Executive Profile Expert View Mistaken Acquisitions Dim Earnings Vice president of global R&D at Sanofi Opportunities to develop new Fourth-quarter earnings from and leader of Sunrise talks about living therapies beyond checkpoint companies missed on sales but low sales through biotech companies (p16) inhibitors remain in IO (p20) from acquisitions contributed to missed expectations (p21) 3 February 2017 No. 3839 Scripscrip.pharmamedtechbi.com Pharma intelligence | informa launched under the direction of the Swiss biotech’s current R&D hierarchy. J&J gets a 16% interest in the spinout, which will be directed by Actelion CEO Jean-Paul Clozel, and the right to acquire an additional 16% interest through con- vertible notes. The new company also will begin with roughly $1bn in cash to fund its operations. Actelion chair Jean-Pierre Garnier told a same-day conference call the deal structure may offer a way to provide immediate value creation – through the portfolio acquisitions by J&J and the sales price to Actelion – with- out the longer-term value destruction that sometimes occurs when a large pharma acquires a biotech. With the R&D spinout, “there will not be any loss of momentum,” Shutterstock: rangizzz Shutterstock: Garnier said, while the ongoing relationship with J&J provides a “preferred partner” for the new company. J&J’s $30bn For Actelion Buys The deal resulted from a long negotiation process, in which J&J walked away at one point – leaving the door open for Sanofi Immediate And Longer-Term Value to start negotiating with Actelion in De- In this tale of two companies, it’s the best of times and the best of times. J&J gets cember. A few weeks later, Actelion’s nego- immediate value by acquiring Actelion’s blockbuster PAH franchise and its late- tiations with the French pharma reached a stage pipeline, while its stake in an Actelion spinout offers longer-term potential. standstill, with J&J re-entering the picture. JOSEPH HAAS [email protected] J&J execs largely were mum about the deal’s prospects during their fourth quarter and full-year 2016 earnings calls on Jan. 24, ome analysts are quibbling with the The transaction is an all-cash tender but said it would be immediately accretive price tag, but no one doubts that for all outstanding shares in Actelion at to earnings if it happened. The company Johnson & Johnson will get an imme- $280 per share, contingent upon at least S guided that acquiring Actelion should in- diate return from its $30bn bid for Actelion 67% of Actelion’s shares being tendered. crease its long-term revenue growth pros- Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a deal transferring a The companies, whose boards both pects by at least 1% and its long-term earn- blockbuster respiratory franchise and a pair unanimously approved the deal, expect ings growth rate by 1.5%-2%. of promising Phase III assets. Perhaps just the sale to close before the end of the As an added benefit, J&J is financing the as importantly, the Jan. 26 deal includes a second quarter, at which time a new, as- deal with its offshore cash, which since it spinout of Actelion’s R&D engine into a new yet unnamed R&D company comprising is being used to buy an ex-US asset means company, with J&J holding a 16% share and Actelion’s Phase II and earlier pipeline as- there will be zero US taxation of the deal, an option to double that stake. sets plus its discovery capabilities will be CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE EDITORS OF PHARMASIA NEWS, START-UP AND SCRIP INTELLIGENCE IN THIS ISSUE Pharmas Pursue Tech Deals Sanofi’s Science J&J Pledges Investment Scout 4 14 16 COVER / J&J’s $30bn For Actelion Buys Immediate from the editor And Longer-Term Value [email protected] 3 GSK US Pharma President On A “Dynamic” 2017 4 Fresh From The White House, J&J’s Gorsky Talks Policy, It’s been a busy year so far for Johnson & Johnson’s Drug Pricing Alex Gorsky. Only eight days after joining President Trump at the White House with 11 other leaders of 5 Amgen’s Humira Biosim EU First US mega-corporations to discuss red tape, tax cuts 6 Can Slow Selling Heart Drug Entresto Perk Up In 2017? and keeping it all in America, he was back there this 8 Under Fire, Bristol Plans To Pick Up The IO Pieces week with an elite group of pharma leaders. Once 9 Patent Pool For Pfizer’s abandoned TB Drug again red tape, tax cuts and keeping it all in America were on the agenda, as well as drug pricing. 