‘CGBIO, the first medical device company in Korea, has signed an agreement up to $30 million (KRW 36.4 billion) with Eris Lifesciences in India to supply a recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), NOVOSIS’, CGBIO officials said on September 9, 2019.
NOVOSIS is a composite bone graft material consisting of 100% hydroxyapatite ceramic with rhBMP-2. In a damaged bone, sustained release of rhBMP-2 from NOVOSIS can effectively contribute to the differentiation of stem cells into osteogenic cells. Thus, it can be an effective alternative to autogenous bone grafting for generating new bone and promoting regenerative repair of damaged bone.
Thanks to its recognized technology and originality, rhBMP-2 has acquired ‘Nebotermin’ as an International Nonproprietary Name from the Word Health Organization. Moreover, rhBMP-2 is a high-purity protein material and reliable since Daewoong Pharma’s GMP biopharmaceutical production facility is responsible for its production.
To date, some local companies have launched bone graft with rhBMP-2 whose indication is limited to dentistry. Now that local clinical trials for NOVOSIS were successfully completed in patients undergoing spinal fusion, NOVOSIS was approved for orthopedics application for the first time in Korea in 2017.
Headquartered in Ahmedabad, India, Eris Lifesciences is a young pharmaceutical company founded in 2007. It has its marketing branches in major cities in India. Its annual revenue is projected to be KRW 300 billion.
Eris Lifesciences is currently engaging in distributing therapeutic materials and medical devices for hospitals. Their core businesses are focused on cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, gastroenterology, surgery, and neurosurgery. With each direct network marketing organization of 2000 people, Eris Lifesciences is considered one of the major pharmaceutical companies that continues to grow rapidly in Indian market.
Through distribution of NOVOSIS, Eris Lifesciences has a scheme to expand its business in orthopedics and spinal neurosurgery, with an aim to gradually introduce CGBIO’s next-generation products with novelty. Based on CGBIO’s comprehensive healthcare program, Eris Lifesciences aims to become a market leader in India by providing better-quality service and medical environments to doctors and patients.
In the meantime, CGBIO has made successful inroads into the Latin American market. CGBIO has concluded a $3.0 million (KRW approx. 3.64 billion) agreement with a Brazilian pharmaceutical company for annual supply of NOVOSIS. In Columbia, CGBIO has registered NOVOSIS that can be used in orthopedics and neurosurgery for the first time in Korea. The Latin American market has long been regarded as a market where multinational pharmaceutical and medical device companies from the U.S. and Europe fiercely compete. They have imposed entry bans to other countries. NOVOSIS’s supply agreement, regardless of its size, and market authorization demonstrate that the R&D capability and reliance of CGBIO have risen to the level of multinational companies.
“NOVOSIS has been developed through our intensive R&D efforts for 13 years to catch up with global giant Metronics’s Infuse Bone Graft,” said CGBIO CEO Hyun Seung Yu. “NOVOSIS is a bioinfusion medical device that can increase the efficacy and maximize the safety through application of CGBIO’s sophisticated protein delivery technology.”
“Making a market foray into the U.S., Japan, and Australia plus India and Brazil is also underway. We will further increase our presence in countries around the world,” Yu added.
