Novartis, Mundipharma ink partnership to enhance access to three Asian countries to established medicine brands for glaucoma and external eye diseases

Novartis and Mundipharma have signed an agreement for Mundipharma to market,sell and distribute Novartis medicines in the general ophthalmology disease area,including medicines for glaucoma and external eye diseases in Taiwan. This follows recent agreements for the Philippines and Thailand.

The agreement means that the combined population of the three countries of around 201,000,000 will have continued access to important ophthalmology medicines.

Novartis will retain all international development responsibility,as well as clinical development activities. The company will also continue to manufacture and supply the medicines in its ophthalmology portfolio for commercial use.

SINGAPORE,July 26,2019 -- International healthcare organizations,Novartis and Mundipharma,have signed a landmark agreement for the marketing,sales and distribution rights of Novartis medicines in the general ophthalmology disease area in Taiwan of Novartis. This includes medicines for glaucoma and external eye diseases. This follows recent agreements for the Philippines and Thailand.

A recent study found that there is a greater glaucoma burden in South-Central Asia and East Asia,and that strategies to combat glaucoma are needed.

Mundipharma CEO,Raman Singh,said: "Mundipharma is constantly exploring opportunities to increase access to important medicines for the people who need them the most. This agreement with Novartis is an expansion of an already successful partnership between our two organizations and is another example of how we work with partners to leverage our unique distribution network to address unmet patient needs."

"Novartis aims to develop life-changing pharmaceuticals and transformative technologies for diseases and conditions from front to back of the eye. Our partnership with Mundipharma will help Novartis bring the benefits of our ophthalmology medicines to more people in Asia and focus our energies on the existing and future portfolio in retinal disorders," said Alexis Serlin,Head of Asia Cluster,Novartis AG.

Novartis will retain all international development responsibility,as well as clinical development activities. The company will also continue to manufacture and supply the medicines in its ophthalmology portfolio for commercial use.

About Mundipharma

Mundipharma is a network of independent associated companies which are privately owned entities. Mundipharma is a prime example of an organization that consistently delivers high-quality medicines while standing by the values it represents. Its mission is to alleviate the suffering of patients and to substantially improve their quality of life. Mundipharma is dedicated to bringing to patients the benefit of novel treatment options in fields such as pain,CNS,oncology,oncology supportive care,ophthalmology,respiratory disease and consumer healthcare. For more information,please visit: www.mundipharma.com.sg

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company,we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines,we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 105 000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com.

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References:

1. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/philippines-population/. Accessed July 15,2019

2. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/taiwan-population/. Accessed July 15,2019

3. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/thailand-population/. Accessed July 15,2019

4. https://bjo.bmj.com/content/100/1/78. Accessed July 14,2019.

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