Novartis has 25 potential blockbusters in pipeline; takeover targets in China ‘scarce’, says CEO

By PharmaCompass

2019-05-30

Impressions: 134 Article

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG has over 25 potential blockbuster treatments in development, Novartis chief executive Vas Narasimhan said at an investor event held in Boston last week.

“Our pipeline is industry-leading with more than 25 potential blockbusters and this pace of innovation positions Novartis well for the future,” he said.

Narasimhan also spoke about China, the world’s second-largest market for pharmaceuticals. He said takeover targets in China for global pharmaceuticals groups are scarce due to few novel drugs, data quality fears and lagging regulatory standards.

He anticipates impending structural reforms in China to free up US$ 30 billion as the local market shifts to international companies’ generic products. Narasimhan aims for China to be the second-largest market for Novartis, after the United States.

According to the Novartis CEO, Chinese companies are focused on so-called “patented fast-follower” medicines that mimic drugs invented elsewhere, including cancer immunotherapies like PD-1s, monoclonal antibodies, and CAR-T cell therapy such as Novartis’ US$ 475,000-per-patient cancer medicine Kymriah.

While some global pharmaceuticals companies may seek Chinese firms to “plug gaps” in their portfolios, Narasimhan said Novartis has yet to spot appealing targets.

Last week, Novartis’ promise of delivering blockbusters started getting realized as the FDA approved its gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Zolgensma. Novartis announced that the gene therapy would cost US$ 2.125 million over five years making it win the tag of the world’s most expensive drug. The final price is “far lower” than the US$ 4 million to US$ 5 million figure the company had quoted as its worth previously.

Zolgensma is a one-time therapy seen as a potential long-term solution for SMA — a rare disease that is a leading genetic cause of death in infants.

Meanwhile, the FDA also approved Novartis’ treatment for breast cancer alpelisib, to be used in combination with a hormone therapy. Alpelisib will be marketed under the brand name Piqray and belongs to a class of drugs known as PI3K inhibitors. It is the first of the kind to be approved by the FDA.

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