Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation 
EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp 
Asian Currencies Edge Higher as Markets Look to Fed Rate Cut; Rupee Steadies Near Record Lows 
Michael Dell Pledges $6.25 Billion to Boost Children’s Investment Accounts Under Trump Initiative 
BOJ Governor Ueda Highlights Uncertainty Over Future Interest Rate Hikes 
Dollar Weakens Ahead of Expected Federal Reserve Rate Cut 
Australia Moves Forward With Teen Social Media Ban as Platforms Begin Lockouts 
U.S. Futures Steady as Rate-Cut Bets Rise on Soft Labor Data 
Amazon Italy Pays €180M in Compensation as Delivery Staff Probe Ends 
Netflix Nearing Major Deal to Acquire Warner Bros Discovery Assets 
European Oil & Gas Stocks Face 2026 With Cautious Outlook Amid Valuation Pressure 
Asian Currencies Steady as Rupee Hits Record Low Amid Fed Rate Cut Bets 
Japan’s Nikkei Drops as Markets Await Key U.S. Inflation Data 
IKEA Expands U.S. Manufacturing Amid Rising Tariffs and Supply Chain Strategy Shift 
Asia’s IPO Market Set for Strong Growth as China and India Drive Investor Diversification 
Asian Markets Mixed as Fed Rate Cut Bets Grow and Japan’s Nikkei Leads Gains 
Samsung Biologics and AstraZeneca are reportedly dissolving their biosimilar joint venture. They have formed the Archigen Biotech for the JV, and now this is being shut down.
An official of Samsung Biologics, the biotech unit of the Samsung Group, said on Tuesday, May 24, that it has decided to end its joint venture with the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company due to the suspension of the development of a biosimilar product.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the decision came two months after the Samsung Biologics’ board agreed with the liquidation of Archigen Biotech Ltd. The said company was set up in 2014 via a 50-50 joint venture with AstraZeneca.
When it was first established, Archigen Biotech was working on the development of SAIT101, a biosimilar of Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody medication used for the treatment of lymphoma. It was explained that a biosimilar is a similar duplication of an already existing and approved biologic drug.
However, both Samsung Biologics and AstraZeneca halted the biosimilar program and scrapped the Rituxan copy project. It was revealed to have been actually discontinued in the second half of 2020 after competitors such as Celltrion Inc. started marketing the same products.
Fierce Pharma further reported that Archigen Biotech already launched a phase 3 trial of the SAIT101 in June 2016, but the works have been progressing very slowly. In fact, the original target date for the completion of the project has already been pushed back by more than a year.
The results of the trial were revealed last month and showed that the Rituxan biosimilar medication generated a response in 66.3% of patients, which is on par with the 70.6% posted by the originator.
But then, another issue has cropped up - the market for this product is already crowded with other biotech firms introducing their own biosimilars, with some already being sold. Aside from Celltrion, Achigen Biotech is also competing with Teva Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Mylan, and Novartis’ Sandoz. With all of these firms, it became apparent to Samsung Biologics and AstraZeneca that the best move now is to scrap their own Rituxan biosimilar product.
