The two biosimilar drugs are Ustekinumab and Denosumab. Ustekinumab, a biosimilar referencing Stelara, is a monoclonal antibody used to treat several autoimmune conditions, including psoriasis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Denosumab, a biosimilar referencing Prolia, is a monoclonal antibody for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Under the terms of this deal, Yoshindo gets exclusive commercialization rights in Japan for bUstekinumab and bDenosumab developed and manufactured by Biocon Biologics, for an addressable market opportunity of approximately $700 million.

Biocon Biologics will receive an upfront license fee as well as additional payments on the achievement of certain development milestones over the next few years.

The strategic partnership with Yoshindo will build upon Biocon Biologics' successful progress in its global development programs for these two biosimilar assets. Clinical trials for these two assets commenced in FY22 and include both Phase 1 and Phase 3 clinical trials backed by robust pre-clinical CMC packages.

Over the course of Yoshindo's long history started from 1929, it has made contributions to human health and social wellbeing through the manufacturing and sales of generic pharmaceutical products. At present, Yoshindo is advancing research and development into biopharmaceuticals and essential drugs for transfusion and dialysis.

Shreehas Tambe, deputy chief executive officer, said: “We are excited to partner with Yoshindo to commercialize two of our pipeline biosimilar products, bUstekinumab and bDenosumab, in Japan. This partnership is testament to Biocon Biologics' proven capabilities in R&D, global scale manufacturing and quality compliance.

Once approved, these products will expand our offering of affordable, high quality biosimilars in the Japanese market and help address unmet patient needs in bone health and immunology therapy areas.”

Biocon is a global biopharmaceutical company committed to enhancing affordable access to complex therapies for chronic conditions like diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune.

The biotech company's consolidated net profit surged 71.1% to Rs 144.40 crore on 21.5% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 2,139.50 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22.

The scrip lost 0.48% to currently trade at Rs 260.05 on the BSE.

On the BSE, 8.05 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 2.02 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock hit a high of Rs 262.85 and a low of Rs 258.3 so far during the day.