In a major step towards advancing precision healthcare and medical treatments, global biotechnology company Rakuten Medical, Inc. has entered into an exclusive licensing and commercialization pact with multinational pharmaceutical company, Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC, for the Middle East and North Africa. Under the deal, Rakuten Medical will deploy its Alluminox™ platform to develop and commercialize cell targeting therapies with the aim of improving patient lives in the region.
Hikma has entered into a landmark agreement with Rakuten Medical, granting the company an exclusive license to utilize the revolutionary Alluminox™ photoimmunotherapy platform to commercialize products from the Rakuten Medical pipeline in all of its Middle East and North Africa markets.
Mickey Mikitani, Co-CEO of Rakuten Medical, is thrilled by the newest agreement which will accelerate their global expansion for the Alluminox™ platform. This venture will cover many areas including the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and India, with Hikma’s impressive regional footprint and medical acumen paving the way for the platform’s swift progress in the MENA region.
Mazen Darwazah, Hikma’s Executive Vice Chairman and President of MENA, expressed his excitement about the agreement, saying, “We are delighted to partner with a global leader to further expand our oncology and biotechnology strategies in the MENA region. Our goal is to give cancer patients in the region access to potential transformative treatments and to help make better health more accessible to everyone.”
About Hikma
Hikma is dedicated to making health accessible for millions of people all around the globe. For more than four decades, we have been creating top-tier medicines and making them available for those who need them. Our expansive network of bases are stationed in North America, Europe, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, allowing us to use our cutting-edge science and expertise to craft solutions that enhance people’s lives.
Our 8,700 strong colleagues are working together to create a healthier world and ensure our communities thrive. As a leading pharmaceuticals licensor, we are also providing people with access to innovating health technologies through our venture capital arm. We believe in our customers and those they care for, and we strive to make sure their health needs are addressed.
About Rakuten Medical, Inc.
Rakuten Medical, Inc. is on a mission to conquer cancer by delivering innovative, precision, cell-targeting therapies around the world. Our Alluminox™ platform surpasses traditional options with a remarkable ability to induce rapid and selective cell killing and tumor destruction in pre-clinical studies.
With offices in six countries across the globe, including the United States, Japan, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Switzerland and India, Rakuten Medical seeks to bring its game-changing treatments to as many patients as possible. Empowered with the latest breakthroughs in biotechnology, enter Rakuten Medical and set fire to the sky as it wages a relentless war on cancer.
About Alluminox™ platform
The Alluminox platform is an exciting technology which is being developed by Rakuten Medical, and is based on a promising cancer therapy known as photoimmunotherapy. This therapy was first developed by a team from the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. and is composed of a targeting moiety with one or more dyes, and a light source which activates the drug.
Pre-clinical studies have shown that Alluminox can achieve rapid and selective necrosis of targeted cells as well as stimulating the body’s natural immune response. While Alluminox is yet to be approved by any regulatory authorities outside of Japan, the prospects are exciting.
Forward Looking Statements
At Rakuten Medical, our forward looking statements are an opportunity to share our ambitions and development plans with our stakeholders. We are proud to provide our partners and clients with the Alluminox™ platform, a revolutionary new product that has the potential to revolutionize the way therapies are created and administered. With rigorous safety studies and the latest in regulatory authorization and marketing efforts, we are confident that our product will lead to a future of improved efficacy and safety for all.
However, we understand that outcomes may be difficult to predict and that there are inherent risks and uncertainties, both reasonable and unreasonable, that come with clinical trials and drug manufacturing. Hence, we are focused on projecting our best foot forward while remaining aware of potential discrepancies between our results and expectations.