AstraZeneca, Gilead Drug License Deals Could Pinch AbbVie Growth
By Adam Feuerstein Follow | 12/17/15 - 08:48 AM EST
AstraZeneca (AZN) and Gilead Sciences (GILD) announced separate deals Thursday that strengthen their respective cancer and inflammatory disease pipelines.
The flurry of end-of-the-year deal making raises the competitive pressure on AbbVie (ABBV) , which could now see AstraZeneca and Gilead cutting into the growth outlook for some of its most important drugs.
AstraZeneca said Thursday it is buying a 55% stake in privately held Acerta for $4 billion to gain controlling rights to an experimental blood cancer drug acalabrutinib. AstraZeneca has an option to acquire the remaining stake in Acerta for another $3 billion.
Investors have dubbed acalabrutinib the "Imbruvica killer" because strongly positive results from mid-stage clinical trial published last week suggest the drug could be a more potent version of AbbVie's blockbuster blood cancer drug Imbruvica.
Acerta has already announced the start of a phase III study which will compare acalabrutinib head-to-head against Imbruvica in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. If the results are positive, acalabrutinib could be submitted for approval in the second half of 2016, AstraZeneca said.
Buying Acerta gives AstraZeneca another targeted cancer drug with high potential to strengthen its cancer business. The pharma giant is also trying to catch up to cancer immunotherapy rivals Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.
In March, AbbVie paid $21 million to acquire Pharmacyclics, and with it, half the commercial rights to Imbruvica. The other 50% of the drug was, and remains, under the control of Johnson & Johnson.
Some investors questioned AbbVie for paying $21 billion to acquire half of a blood cancer drug, even one as successful as Imbruvica. In its defense, AbbVie said it expected Imbruvica to generate peak annual sales for the company of $7 billion, suggested total end-user sales of around $12 billion.
But that rosy forecast for Imbruvica could be under significant threat from AstraZeneca if acalabrutinib lives up to its potential. And if acalabrutinib does come out on top over Imbruvica, AbbVie's decision to spend $21 billion to acquire half of an inferior blood cancer drug will turn out to be a monumental waste of money.
By Adam Feuerstein Follow | 12/17/15 - 08:48 AM EST
AstraZeneca (AZN) and Gilead Sciences (GILD) announced separate deals Thursday that strengthen their respective cancer and inflammatory disease pipelines.
The flurry of end-of-the-year deal making raises the competitive pressure on AbbVie (ABBV) , which could now see AstraZeneca and Gilead cutting into the growth outlook for some of its most important drugs.
AstraZeneca said Thursday it is buying a 55% stake in privately held Acerta for $4 billion to gain controlling rights to an experimental blood cancer drug acalabrutinib. AstraZeneca has an option to acquire the remaining stake in Acerta for another $3 billion.
Investors have dubbed acalabrutinib the "Imbruvica killer" because strongly positive results from mid-stage clinical trial published last week suggest the drug could be a more potent version of AbbVie's blockbuster blood cancer drug Imbruvica.
Acerta has already announced the start of a phase III study which will compare acalabrutinib head-to-head against Imbruvica in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. If the results are positive, acalabrutinib could be submitted for approval in the second half of 2016, AstraZeneca said.
Buying Acerta gives AstraZeneca another targeted cancer drug with high potential to strengthen its cancer business. The pharma giant is also trying to catch up to cancer immunotherapy rivals Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck.
In March, AbbVie paid $21 million to acquire Pharmacyclics, and with it, half the commercial rights to Imbruvica. The other 50% of the drug was, and remains, under the control of Johnson & Johnson.
Some investors questioned AbbVie for paying $21 billion to acquire half of a blood cancer drug, even one as successful as Imbruvica. In its defense, AbbVie said it expected Imbruvica to generate peak annual sales for the company of $7 billion, suggested total end-user sales of around $12 billion.
But that rosy forecast for Imbruvica could be under significant threat from AstraZeneca if acalabrutinib lives up to its potential. And if acalabrutinib does come out on top over Imbruvica, AbbVie's decision to spend $21 billion to acquire half of an inferior blood cancer drug will turn out to be a monumental waste of money.