Singapore, March 21 -- Sandoz, the global leader in affordable medicines, has announced a major license, development and commercialisation partnership agreement with South Korea-based Samsung Bioepis, marking a significant step to broaden patient access to high-quality biosimilar medicines worldwide.

The agreement paves the way for the two companies to partner on up to five biosimilar assets. The first asset will be a vedolizumab biosimilar, which is in early-stage development. The reference medicine, Entyvio(R) (vedolizumab), is used to treat adult patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis or pouchitis.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sandoz will have exclusive rights to commercialise globally, except in China, Hong Kong, Tai...