Sandoz to Expand Anti-Infectives Portfolio with Acquisition of Mycamine® from Astellas

The worldwide product rights for the Astelas’ top systemic antifungal agent Mycamine® (micafungin sodium, known as Funguard® in Japan) have been acquired by Sandoz, a pioneer in off-patent (generic and biosimilar) medications. Subject to standard terms and regulatory approvals, the closing of the agreement is scheduled to occur in the first half of 2023.

For the year ended March 31, 2022, Astellas announced sales of Mycamine® of JPY 18.9 billion (USD 135 million). The statement comes after Sandoz successfully obtained the entire cephalosporins portfolio from GlaxoSmithKline in October 2021.

With the addition of Mycamine®, Sandoz could significantly boost it’s hospital offering and anti-infectives portfolio. Furthermore, it supports the Sandoz global program to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by targeted use of most appropriate therapies.

Sandoz CEO Richard Saynor said:

“Acquiring this leading and respected global brand will significantly reinforce the Sandoz global hospital offering, as well as complement our existing global leadership position in generic antibiotics.”

“This will also be an important addition to our growing portfolio of anti-infective therapies aimed at combatting the spread of antimicrobial resistance, by providing the right drug to the right patient at the right time.”

Sandoz Anti-Infectives global medical lead Nicholas Adomakoh said:

“Modern medicine is increasingly characterized by the need for complex interventions involving highly vulnerable patients. This welcome and timely portfolio addition will allow us to respond even better to the needs of patients and clinicians across the healthcare continuum.”

Mycamine® is a leading global echinocandin, one of three major classes of antifungal agents, with a global patient base of more than two million. It is a therapy of choice in hospitals and intensive care units worldwide, a proven prophylactic in hematology and oncology patients, and widely used in organ transplants.

Mycamine® is indicated for treatment of invasive candidiasis and espophageal candidiasis, which are currently both on the rise with a higher occurrence of associated hospital outbreaks, as well as prevention of candida and aspergillus infections in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.