(Yicai) March 19 -- Chinese biopharmaceutical company Bio-Thera Solutions has granted Costa Rican healthcare product distributor SteinCares exclusive marketing rights to two experimental antibody drugs across Latin America in a deal that could be worth as much as USD6 million in downpayments and milestone payments.

Bio-Thera will also receive commission of over 10 percent of sales from SteinCares, whose distribution network spans more than 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, once the drugs go to market, the Guangzhou-based company said yesterday.

The two drugs, BAT2506 and BAT2606, are biosimilars, which means they are based on other drugs whose patent has expired, Bio-Thera said yesterday. They have been developed in accordance with Chinese, US and European guidelines but no marketing applications in any country or region have been filed yet.

Monoclonal antibody drugs are a new type of immunotherapy. BAT2506 is a golimumab biosimilar that can be used to treat inflammatory diseases and BAT2606 is a mepolizumab biosimilar that is mainly used to treat asthma in children, Bio-Thera said without mentioning at which stage of development the two drugs are at.

The tie-up aims to rapidly convert the company’s new drug development into revenue through commercial cooperation and licensing, which will positively impact the company’s future performance, it added.

Bio-Thera’s share price [SHA: 688177] was trading down 1.8 percent at CNY39.12 (USD5.44) as of 11.30 a.m. The stock has gained 60 percent in value since early February.

Editor: Kim Taylor