Weekly Roundup: April 23, 2007
- Wuyi Pharmaceuticals Eyes Acquisition of Two Small Rivals
- Sanofi Taps Vaccine Demand
- Anti-Cancer Agent Avastin Approved in Japan
- Chinese Drug Makers Feel Pain Of Government Overhauls, Probe
- Local Pharma Majors to Post Strong Growth
- Alpharma Moves Into China With Tongde Pharmaceutical Acquisition
- Ministry Eyes Growing China Trade
- Govt Opposed to Ever-Greening of Patents
- Actavis and Torrent Leading Bidders for Merck
- Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Opens Up 3 Percent Post IPO
- Mixed Feelings Over Buying Japanese Products
- Taskforce to Advise on Cold and Flu Medicine Ban
- Galapagos' Biofocus DPI, Ono Pharma Sign 2 Drug Discovery Collaborations
- GlaxoSmithKline: Advair, Arixtra Receive Approval In Japan
"Wuyi Pharmaceuticals Eyes Acquisition of Two Small Rivals"
China Knowledge (04/23/07)
Wuyi International Pharmaceutical is a producer of Chinese traditional medicines, and Wuyi is considering acquiring two smaller rival companies in China. Wuyi raised 921 million Hong Kong dollars through an Hong Kong IPO in February 2007. The China-based firm is looking at acquiring one company experienced in Western medicine, and another that specializes in traditional Chinese healing products. (Click here for more )
"Sanofi Taps Vaccine Demand"
Bangkok Post (04/18/07) Kittikanya, Charoen
Sanofi Pasteur's 49 percent-owned pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing plant in Thailand is looking to begin to export to Asian regional countries in 2008 as the best way to expand and grow. This public-private venture called GPO-MBP also is 49 percent-owned by Thailand's government, and 2 percent is owned by the Crown Property Bureau of Thailand. It remains one of the most technologically advanced vaccine plants in Asia. In 2006 it produced 25 million vaccine doses for the Thai market. It has enabled Sanofi Pasteur to corner 43 percent of the vaccine market in Thailand, which is growing and grew by 15 percent or more in 2006 alone. GPO-MBP is located in the Chachoengsao province at the Gateway Industrial Estate. They plan to export the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, measles vaccines, and Japan-targeted vaccines, like the Japanese encephalitis vaccine in development for debut in 2009. The plant also plans to begin producing the DTP-HB vaccine this year, a vaccine for diptheria-tetanus-pertussis and hepatitis B. (Click here for more )
"Anti-Cancer Agent Avastin Approved in Japan"
Japan Corporate News Network (04/18/07)
Chugai Pharmaceutical has won Japanese drug approval for Avastin, which features bevacizumab to treat advanced or refractory colorectal cancer that cannot be treated with any other curative therapy. Chugai conducted phase-I clinical trials for the drug in Japan, and remaining clinical trials elsewhere, and so will have to conduct and submit post-approval studies to comply with Japan's approval conditions. Avastin is an intravenously delivered, monoclonal antibody that inhibits angiogenesis. It works as an anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (anti-VEGF). Avastin can cause some severe negative reactions, and so is being approved for use only by medical institutions with experience in cancer chemotherapy.
(Click here for more )
"Chinese Drug Makers Feel Pain Of Government Overhauls, Probe"
Asian Wall Street Journal (04/20/07) Zamiska, Nicholas; Leow, Jason
Chinese drug companies' desire for fresh capital has resulted in many such firms listing shares in Hong Kong and New York this year, with more planning to follow. However, a corruption investigation by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), China's drug regulator, combined with continuing government efforts to overhaul the country's inadequate health-care system, has hit some of the stocks and is likely to weigh on coming listings. "A lot of investors think that the health-care sector will boom," says Vicky Chen, a health-care analyst in Shanghai for UBS. "I think in the long term it's true. But in the short term, the SFDA shake-up and price controls by the government will all have an effect on the industry." In recent months, the SFDA has been slower to approve new drugs after the government found evidence that officials had taken bribes from some companies to approve their drug applications. The drug-market-research firm IMS reports that such measures have helped slow growth in China's pharmaceutical market to 12 percent from more than 20 percent the prior year. The reform efforts have also lowered enthusiasm for newly issued shares for Chinese drug companies going public. Observers warn that margins for generics makers are so slim that the companies often compromise on quality. If the government follows through on its pledge to impose stricter quality standards, many of these companies could be forced out of business. (Click here for more - May Require Paid Subscription)
"Local Pharma Majors to Post Strong Growth"
Business Standard (India) (04/18/07) Shirsat, B. G.
