Immedica - a platform for pan-European niche specialty pharma launch, commercialization and distribution services

2018-08-13 14:00

Impilo has launched Immedica Pharma – a pan-European specialty pharma commercialization and distribution platform. Immedica’s plan is to quickly establish a fast-growing EUR 100m+ leading pan-European niche specialty pharma portfolio composed of partner products as well as proprietary products rights – and spanning from pre-approval stage through peak sales. This will be achieved through world-class launch, commercialization, and distribution capabilities lead by a management team with a very strong and established track record within niche specialty pharma.

Immedica was formed through the combination of an existing platform, recruitment of new management and key employees. Immedica will be built on the initial acquisition of Medical Need Europe – a rapidly growing, Northern Europe focused, launch- and commercial distribution partner for rare disease therapies and orphan drugs. With a portfolio of 15 drugs and an organic growth trajectory of over 30% per year, Medical Need Europe is a formidable starting point for a significant expansion across a pan-European and Middle East territory. Medical Need Europe’s employees will continue in their current roles and the company’s CEO and co-founder Peder Walberg will remain committed to the business, both as a shareholder and as an operative board member.

In addition, Immedica is delighted to have recruited Anders Edvell as CEO for Immedica and Carl Belmadani as Head of Commercial Operations. Mr. Edvell, most recently serving as CEO for Unimedic and prior to that as Head of SOBI Partner Products – and Mr. Belmadani, most recently Head of Commercial Operations at Sobi Partner Products, both hold unmatched track records and experience from this niche business model and sector and will be instrumental in realizing Immedica’s ambitions. Immedica is looking to add several additional key positions across Europe in the short term as a consequence of its significant scale up of activities.

Just recently, a significant addition to the portfolio was signed with the Spanish pharma company Pharma Mar, under which Immedica becomes the exclusive distributor for their innovative anti-cancer drug Yondelis® in the Nordics and the Central and Eastern European territories. Yondelis® is an established treatment for patients suffering from soft tissue sarcomas (STS) and platinum sensitive ovarian cancer.

“I believe Immedica will fill an important role in the European pharma environment as a facilitator making new niche specialty medicines available for patients with rare diseases”, says Anders Edvell, CEO of Immedica. “Our ambition is to leverage our experience and capabilities in providing market and patient access for new niche therapies. By providing these services combined with an understanding of the commercialization requirements for niche pharmaceuticals in a broader EU and Middle East territory, we believe Immedica will become the preferred partner for many innovative small biotechs with the ambition to make their medicines commercially available in Europe and the Middle East”

”We are highly impressed with what Medical Need has achieved during its short history and pleased that its founder Peder Walberg will continue to serve its partners and remain invested in the business. Taken together with Mr Edvell’s and Mr Belmadani’s outstanding track records and relationships, we have the foundation to establish the leading pan European launch and distribution partner for niche specialty drug originators, as evidenced by the significant new partnership established with Pharma Mar” says Magnus Edlund, partner at Impilo.

Impilo, which was established in 2017, has more than SEK 3.5 bn in capital from leading Nordic and international investors.

About Yondelis^® (trabectedin)

YONDELIS^® (trabectedin) is a multimodal, synthetically produced antitumor agent, originally derived from the sea squirt, Ecteinascidia turbinata. The drug exerts its activity by targeting the transcriptional machinery and impairing DNA repair. It is approved in close to 80 countries in North America, Europe, South America and Asia for the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcomas as a single-agent and for relapsed ovarian cancer in combination with DOXIL®/CAELYX® (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection) in the European Union. Under a licensing agreement with PharmaMar, Janssen Products, L.P. has the rights to develop and sell YONDELIS^® globally except in Europe, where PharmaMar holds the rights, and in Japan, where PharmaMar has granted a license to Taiho Pharmaceuticals.

About Immedica

Immedica is a fast growing private European niche pharma company. The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a pan-European commercial coverage with the Nordics as its stronghold.

Immedica provides significant know-how and experience from commercialization of niche/specialty care products across the European and Middle East territories, and the company’s management team has an outstanding track record of operating niche pharma products in Europe. Immedica has capabilities to provide optimal access of specialty care medicines to patients with significant medical needs, including key areas such as regulatory affairs, pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, pricing & reimbursement, and product distribution.

Today, Immedica manage many of its products via operations at Medical Need Europe, a niche/orphan pharma company recently acquired. Immedica’s main owner is Impilo AB, a private Swedish Health Care investment company established in 2017, and with more than SEK 3.5 bn in capital from leading Nordic and international investors. More information is available at www.immedica.com or www.medicalneed.com