services for non-sterile liquids, sterile and non-sterile ophthalmic, nasal sprays, and semi-solid pharmaceutical products. 

Author

Joy Lin

Without knowledge, there is no imagination. Without imagination, knowledge is meaningless