Baxter International Inc. and ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd., a global API manufacturer, have entered a strategic partnership to develop, manufacture and commercialize five injectable drugs for a range of cancer treatments, including lung cancer, multiple myeloma and breast cancer, as well as medication to treat nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. Baxter also has the option to partner with ScinoPharm on as many as 15 additional injectable molecules.

The companies will collaborate on product development and manufacturing. Baxter will hold commercialization rights, with products included in the arrangement expected to launch beginning in 2020. ScinoPharm will provide APIs for the initial five generic injectables, and the companies will share manufacturing responsibilities, with the majority of the molecules to be manufactured at Baxter’s facility in Halle, Germany.

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

“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.”

“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 chief executive officer 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.”