DATA COMPILATION #PharmaFlow

Pfizer’s buyout of Seagen, drugmakers suing US govt, obesity drugs make it to top 10 Phispers of 2023

Every week, PharmaCompass compiles important developments in the world of pharmaceuticals and brings a compilation to you in the form of Phispers. Of the hundreds of stories we carried in 2023, here are the top 10 stories, including some trends and updates.I. Pfizer buys Seagen for US$ 43 billion to bolster its oncology portfolioIn March, Pfizer said it is acquiring cancer treatment specialist Seagen for US$ 43 billion. Seagen is a pioneer in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), or drugs that work like “guided missiles” to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. Another important deal in the field of ADCs took place in December when AbbVie picked up ImmunoGen for US$ 10.1 billion, giving it access to Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), an ADC approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Elahere is expected to achieve blockbuster status by 2030. II. Merck, BMS, trade bodies, sue US government over IRA negotiationsIn June, Merck filed a lawsuit against the US government seeking to block Medicare from negotiating lower prescription drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Days later, the US Chamber of Commerce, one of the most influential trade groups in the US, filed a separate lawsuit, arguing that the negotiations violated drugmakers’ constitutional rights and granted excessive control over prices to the government. They were joined by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and lobby group PhRMA. Drugmakers and the Biden administration appeared to be at each other’s throats. In December, the White House identified 48 drugs whose prices spiked faster than inflation in Q4. These drugs may be subject to rebates starting January 2024. Biden Administration also announced it is setting a new “march-in” policy that allows the government to seize medicine patents held by drugmakers for therapies whose development was taxpayer-funded, if it believes they are not “reasonably available and affordable.”III. US, UK approve Lilly’s Mounjaro for weight management; to be sold as ZepboundIn November, drug regulators in the US and the United Kingdom approved Eli Lilly's Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for weight management, to be sold under the brand name Zepbound. The drug will pose strong competition to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in a market that's expected to reach US$ 100 billion by the end of the decade.IV. Novo, Lilly plan capacity expansions for weight loss drugsBoth Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly announced expanding their manufacturing capacities in order to capitalize on the burgeoning market for weight loss drugs. Novo is investing over DKK 42 billion (US$ 6 billion) in Kalundborg (Denmark), US$ 2.3 billion to expand its site in Chartres (France) and over € 2 billion (US$ 2.18 billion) in Dublin (Ireland) to boost production of its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy (both semaglutide). Similarly, Eli Lilly had announced a US$ 2.5 billion manufacturing facility in Germany in November to address the demand for its new obesity and diabetes therapies.V. FDA finds violations at Global Pharma’s eye drops plant in India; issues Form 483In April, FDA found several violations in manufacturing processes and sterilization methods used by India-based Global Pharma for its EzriCare Artificial Tears Eye Drop, which has been linked to 68 cases of eye infection in the US, including eight cases of vision loss and three deaths.VI. ‘Intas India staff tore documents, threw acid to destroy evidence’, notes FDAIn January, FDA issued a Form 483 with 11 observations to Intas Pharma’s drug manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India). A team of three FDA drug regulators conducted an inspection of the manufacturing facility from November 22 to December 2, 2022. The 36-page report issued by the FDA has alleged that employees at the facility had destroyed documents related to manufacturing practices by tearing them into pieces and disposing them inside the quality control lab and scrap areas. Acid was used to destroy evidence, notes FDA.VII. GSK overtakes Pfizer in bagging first FDA approval for RSV vaccineIn May, FDA approved GSK’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for people aged 60 and above. Arexvy is the first RSV vaccine to be approved in the US for the common condition that can be fatal for the elderly. Later that month, Pfizer’s RSV vaccine Abrysvo also got approved. In July, Sanofi-AstraZeneca’s RSV antibody therapy, Beyfortus (nirsevimab-alip), received approval from the FDA. It is a long-acting treatment that can be given once per season. The approval is specifically developed for newborns and infants.VIII. UK authorizes gene therapy Casgevy for blood disorders, US follows suit In November, Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was first off the block in authorizing CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Casgevy, a therapy that seeks to cure two blood disorders — sickle-cell disease (SCD) and β-thalassemia. The therapy is based on gene editing technology that had won its scientists the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.Less than a month later, FDA not only approved Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel) for SCD, but also approved bluebird bio’s Lyfgenia (lovotibeglogene autotemcel) for the treatment of SCD in patients aged 12 and older who have a history of vaso-occlusive events (when tissues become deprived of oxygen).IX. Leqembi becomes first med to bag full approval to treat Alzheimer’sEisai and Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi (lecanemab) had won FDA’s accelerated approval in January. It treats patients who are in the earliest stages of the neurodegenerative disease. In July, it became the first treatment to receive full FDA approval to treat the condition.X. Bayer’s experimental anticoagulant fails late-stage trialOne of the biggest disappointments from clinical trials came when a major late-stage trial for Bayer’s experimental anticoagulant asundexian had to be discontinued due to its inadequate effectiveness. Bayer had expectations in excess of € 5 billion (US$ 5.5 billion) from this drug.

