Generic pharmaceutical company Mylan will merge with Pfizer’s off-patent medicines unit Upjohn. The new firm will be based in the US, with anticipated revenues of $19–20 billion (£15–16 billion) in 2020.
The intention is to combine Pfizer’s distribution network in China and other emerging markets with Mylan’s existing products in developed markets and future generics, but the deal does not include Pfizer’s biosimilars.
‘Upjohn has off-patent drugs like Viagra (sildenafil), Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Lyrica (pregabalin), for which Mylan has filed generic applications. This makes me wonder what happens when there is overlap between Mylan’s generics and the branded Pfizer products,’ says Josh Whitehill, a lawyer specialising in pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent law at Goodwin Procter in New York, US. ‘Do they [sell them off], or does the new company just stop selling them?’ he asks.
‘It will be interesting to see if this starts a trend of large branded drug companies selling off or spinning off their off-patent assets,’ Whitehill says. Rather than a consolidation, the deal represents a shift of Upjohn into Mylan, he states. ‘I don’t see this as disrupting the status quo, it just really is giving Mylan more legs to reach places where it couldn’t before.’
By: Rebecca Trager
Source: Chemistry World
Novartis will acquire Mariana’s lead candidate MC-339, a radioligand therapy (RLT) designed to target small-cell lung cancer. Last year, Mariana had raised $175m in a Series B round from several funds and pharma giant Eli Lilly.
The company’s aspiration to expand the use of its obesity products to cardiovascular indications has been successful. In March, its blockbuster drug Wegovy was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in obese or overweight adults.
Massachusetts-based Deciphera brings to the table an extensive kinase inhibitor pipeline, kinase drug discovery expertise, and a strong commercial and sales platform in the US and European markets that is meant to advance Ono’s capabilities and presence in the oncology space.