• Early preventions regarding COVID-19 ensure operating schedule
  • Liquidity situation not affected and still solid
  • FDA-Resubmission of FYB201 planned for the second half of the year
  • FYB202 and FYB203: Clinical trial strategy unchanged
  • Pipeline candidate FYB206 in preclinical phase
Munich - In consideration of the current developments of the corona pandemic, Formycon AG (ISIN: DE000A1EWVY8/ WKN: A1EWVY) today announces news on its development portfolio. An early reaction and the implementation of appropriate organizational decentralization measures enabled Formycon to adapt well to the current situation, so that the impact of the pandemic on the company's operational development activities has been minimal so far. This also applies to the company's liquidity situation, which is unaffected and remains very solid. Formycon continues to work with license partner Bioeq AG and its manufacturing partner on the resubmission of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for the FYB201 project, a biosimilar candidate for Lucentis(R)* (Ranibizumab), despite the situation regarding COVID-19. Together, Formycon and its partners are interacting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are currently focused on supporting the effort to generate the additional manufacturing data requested by the FDA for resubmission. Based on the manufacturing dates, completion of these efforts, and certain regulatory interactions for FYB201, a resubmission of the BLA is expected in the course of the second half of 2020 by license partner Bioeq AG. The development project FYB202, a biosimilar candidate for Stelara(R)** (Ustekinumab), has been in phase I clinical trial since October 2019, which is at an advanced stage. Preparations for the start of the phase III clinical trial, which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2020, are continuing as planned. FYB202 is being developed in a joint venture by Aristo Pharma GmbH and Formycon AG in which Aristo Pharma GmbH holds 75.1% and Formycon AG 24.9%. Bioeq GmbH is the sponsor of the clinical trials and is also responsible for the study design and clinical operations. Initiating work on the planned phase III clinical trial with FYB203, Formycon's biosimilar candidate for Eylea(R)*** (Aflibercept), is also proceeding as expected. The first regulatory approvals have been granted for the randomized, double-blind, multicenter phase III study comparing the efficacy and safety of Aflibercept FYB203 biosimilar with the reference drug Eylea(R) in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The start of the phase III clinical trial is planned for mid-2020. The worldwide marketing rights for FYB203 have since been transferred from Santo Holding (Deutschland) GmbH within the Santo Group to Klinge Biopharma GmbH. In addition, Formycon continues to expand its biosimilar pipeline. The development of the biosimilar candidate FYB206, for example, is currently in the preclinical phase and relevant intellectual property (IP) has already been established by filing a corresponding patent application. There have been no details on the other pipeline candidates (FYB20x) announced yet. The rights to these projects are held by Formycon. "Formycon took early extensive measures to protect employees from infection during the corona pandemic, while at the same time ensuring the operating schedule. In addition, we are in close contact with our external partners, which have also taken intensive arrangements within the framework of the current situation to minimize the effects as far as possible," explains Dr. Stefan Glombitza, COO of Formycon. CEO Dr. Carsten Brockmeyer adds: "The current crisis will also impact the healthcare systems financially. The access to affordable high-quality medicines will become even more important and the need towards the use of biosimilar medicinal products is therefore expected to increase in the future." * Lucentis(R) is a registered trademark of Genentech Inc.** Stelara(R) is a registered trademark Johnson & Johnson*** Eylea(R) is a registered trademark of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.