Orchard Therapeutics and Er-Kim Announce Partnership to Broaden Access to Libmeldy to Eligible Patients in Turkey and Certain Eurasian Countries
Tuesday, October 08, 2024
Orchard Therapeutics, recently acquired by Kyowa Kirin with the goal of accelerating the delivery of new gene therapies to patients around the globe and Er-Kim, an international pharmaceutical company specializing in the commercialization of novel therapies, today announced the companies have signed an exclusive distribution agreement to commercialize Libmeldy® (atidarsagene autotemcel), the only approved therapy for eligible children with early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD).
Libmeldy aims to correct the underlying genetic cause of MLD, an ultra-rare, rapidly progressive, irreversible and ultimately fatal neurometabolic disease that affects approximately one in 100,000 live births based on existing literature.
Under the agreement, Er-Kim will serve as the exclusive representative of Orchard to identify children eligible for treatment with Libmeldy in international markets across Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Er-Kim will collaborate with Orchard Therapeutics to refer eligible children with early-onset MLD identified in these countries to an established European-based qualified treatment center.
“The pharmaceutical and biotech industries have made notable strides in advancing gene therapies and we are thrilled to partner with Orchard Therapeutics to enable access to this important treatment in the region,” said Cem Zorlular, chief executive officer of Er-Kim. “Libmeldy is a potentially transformative therapy for eligible children with early-onset MLD who previously had no approved treatment options beyond supportive and end-of-life care. We are looking forward to working with Orchard and our counterparts in these territories that we specialize in to further implement bespoke approaches to deliver genetic medicines to eligible patients as soon as possible.”
“MLD is a devastating disease for which there is evidence of a higher incidence rate in Turkish and Eurasian populations than those in the U.S. and Europe, which heightens our urgency to expand access mechanisms for Libmeldy in these regions,” said Robin Kenselaar, senior vice president and general manager of EMEA at Orchard Therapeutics. “With its extensive regional footprint and deep expertise in delivering specialty medicines to patients in need, we look forward to working with our new partners at Er-Kim to broaden access for eligible children and their families.”
Source: orchard-tx.com
