Biocon signed a licence agreement with Janssen Sciences Ireland clearing its proposed Stelara biosimilar Yesintek for commercialisation in nine additional markets with immediate effect, subject to regulatory approval in each country.
Biocon has signed a licence agreement with Janssen Sciences Ireland clearing commercialisation of Yesintek, its proposed biosimilar to Stelara, in nine additional markets with immediate effect. Yesintek is a human interleukin-12 and interleukin-23 antagonist, and the reference brand Stelara, whose active ingredient is ustekinumab, is approved for Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
The nine additional markets are Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea and Kazakhstan. The deal builds on previously announced Janssen agreements that secured Yesintek market entry dates in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan. All launches in the new markets remain subject to regulatory approval in each jurisdiction.
The commercial prize is large. Stelara recorded worldwide sales of $6.08 billion in 2025, according to Johnson & Johnson's reported 2025 sales cited in the filing. A biosimilar that reaches nine more markets can compete for a share of that spending, but only after regulators in each country approve the product for sale.
The licence, the nine-market list and the $6.08 billion figure are reported identically from the company's exchange filing by EquityBulls, Express Pharma and CNBC TV18, so the terms rest on the filing as reported rather than on a separately published Janssen statement. What the filing does not give is a launch date for any of the nine markets, and market entry here means clearance to commercialise, not medicine on pharmacy shelves.
For Biocon, the deal widens the map for its largest biosimilar programme in a single step, adding Asia-Pacific and Latin American markets to its existing US, European and Japanese footprint. The next milestones are regulatory approvals country by country, and whether physicians and payers adopt the biosimilar once it is approved.