DUBLIN, IRELAND and JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA–(Marketwired – Oct 27, 2015) – Serenus Biotherapeutics, which is bridging the divide between the world’s leading healthcare markets and the growing demand for access to innovative drugs and devices in the emerging nations of Africa, today said that it has entered into an agreement with Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, to supply Amosartan, Hanmi’s combination therapy for the treatment of hypertension, to patients in Africa.
Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death in adults over 30 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Serenus will leverage its Pan African platform to make Amosartan, a combination therapy containing Amlodipine and Losartan, available to combat hypertension. The agreement reflects Serenus’ efforts to address the rising toll of chronic disease in Africa by using its clinical, regulatory, and logistical expertise on the continent while partnering with world-class pharmaceutical companies.
“Africa is undergoing a major shift in its healthcare burden as economic growth, a rising middle class, and urbanisation are fueling an increase in the incidence of chronic diseases and creating demand for medications to treat non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Menghis Bairu, CEO of Serenus Biotherapeutics. “Working with pharmaceutical companies, such as Hanmi, allows us to use the Serenus platform to deliver new and innovative therapeutics to the African market where they are needed.”
Hanmi is the leading pharmaceutical research and development organisation in South Korea with its current pipeline of products focusing on oncology, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Its product line, already established in global markets, will support Serenus’ goal of bringing novel medicines to meet the needs of patients in the African healthcare arena.
“At Hanmi, our research and development has yielded medicines that support multiple therapeutic areas to address significant medical needs,” said Hanmi CEO Dr. Gwan-Sun Lee. “Through the Serenus partnership, Hanmi is now able to bring these drugs to the African continent.”
About Serenus Biotherapeutics
Serenus Biotherapeutics is a privately held healthcare company that specialises in late-stage drug development, in-licensing, registering, and commercialising drugs and devices approved in the United States, Europe, and Japan to address unmet medical needs with high regional prevalence in the Sub-Saharan African market. For more information, visit www.serenusbio.com
About Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Hanmi Pharmaceutical is a Korea-based global pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new pharmaceutical products. The Company is fully integrated from RD through manufacturing, marketing and sales with an established presence in Korea as well as China. The Company invests over 20 percent of its sales in RD and has over 20 programs in clinical development in three main areas: 1) novel long-acting biologics based on the Company’s LAPSCOVERY™ platform including weekly insulin, weekly to monthly GLP-1, and their combinations (Quantum Project) in diabetes and obesity; 2) novel targeted agents against cancer and autoimmune disorders; and 3) fixed-dose combination programs. More information on Hanmi is available at www.hanmipharm.com
About Hypertension disease burden in Africa
Hypertension is a widespread problem in Africa and a leading risk factor for mortality and morbidity, according to the World Health Organization. The average prevalence of hypertension among African adult men is 29.7 percent, while the corresponding global prevalence is 24 percent; the average rate in women is 29.5 percent, while globally the prevalence is 20.5 percent. Cardiovascular diseases, not HIV, are the number one cause of death in adults over 30 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
