Amman: Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (Hikma), a multinational pharmaceutical company, has announced an exclusive licensing agreement with pharmaand GmbH (pharmaand), a global pharmaceutical company based in Vienna, Austria.
According to Jordan News Agency, this agreement grants Hikma exclusive rights to commercialize rucaparib across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Rucaparib, marketed as Rubraca, is a small-molecule oral therapy designed to inhibit poly (ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs), a family of proteins critical to DNA repair in cancer cells. This mechanism makes rucaparib a treatment option for patients battling ovarian cancer, the 8th most common cancer in women globally, and prostate cancer, the fourth most common cancer worldwide and the second most common cancer in men.
Rucaparib has received regulatory approval from both the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the United States Food and Drug Administration.
Mazen Darwazah, Hikma's Executive Vice Chairperson and President of MENA, stated, "We are pleased to add rucaparib, an innovative oncology treatment, to our growing oncology portfolio in MENA. This agreement is a step to further enhance patients' access to treatments and address medical needs across the region. By strengthening our oncology portfolio, we reaffirm our commitment to providing advanced cancer treatments and supporting our purpose of putting better health within reach, every day."
As the company's first innovative small-molecule oral therapy in oncology approved by both the U.S. FDA and EMA, this partnership strengthens Hikma's promise of providing better access to treatment options and its commitment to improving patient outcomes.