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STOCK RECAP #PipelineProspector

Pipeline Prospector Nov 2023: Lilly, Novo post sharp rise in Q3 sales; AbbVie buys ImmunoGen for US$ 10.1 billion

Through much of 2023, markets remained volatile, with pharma indices managing to inch up only in some months. November bucked the trend — the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (NBI) rose by 4 percent at 3,902.97 after an 8 percent drop in October. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF index (XBI) spiked 12 percent to 75.52, compared to a drop of 12 percent in October. And the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index (SPSIBI) gained 12 percent to 5,882.09 after plunging 9 percent in October.The indices mirrored the bullish activity witnessed in the US stock markets, with the S&P 500 rebounding 8.92 percent in November. Importantly, healthcare stocks outperformed all 11 major sectors of the S&P 500.The month witnessed another significant deal in the antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) space after Pfizer acquired Seagen in March for US$ 43 billion. As November drew to a close, AbbVie picked up ImmunoGen for US$ 10.1 billion, including its first-in-class ADC, Elahere, approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (wherein patients relapse within six months of receiving platinum-based chemotherapy). ADCs are fast-growing, innovative biopharmaceutical products that target cancer cells, while protecting the healthy cells.In other big news, the United Kingdom became the first country to grant regulatory approval to a medical treatment involving the revolutionary CRISPR gene editing tool. And the month also saw several drugmakers announce their third quarter (Q3) results.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for November 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) Astra joins obesity med jamboree with Eccogene deal; Lilly, Novo ride GLP-1 waveNovember was a good month for Eli Lilly (stock up by 7 percent) as both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved its weight-loss injection Zepbound (tirzepatide). Moreover, the drugmaker’s Q3 revenue increased by an impressive 37 percent, driven by the growth of its GLP-1 diabetes treatment Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and breast cancer drug Verzenio (abemaciclib).The other drugmaker that rode on the popularity of GLP-1 meds is Novo Nordisk (up by 4 percent). The Danish drugmaker posted a rise in sales of 29 percent in the first nine months of 2023. Its diabetes and obesity care meds saw a gain of 36 percent, bringing in DKK 153.8 billion (US$ 20.6 billion) for Novo in the first nine months of 2023. Out of this, the GLP-1 meds (Saxenda, Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy) contributed DKK 30.4 billion (or US$ 4.1 billion). The company also plans to expand its manufacturing capacities with an investment of over DKK 42 billion (US$ 6 billion) in Kalundborg (Denmark), and an additional investment of DKK 16 billion (US$ 2.3 billion) at its Chartres (France) facility to capitalize on the burgeoning market for weight loss drugs. Its weight loss med Wegovy has also shown heart protection benefits in a phase 3 trial.Not wanting to miss out on the bourgeoning market for weight loss drugs (estimated to reach an annual market size of US$ 100 billion by 2030), AstraZeneca (up by 2 percent) has entered into an exclusive license agreement worth US$ 2 billion with Chinese biopharma Eccogene for its investigational treatment ECC5004 for obesity, type-2 diabetes, and other cardio-metabolic conditions. The company has reported a 5 percent rise in its Q3 revenues (at US$ 11 billion), fueled by good performances in oncology, cardiovascular renal management, and rare diseases.