Indian pharmaceutical companies are expected to average 50 percent total growth and 25 percent net profit increase in the fiscal quarter ending in March 2007, according to experts such as Merrill Lynch, ICICI Securities, and JM Morgan. Their fourth-quarter performance far exceeds the average single-digit growth of global pharmaceutical companies for the same fiscal quarter. Indian pharmaceuticals are experiencing expansion in volume sales, in lines of business, and they are benefiting from new product launches. They are averaging 22.7 percent annual revenue growth in the year between March 2006 to March 2007, compared to the previous period, reports Kotak Securities. Average net profit grew by 40.2 percent in the same period, reports Kotak. Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy's will post the strongest earnings for this latest fiscal quarter, reports Merrill Lynch, based on their booming generic drug businesses. (Click here for more )
"Alpharma Moves Into China With Tongde Pharmaceutical Acquisition"
News-Medical (04/20/07)
Alpharma has purchased Shenzhou, China-based Tongde Pharmaceutical, a producer of medicines for animals with annual sales of around $5 million. Alpharma will use Tongde to serve its own growing Chinese clientele, while also working to expand Tongde's reach and sales outside of China. Alpharma's biggest product is vancomycin, and in 2006 Alpharma in 2006 agreed to partner with Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical on making and selling vancomycin. Alpharma with this purchase has strengthened its position inside China. (Click here for more )
"Ministry Eyes Growing China Trade"
Vietnam News (04/16/07)
Vietnam wants to increase its exports into China, and the Vietnam Ministry of Trade has developed a four-point plan to promote the export of an array of raw materials as well as pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, chemical fibers, and other advanced products into China. The Ministry will encourage Vietnamese companies to establish joint ventures with Chinese companies to gain access to Chinese distribution channels. The government also wants to entice foreign investors to Vietnam's manufacturing operations geared for export into China. They hope Vietnamese exports into China reach $7 billion by 2015. Bilateral trade between the two countries has risen from $32.23 million in 1991 to $7.39 billion in 2006. Bilateral trade is expected to reach $15 billion by 2010. (Click here for more )
"Govt Opposed to Ever-Greening of Patents"
Economic Times of India (04/17/07)
India wants to stop the renewal of patented drugs through the subtle alteration of their formulation, and is looking to limit patents only to new chemical entities. However, the government-appointed Mashelkar Committee has concluded in a new report that India would violate the World Trade Organization's TRIPS agreements if India grants patents to new chemical entities only, and not also to what are called micro-organisms. India's government has rejected this recommendation. India may create a new committee to reexamine and revise this report, especially because charges of plagiarism have been leveled against it, and the committee chairman forced to resign. (Click here for more )
"Actavis and Torrent Leading Bidders for Merck"
Javno.hr (Croatia) (04/17/07)
India-based Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Actavis are the two leading bidders for Merck's generic drug business, according to sources. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has decided the likely $6 billion price tag is too steep. Torrent has a market capitalization of $400 million, and its bid is backed by private equity companies Fortress Capital and Greater Pacific Capital. Merck's generic business made 1.8 billion euros in profit in 2006. India's Aurobindo, U.S. Mylan Laboratories, and a Bain Capital-led equity group also are bidding. (Click here for more )
"Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Opens Up 3 Percent Post IPO"
Asian Wall Street Journal (04/20/07)
Chinese health-care company Simcere Pharmaceutical Group opened 3 percent higher on its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Simcere's American Depositary Shares opened at $15 a share compared to its initial public offering price of $14.50. The IPO price was at the high end of the expected range of $12.50 to $14.50, set by underwriter Goldman Sachs. Simcere manufactures and supplies branded generic pharmaceuticals in China. The company sells 35 products, including antibiotics, an anti-stroke medication, and an anti-cancer medication, and is the exclusive distributor of three additional products that are marketed under its brand names. Simcere also has approvals from the People's Republic of China State Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and sell more than 100 other products. (Click here for more - May Require Paid Subscription)
