Market Intelligence

BridgeBio Pharma’s affiliate QED Therapeutics granted and Helsinn Group exclusive global rights (excluding Greater China) to the FGFR1-3 inhibitor infigratinib in oncology and all other indications except skeletal dysplasias (including achondroplasia). BridgeBio could see up to $2.45bn in payments from the deal, including over $100m in up-front, regulatory, and launch payments, and the remainder in sales milestones. In the month’s top M&A, Amgen entered into an agreement to acquire fellow public biotech Five Prime Therapeutics for about $1.9bn, gaining Phase III-ready bemarituzumab for frontline advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer.  

Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, a GLP-1 agonist marketed in an injected formulation as Ozempic, and an oral tablet form as Rybelsus, is a success story with the potential for an epic third act. First approved as a treatment for type 2 diabetes, semaglutide is under FDA review as a treatment for obesity, with additional clinical programs in NASH and Alzheimer’s disease. 

More option deals, greater use of alternative remedy clauses and aggressive diligence of assets. Geoffrey Spolyar, special counsel at Cooley, spotlights some of the changes he is seeing in pharma and biotech partnership agreements and explains why these trends matter in 2021.

Derived from Biomedtracker, the Deal-Making column is a survey of recent health care transactions listed by relevant industry segment – In Vitro Diagnostics, Medical Devices and Pharmaceuticals – and then categorized by type – Acquisition, Alliance, or Financing. This month’s column covers deals announced in March 2021. Data provided by Biomedtracker.

Kazakhstan’s pharmaceutical market showed positive dynamics in 2020. In the first 9 months of last year, market size for finished pharmaceutical products grew to KZT460bn($1bn), up 22% year-on-year.

An new $2.1bn incentive scheme for formulations follows on from an earlier scheme for APIs in India. Experts weigh in on the likelihood of industry participation and whether this $3bn push will result in $41bn of incremental sales for the industry while strengthening supply chains in a post-COVID world. 

Weaknesses in the global pharmaceutical supply chain, exposed and exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, have led major markets to pursue localization policies aimed at bolstering domestic production capacity. But any significant transformation promises to take many years.

The decrease in overall R&D productivity continues – a trend that started in 2018. It would be too easy to attribute this fall in R&D productivity to COVID-19 alone.

Molecular Templates penned a research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to discover and develop multiple therapies designed for specific oncology targets using Molecular’s next-generation engineered toxin body platform. BMS paid $70m up front and could shell out development and regulatory milestones up to $874.5m and $450m upon the achievement of certain sales milestones. ICON entered into a definitive agreement to acquire fellow public CRO PRA Health Sciences in a 48% cash and 52% stock transaction valued at approximately $12bn. Financing reached $11.4bn in biopharma, $1.2bn in device, and $1.5bn in diagnostics.

Merck & Co. executive outlines how the company could sustain a “compliant supply performance” amid the pandemic, while senior officials from Sun Pharma, Cipla, Zydus Cadila and Biocon shared insights on coping with supply chain turbulence and moving away from over-dependence on China for starting materials.

Experts share what they believe are the solutions to key manufacturing challenges, such as lowering cost of goods and centralized manufacturing, in the cell and gene therapy sector.

The rapid development of a vaccine to fight COVID-19 is an effort that will be discussed and admired for centuries to come. The effort to make and deliver the vaccines to those who are most at risk is a battle all of its own. Two manufacturers talk to In Vivo about managing roll out strategies when the whole world is watching.