The new pricing system adopted in Japan from April -2014 (Annexure 1) is a game changer initiative. It pains most of the companies - whether generic or innovator. The most of the companies are revalidating their domestic (and thus overseas) strategies to adopt with new regulations. For the innovators – testing Authorized Generics (AGs) phenomenon for protecting their long-listed sales against generic could be one of new choice in Japan. The format and regulations for AG’s are still not clear…

All biotech companies - Gilead (GILD), Amgen (AMGN), Biogen Idec (BIIB) and Celgene (CELG), in past year, have given a positive return and hence increased the interest of biotech investors. These companies have been able to select therapy/niche indication where the high treatment cost justifies the need. While large pharma companies are active in M&A deals, the Mature biotech companies are sticking to its core expertise and venturing into unexplored/new therapy; e.g., GILD in anti-cancer and BIIB for hemophilia. Alike…

Strategy Diversification Divested: Productivity measurements, Divestment of non-core assets resulting in healthy Cash position- Will accelerate Next wave of targeted acquisition In the recent years' several new therapies have been approved in the area of diabetes (SGLT-2, GLP-1 agonists), Multiple Sclerosis, HCV, melanoma, and breast cancer from major pharmaceutical companies. Many of them are expected to reach multibillion dollars peak sales in the near-term which is likely to compensate the patent expiry loss in top-line revenue. Novel mechanisms like anti-PD1,…

With the recent development, Sri Lanka’s aim of developing a pharma industry should be to penetrate the global market since the internal market is not sufficient for any big firm to operate at optimum levels. According to a report published by Indian Council on International Relations in Dec. ‘14, the global market of pharma is about $1trillion, and India’s export of pharma products in 2013 amounted to $13bn, where as Sri Lanka was nil. Hence, pharma industry offers a very…

Innovative Therapies for treating diseases are being sought after with fresh vigor as new targets, approaches and biology is discovered. One field which is poised to bring a paradigm change in the way diseases are treated in the next decades is the Stem cell therapy/Regenerative Medicine space. The number of companies and products in the clinic have reached a critical mass warranting a close watch for those interested in keeping pace with the development of new medicines. The Regenerative medicine…

Invokana clean label thrills many on the street rising hopes that Invokana sales could cross $2.5b+ at peak. However we think that CV issues (dose dependent increase in LDL, CV events observed in first 30 days in CANVAS study), associated genital/UTI infections, compromised efficacy in renally impaired patients and long term safety study requirements by FDA (Table 1), should be seen in conjunction with the ‘clean label’. These issues will limit the initial uptake of Invokana to a small segment…