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for November 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) GSK’s RSV jab nears US$ 1 bn in sales; Novartis, Sanofi post positive trial updatesLaunched in early May 2023, GSK’s (stock up by 3 percent) RSV vaccine, Arexvy, has made an impressive debut. GSK’s Q3 results show that its total sales increased by 10 percent, fueled by a 33 percent surge in vaccine sales. This includes £0.8 billion (US$ 0.97 billion) from sales of its shingles vaccine (Shingrix) and £0.7 billion (US$ 0.85 billion) from sales of Arexvy. In its first year of launch, Arexvy sales are poised to cross £1 billion (US$ 1.26 billion).In crucial phase 3 trials, Novartis’ (up by 4 percent) highly selective, oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor remibrutinib showed clinically significant results in treating chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Currently, H1-antihistamines are the only recourse for people plagued by chronic hives.Sanofi (up by 2 percent) also made trial gains as its blockbuster drug Dupixent (dupilumab) showed “overwhelming positive efficacy” in a second, large phase 3 trial undertaken to test it as a cure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sanofi now plans to seek FDA approval to expand its use for COPD. If approved, Dupixent will be the first biologic to treat the disease.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for November 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) UK okays CRISPR therapy for thalassemia, Madrigal’s NASH drug posts trial gainsIn a world first, the UK’s MHRA has given the go-ahead for CRISPR Therapeutics (up by 61 percent) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (down by 4 percent) gene therapy Casgevy for patients aged 12 and above to cure the genetic conditions — β-thalassemia and sickle-cell disease (SCD). This renders it the first treatment ever that uses the gene-editing tool CRISPR, whose inventors won the 2020 Nobel Prize.Large-cap Alnylam (up by 8 percent) achieved robust Q3 commercial results, reporting US$ 313 million in revenue, driven by the successful launch of Amvuttra, a rare heart disease drug.Mid-cap Madrigal (up by 53 percent) announced positive data from a late-stage trial demonstrating broad treatment effects of resmetirom on nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with liver fibrosis. It is the only investigational therapy for NASH that has achieved both fibrosis improvement and NASH resolution primary endpoints in a phase 3 trial. Among small-cap companies, FDA approved SpringWorks Therapeutics’ (up by 42 percent) Ogsiveo (nirogacestat) for adults suffering from rare desmoid tumors, rendering it the first approved treatment for the non-cancerous condition.Among losers, Bayer (down by 22 percent) scrapped a significant late-stage trial assessing the efficacy of a new anti-clotting drug, asundexian, compared to Eliquis (apixaban) in patients with atrial fibrillation at risk of a stroke. The drugmaker had hoped asundexian would generate revenues in excess of €5 billion (US$ 5.5 billion) and compensate for the drop in revenues of its blood thinner Xarelto, set to lose protection from key European patents in 2026. Bayer also voluntarily recalled a single lot of its cancer drug Vitrakvi due to microbial contamination.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for November 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel) Our viewIn the US, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged in its meeting in November. This has raised investor expectations, and hopes of inflation cooling down this winter.However, given the rise in bankruptcy filings, layoffs, weaker availability of finance to small and medium-sized businesses and larger concerns of a slowdown in the global economy, we would exercise caution before putting inflationary and other economic concerns to rest.Access the Pipeline Prospector Dashboard for November 2023 Newsmakers (Free Excel)

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