Biogen to Sell Its Stake in Samsung Bioepis for $2.3 Billion

Biogen has agreed to sell its stake in Samsung Bioepis, a biosimilars joint venture launched in 2012 with Samsung Biologics, for $2.3 billion.

Biogen currently owns nearly 50 percent of the company, which has launched biosimilars of blockbusters and top-selling therapies, including AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab), Amgen’s Enbrel (etanercept) and Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade (infliximab).

Under the deal, Samsung Biologics will pay Biogen $1 billion upfront and pay out the remainder over the next two years.

Biogen will retain commercial rights for an approved biosimilar of Roche’s and Novartis’ Lucentis (ranibizumab), as well as an experimental biosimilar referencing Regeneron’s and Bayer’s Eylea (aflibercept). Both drugs are for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), macular edema and diabetic retinopathy.