Henlius, an innovative biopharmaceutical company under Fosun International, reached a strategic cooperation with SVAX, a subsidiary of the well-known Fakeeh family from Saudi Arabia.
Hong Kong, November 7, 2024 / PRNewswire / - From November 5th to 10th, 2024, the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held in Shanghai. Fosun and its health sector members jointly participated in the CIIE, themed "As Scheduled, Sharing Global Opportunities," showcasing a series of global innovative products and themed activities. On November 7, Henlius, an innovative biopharmaceutical company under Fosun, reached a strategic cooperation with SVAX, a subsidiary focusing on medical care under AL-TIRYAQ AL-KHALAWI Medical Company, a subsidiary of the well-known Fakeeh family from Saudi Arabia.
According to the agreement, both parties will establish commercial and production joint ventures in Saudi Arabia, and cooperate on the development, local registration, production, and commercialization of a series of Henlius products, including HLX03 (adalimumab biosimilar) and HLX04 (bevacizumab biosimilar), in the MENAT region. The initial projects under this cooperation framework also include joint investment in the development of HLX17 (pamrevlumab biosimilar) developed by Henlius, to drive the global registration and listing of this product.
Global deployment, innovation-driven high-quality expansion into overseas markets.
Rooted in China and growing globally, Fosun has long adhered to the two core growth engines of 'globalization' and 'innovation', with industrial layout in over 35 countries and regions worldwide. Fosun has been actively empowering and promoting its subsidiaries to firmly execute the globalization strategy. As an international innovative biomedical company, Henlius continues to deepen its global footprint, working with more than 20 international partners to actively promote the global market launch of products, covering Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania. The internationalization process has achieved a series of significant breakthroughs.
Henlius points out that the collaboration with SVAX is an important part of Henlius' global blueprint, accelerating the company's business layout in key markets and further enhancing Henlius' international competitiveness. This cooperation is expected to combine SVAX's deep resources and local experience in the MENAT region with Henlius' global vision and innovation capabilities, accelerating the transformation and implementation of biomedical innovation, benefiting more patients globally.
SVAX points out that Henlius is renowned for its high-quality and innovative biopharmaceuticals. By combining SVAX's knowledge and experience in drug regulation, market promotion, sales, and local production with Henlius' technical accumulation in biopharmaceutical development and global supply, both parties are committed to bringing cutting-edge therapies to the MENAT region, benefiting more patients. This collaboration will help improve the accessibility of efficient medications, aligning with SVAX's vision to promote healthcare development in Saudi Arabia and beyond. SVAX will work hand in hand with Henlius to promote growth, innovation, and healthcare accessibility in the MENAT region.
Henlius is committed to providing affordable innovative biopharmaceuticals for global patients, covering areas such as tumors, autoimmune diseases, and ophthalmic diseases. The company continuously enhances the development and operational efficiency of its research-production-sales integrated platform, promotes the commercial growth of core products through various measures to enhance product accessibility, achieving sustained high-quality profitability. The company has proactively positioned a diversified, high-quality product pipeline covering more than 50 molecules, with 6 products launched in China, 3 products approved for international markets, and 24 indications approved, benefiting over 0.67 million patients. Among them, Hanqu Yu (rituximab) has been approved in 49 countries and regions globally, the most approved monoclonal antibody biosimilar produced in China, benefitting over 0.215 million breast and gastric cancer patients.
The MENAT region is an important part of the global biomedical market, with the local biomedical industry experiencing rapid growth due to increasing medical demand and government support. In June 2024, Hanliyu successfully shipped to Saudi Arabia, becoming the first domestically produced monoclonal antibody biopharmaceutical to enter the Middle East market. The strong collaboration between Henlius and SVAX will not only promote the pipeline layout and business footprint of both parties but also help enhance the biomedical innovation capabilities in emerging markets.
Fosun, focusing on the Middle East with its global operations, is exploring new growth prospects.
Recently, Fosun has been active in the Middle East region: In September, Fosun's subsidiary, Hainan Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Locke Oil, proposed to make a comprehensive tender offer of approximately RMB 1.302 billion to Tethys Oil AB, to acquire its oilfield rights in multiple blocks in Oman.
In July, Hainan Mining and Agilanbrothers Holding Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the feasibility of jointly building a lithium salt plant project in Saudi Arabia, and to establish an industry fund focusing on upstream lithium resources, local mineral exploration, and global new energy metal ore and technology investments.
In the same month, Fosun International's globally leading flexible automation production line solution provider FFT signed a joint venture agreement with Saudi family enterprise Khaled Juffali Holding Company (KJC) to establish a commercial technical entity in Saudi Arabia. They will collaborate with FFT shareholder Shanghai Yiyao Technology to provide automated production line solutions for the Saudi electric vehicle industry. The joint venture has secured the first project in the Saudi automotive industry.
In addition, FFT also plans to expand into other industries in Saudi Arabia that require automation and robot assembly. With its rich experience in automation and robotics technology, FFT is poised to set new industry standards in Saudi Arabia.
In May, the globally leading travel and resort brand Club Med announced its foray into the Middle East market, launching its first project in Oman - Club Med Musandam. This project marks deep collaboration between Club Med and the Oman Royal Court Affairs and Omran Group. The resort will start construction in early 2026 and open in 2028.
Under the guidance of the 'Vision 2023,' Saudi Arabia is rapidly becoming a hub for sports, especially esports. In a recent Esports World Cup held in Riyadh, Fosun Sports' Wolf Team esports club won championships in 'Auto Chess' and 'Honor of Kings.' With Saudi Arabia's continued investment in esports and Fosun Sports' outstanding performance in football and esports, further collaboration between the two parties is becoming a trend.
The Middle East, with its vitality and strong economic growth, is becoming a key frontier for the global layout of Fosun. Achieving multiple industry and project results in such a short period of time fully demonstrates Fosun's high execution efficiency, as well as its confidence and determination in the Middle East market.
Chairman of Fosun International, Guo Guangchang, said: "Fosun looks forward to establishing long-term and stable strategic partnerships with more Middle Eastern partners. As a company with global operational capabilities and deep roots in the Chinese market, I believe Fosun is the best strategic partner. Leveraging our global operational capabilities and extensive experience, Fosun can work with partners in the Middle East to achieve sustained value growth, creating a mutually beneficial new ecosystem."