"Mixed Feelings Over Buying Japanese Products"
China Daily (04/13/07) Jie, Liu
China and Japan are important trading partners with 2006 bilateral trade totaling $207.36 billion. In addition, Japan is the second largest foreign investor in China behind the United States. Japanese brands such as Daiichi Pharmaceutical are highly popular in China, though many Chinese still hold grudges against Japan for its eight-year invasion and occupation of Northern China almost a century ago. A recent China Daily poll reports that 45.63 percent claimed to have bought a Japanese product in the last two years, while 44.04 percent say they have not. The latter group often cited the invasion as the reason they do not purchase Japanese products. The percentage that has purchased them cite the better quality of Japanese products over Chinese products as the reason they make a rational consumer choice to purchase. Chinese citizens who do buy Japanese products say that if Japan reentered the political realm in a large, negative matter, it would hurt Japanese product sales in China. Japan-Chinese bilateral trade rose by 12.5 percent from 2005 to 2006. (Click here for more )
"Taskforce to Advise on Cold and Flu Medicine Ban"
Herald Sun (AU) (04/16/07) Bunce, Jane
The Australian government is considering whether to ban pharmaceutical products that contain pseudoephedrine, and has asked a task force of health, pharmaceutical, and law enforcement experts to report on the issue. Pseudoephedrine is commonly found in cold and flu medicines, and is a basic ingredient for illegal methamphetamine drugs. The task force, the National Working Group on Precusor Chemicals, should report back in late April, according to Australian Federal Aging Minister Christopher Pyne. Australia recently created a national program of registration for any person that buys pseudoephedrine-based medicines called Project STOP. Law enforcement say that half of methamphetamine operations use black-market pseudoephedrine smuggled in from Asian countries. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, about 100,000 Australians have used methamphetamines in the past week and more than 500,000 in the past year. Industry group Pharmacy Guild of Australia is against a ban, though another group representing pharmacists in Australia supports it. (Click here for more )
"Galapagos' Biofocus DPI, Ono Pharma Sign 2 Drug Discovery Collaborations"
Hemscott Online (04/16/07)
Drug developer Galapagos NV's BioFocus DPI unit has signed two new drug discovery collaborations with Ono Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Under the first deal, BioFocus DPI will use selected compounds from its SoftFocus and other synthetic small molecule collections to perform high throughput screening for Ono's drug discovery program. In the second deal, BioFocus DPI will use its expertise in multiple medicinal chemistry projects for Ono. (Click here for more )
"GlaxoSmithKline: Advair, Arixtra Receive Approval In Japan"
Asian Wall Street Journal (04/18/07)
GlaxoSmithKline has received approval for Seretide/Advair Diskus and Arixtra from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan. Seretide/Advair, which will be marketed as Adoair Diskus has been approved for adult patients with bronchial asthma when concomitant use of an inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta-agonist is necessary. Adoair will be the only combination respiratory medicine available in Japan, targeting both inflammation and bronchoconstriction, the two main components of asthma. According to estimates, around 4.5 million Japanese have bronchial asthma, with around 40 percent suffering from moderate to severe asthma. Asthma was designated a Health Priority by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2006. The anti-thrombotic Arixtra has been approved as a once-daily subcutaneous injection, for the prevention of venous thromboembolic events in patients who are at high risk for VTE undergoing major orthopaedic surgeries of the lower limb. Arixtra was designated as a priority review product by the Japanese authorities in February 2006 and is the first anti-thrombotic agent to be approved for the prevention of VTE since the approval of unfractionated heparin in 1972. (Click here for more - May Require Paid Subscription)
