Baxter International and ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd. have announced a strategic partnership to develop, manufacture and commercialize five injectable drugs used in a range of cancer treatments, including lung cancer, multiple myeloma and breast cancer, as well as medication to treat nausea and vomiting, common side effects of chemotherapy. The arrangement also provides Baxter the option to partner with ScinoPharm—one of the world’s leading active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturers—on as many as 15 additional injectable molecules.

Under the terms of the partnership, Baxter and ScinoPharm will collaborate on product development and manufacturing. Baxter will hold commercialization rights, with products included in the arrangement expected to launch beginning in 2020.

“Combining Baxter’s differentiated manufacturing expertise and global commercialization capabilities with ScinoPharm’s recognized API experience enables Baxter to increase patient access to difficult-to-manufacture, high-quality oncolytic medicines,” said Robert Felicelli, president, Pharmaceuticals, Baxter. “The ScinoPharm collaboration will further expand Baxter’s presence in generic injectables, which will continue to be enhanced through our recently executed agreement to acquire Claris Injectables Limited.”

Current branded sales of the initial five products included in this partnership total more than $4 billion annually. These products will join Baxter’s existing portfolio of generic injectable medications, which includes difficult-to-manufacture oncology drugs and a broad portfolio of standard-dose, ready-to-use premixed injectable products such as anti-infectives, analgesics and critical care medicines.

ScinoPharm has a 17-year history of manufacturing APIs for the global pharmaceutical industry with a high level of quality and safety. Under the arrangement, ScinoPharm will provide APIs for the initial five generic injectables, and Baxter and ScinoPharm will share manufacturing responsibilities, with the majority of the molecules to be manufactured at Baxter’s state-of-the-art facility in Halle, Germany, one of the most advanced facilities in the world for manufacturing oncology drugs.

“We are very excited to partner with Baxter. We bring complementary strengths to this arrangement that will ultimately lead to more injectable oncology products on the market,” said ScinoPharm CEO Dr Yung Fa Chen. “This strategic partnership will boost our expansion in the formulation business, increase market coverage of our products and eventually fuel our further operating performance.”