Under a new license and supply agreement, Celltrion will supply adalimumab biosimilar drug substance CT-P17 that is required for RT-105.
Rani has an exclusive license to use the drug substance for RT-105 development and commercialisation.
Celltrion will acquire global rights to RT-105 following a Phase I study, as per the agreement.
Celltrion Medical Science Division head SungHyun Kim said: “We are pleased to build upon our existing partnership with Rani, a company that is pioneering oral drug delivery across a broad range of injectable therapeutics.
“The cooperation between our companies allows each of us to pursue our commitment to delivering effective and convenient medicines, which in time could benefit healthcare systems, providers and patients.”
First agreement between both the companies was signed in January this year for developing RT-111.
Rani Therapeutics CEO Talat Imran said: “We believe this expansion of the Rani-Celltrion relationship further validates our RaniPill platform and offers the potential to deliver great value for both our companies.
“We look forward to advancing both RT-105 and RT-111 as oral alternatives to painful injections for people with chronic inflammatory conditions.”
Rani has developed an oral delivery technology known as RaniPill capsule and is applying it to a TNF- α antibody for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
The technology is intended to replace subcutaneous or intravenous injection of drugs and biologics with oral dosing.