Tag - Biosimilars

Insulin Glargine is $2.2bn opportunity in the insulin segment – Biocon

Update on Indian equity market:
After the steep fall on Monday, markets were in a recovery mode for the second straight day as Nifty50 rose 65 points higher at 11,535. Among the index, ZEEL (+7.5%), M&M (+6.1%) and TATAMOTORS (+5.1%) were the top performing stocks while BAJAJAUTO (-2.4%), HEROMOTOCO (-1.4%) and ASIANPAINT (-1.4%) were the laggards. The negative market reaction to two-wheeler stocks came as a surprise as companies delivered good performance in the monthly volumes. Within the sectoral indices, MEDIA (+3.4%), METALS (+1.8%) and IT (+1.5%) were the top performing sectors whereas PSU BANK (-0.4%) and FIN SERVICES (-0.03%) were the only the sectors closed the day in red.
Excerpts of an interview with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon published on CNBC TV18 dated 2nd September 2020:
Biocon and Mylan announced the launch of Semglee (Insulin Glargine injection) in the U.S. to expand access for patients living with Diabetes. Ms Mazumdar Shaw said that the commercialization of insulin glargine in the U.S. represents another milestone achievement for the company in making insulin based therapy globally.
The company is leveraging science and global scale manufacturing expertise to expand affordable access of biosimilar insulins to patients in Japan, Australia, Europe, India and key emerging markets. The U.S. launch of Semglee takes the company closer to realizing its aspirations of reaching ‘one in five’ insulin dependent people with diabetes worldwide.
The company expects Semglee to contribute significantly to the company’s goal of impacting 5 million patients’ lives and achieving $1bn revenues by the end of FY22E.
The company rigorously compared Semglee to the reference insulin glargine in participants with type-1 and 2 diabetes and found similar glycemic results in both groups. As a result, this insulin was approved by the FDA for the same indications as its reference product Lantus, thus expanding access for millions of people within this important patient community.
Semglee has an identical amino acid sequence as Sanofi’s Lantus and is approved for the same indications. This product has now received regulatory approval in more than 45 countries around the world and is the third product approved by FDA through the Mylan- Biocon collaboration.
She mentioned that this product already has a $6bn market opportunity in terms of Lantus sales and the company expects it to be $2.2bn opportunity.
Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)
The closing price of Biocon was ₹ 410/- as of 24-Aug-2020. It traded at 46x/ 31x/ 26x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 8.9/ 13.4/ 15.8 for FY21E/ FY22E/ FY23E respectively.
Consensus target price of ₹ 413/- implies a P/E multiple of 26x on FY23E EPS of ₹ 15.8.
Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

Replacing China as a global chemical supplier is a medium to long term story- Lupin

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

 

On Tuesday, Nifty closed marginally lower at 10,302. Within NIFTY50, SHREECEM (+3.1%), MARUTI (+2.7%), and ICICIBANK (+2.6%) were the top gainers, while BPCL(-2.5%), POWERGRID (-1.9%) and SUNPHARMA (-1.9%) were the top losers. Among the sectoral indices, AUTO (+1.1%), FMCG (+0.3%), and FIN SERVICE (+0.3%) gained the most.  PSU BANK (-1.8%), MEDIA (-1.7%) and PHARMA (-1.5%) were the losing sectors.

 

Replacing China as a global chemical supplier is a medium to long term story- Lupin

 

Excerpts of an interview with Mr. Ramesh Swaminathan, Global CFO –Lupinpublished in Economic Times dated26thJune 2020:

  • The US Generic market has seen different phases in terms of pricing in the last 2 decades. Pricing was good during 2001-2005. In the 2005-2009 period, there was a sharp decline in prices which picked up later. 2011-2015 saw some tailwinds for pricing. 2015 onward due to customer consolidation and increased competition in generic space, the Pharma companies lost bargaining power leading to pricing pressure. However today, the situation has stabilized and everything depends on the portfolio.
  • There have been a lot of Indian generic entrants in the US generic space and that is where the competition is higher. US companies such as Teva, Mylan, and Sandoz have lost market share to the new entrants. But the smaller companies are now realizing that earning ROCE is not as easy. Companies have to invest in FDA approved manufacturing facilities of different kinds, there is a waiting period for getting ANDA approvals, and there is a working capital blockage. As a result, some players are backing out which will bring some pricing stability going forward.
  • In the last several years, Lupin, along with the other bigger companies, is focusing on delivering more complex generics including complex injectables, inhalation, etc. Complex injectables as a segment are growing at over 6-7%. Inhalations segment is growing at over 15%. These segments have lower competition because of the complexity involved.
  • In the specialty segment, a lot of the products are coming into the market over the next few years, which will help with the realizations for Indian generic companies. Companies need to have deep pockets because Specialty calls for a very different kind of approach. Innovation quotient and clinical data play a critical part.
  • Biosimilars is the sunrise industry for Indian pharma companies. There are considerable entry barriers, but once a company has a clone, has done immunogenicity studies well and, then potentially development risk will be mitigated. The pricing will also be better due to lower competition. Europe has adapted more to biosimilars. Once the American market picks up, the realization for players in that market would be much higher.
  • Lupin has got into women’s health because that is one space which has been vacated by big pharma and to that extent, the competition there is much lower.
  • Replacing China as a chemical producer for the world will be a medium to long term story. India has about 25% of USFDA approved API capacities in the world but there is still some way to go when it comes to supply. The government is trying to encourage this shift but the investments have to materialize.
  • There are 3 specific growth drivers for Indian pharma companies. One is the large American market, specifically the complex products which Lupin is also getting into. Second, the Indian domestic market is still underpenetrated. Due to the COVID-19 situation, there is going to be thrust from the Indian government and more public awareness which will aid faster growth. Third, many emerging markets are underpenetrated and if the portfolio is right, there is potential for growth in those markets.
  • There might be some demand contraction in India as well as America due to COVID-19 disruption. However, it is a very temporary situation and the second half of FY21E will be much better.
  • The flavor of the day seems to be a nationalistic foot forward. We can see in India as well as in America and other parts of the world. Lupin has been conscious about this for a while and has local manufacturing in countries where it operates. For Indian pharma companies, the basic paradigm should be low-cost manufacturing from India but supplemented with local manufacturing capabilities in overseas markets.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of lupin was ₹ 910/- as of 30-June-2020. It traded at 31.9x/ 23.4x the consensus EPS estimate of ₹ 28.5/ 38.9 for FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • Consensus target price of ₹ 852/- implies a PE multiple of 21.9x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 38.9.

 

Disclaimer: “The views expressed are for information purposes only. The information provided herein should not be considered as investment advice or research recommendation. The users should rely on their own research and analysis and should consult their own investment advisors to determine the merit, risks, and suitability of the information provided.”

 

Expect to address FDA observations in time to launch Glargine: Christiane Hamacher, Biocon Biologics

Update on the Indian Equity Market:

On Wednesday, NIFTY closed lower at 11,678 (-1.0%). The worst sectoral performers were Auto (-2.1%), Realty (-1.7%) and IT (-1.4%). There were no sectoral gainers. The top gaining stocks for NIFTY50 were YESBANK (+4.9%), SBIN (+0.4%) and HCLT (+0.2%) while the losers were GAIL (-5.1%), SUNPHARMA (-3.8%) and TATAMOTORS (-3.6%).

Excerpts from an interview with Dr. Christiane Hamacher, MD and CEO of Biocon Biologics aired on CNBC18 TV on 24nd February 2020:

  • They have received three observations from US FDA under form 483 and they are procedural in nature. They largely aim at process improvements.
  • They don’t have any repeat observations and they will be submitting an action plan very soon to address these observations.
  • They are expecting to address all the observations well in time to meet the target action date for their biosimilar Glargine in June 2020 and they expect to be in a position to launch in 2nd half of this calendar year in the US by their partner Mylan.
  • So, there is no delay when it comes to launching in the second half of 2020.
  • As a transition from New Drug Application (NDA) to Biologics License Application (BLA) for certain biologics will not actually affect their submission for biosimilar Glargine.
  • That was submitted another pathway and they are very clear that they expect their biosimilar will continue to be reviewed under the same pathway. So, they don’t foresee any delay when it comes to this review process.
  • Biosimilar Glargine together with their biosimilar Trastuzumab, and their biosimilar Pegfilgratim in the US, in the near future will be a very important component to achieve the revenue guidance of USD 1 billion that they have given for FY22.
  • They see much less competition compared to other areas like oncology and they have a huge portfolio. Along with their partner Mylan, they are very well positioned to be a leading player in the insulin biosimilar space.

Consensus Estimate: (Source: market screener website)

  • The closing price of Biocon was ₹ 298/- as of 26-February-2020.  It traded at 40x/ 30x/ 23x the consensus earnings estimate of ₹ 7.5/ 10.1/ 13.1 for FY20E/ FY21E/ FY22E respectively.
  • Consensus target price is ₹ 313/- which implies a PE multiple of 24x on FY22E EPS of ₹ 13.1/-