10 Policy & Regulation Briefs Gorsky wasn’t twiddling his thumbs between trips 11 Neuroscience Reaches A New Inflection Point to the White House. He expounded on policy at the 12 How To Help Women Move Into The Biopharma C-Suite company’s annual earnings event (see p 4) before an- nouncing the acquisition of Swiss firm Actelion (see 14 Pharmas Pursue Tech Deals To Speed Drug Development cover story) two days later. 15 R&D Bites As that $30bn foreign acquisition demonstrates, 16 Exectutive Profile: Katherine Bowdish, Trump’s drive to bring everything onto US soil is go- Sanofi’s Early Science Investment Scout ing to be tricky for big pharma, despite PhRMA’s up- beat message that Trump reforms can create 350,000 18 Business Bulletin US biopharma jobs. Pharma has a huge footprint 19 Lenvatinib Measures Up In HCC But Prospects Limited? across the world and relies on global talent; moving 20 Expert View: How To Get Ahead In The Trendy World jobs to the US will come at a cost not only for workers Of IO elsewhere, but for the companies themselves. 21 Stockwatch: Mistaken Acquisitions Dim Earnings Season 22 Pipeline Watch 23 Appointments exclusive online content Gruenenthal Looks Beyond Pain For Transformative Deals Gabriel Baertschi, Gruenenthal’s recently appointed CEO, explains to Mike Ward, global director of content for Informa’s Pharma Intelligence Insights portfolio, how he intends to grow revenues, replenish the pipeline, expand the global footprint and transform the culture of the company. http://bit.ly/2kLJVgh Vaximm Seeks Pharma Partners For T-Cell/Checkpoint Inhibitor Combos Dr. Matthias Schroff, the new CEO of privately-held Swiss vaccines company Vaximm AG, talks to Mike Ward, global director of content for Informa Pharma Intelligence, about how the company is differentiating itself in the crowded immuno- oncology development space. @scripnews /scripintelligence http://bit.ly/2kjlh9S /scripintelligence /scripintelligence 2 | Scrip intelligence | 3 February 2017 © Informa UK Ltd 2017 HEADLINE NEWS GSK US Pharma President On A “Dynamic” 2017 With new US President Trump in place, new corporate CEO Walmsley to take the reins in April and the opportunity for four US drug launches in 2017, GSK’s president of US Pharmaceuticals says he is preparing for an “intense” year. JESSICA MERRILL [email protected] laxoSmithKline PLC’s US Pharma- “Some of the pricing pressure from ceuticals president Jack Bailey is several years ago obviously has col- Gbracing for a year of transitions, lapsed what is likely to be any pricing launches and one big potential generic loss. differential … or it certainly eliminates or When it comes to big changes, GSK is facing reduces the opportunity for broad price a lot: new US President Trump, new corpo- disparity between the generic and the rate CEO Emma Walmsley, the potential for brand,” he said. four new US drug launches and the chance And GSK is turning its attention to new the first generic rival to Advair Diskus could launches, both new respiratory drugs that be approved by the FDA. have launched in the last three years like “The headline is 2017 is going to be an Breo Ellipta, Anoro Ellipta and Nucala for incredibly dynamic year, driven by environ- eosinophilic asthma, as well as upcoming mental forces and changes, but also some launches anticipated in 2017. specific ones [impacting GSK],” Bailey said in an interview Jan. 10 at the J.P. Morgan SHINGRIX MAY BE A STAR Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. Jack Bailey The company is gearing up for four poten- On the leadership transition from long- tial approvals in 2017. The shingles vaccine time CEO Andrew Witty to former Con- Shingrix, filed with FDA in October, is con- GSK is one of the big pharmas that has sumer Healthcare CEO Walmsley on Apr. 1, sidered the biggest near-term commercial experienced some of the most significant Bailey said the transition is on track to be a opportunity for GSK. payer pushback on drug pricing, given its smooth one. GSK expanded its position in vaccines leadership position in respiratory disease, “She’s really sharp, brings great leader- through the 2014 asset swap with Novartis a competitive therapy area that has been ship and obviously proven results,” Bailey AG. Now, Bailey said the company is well targeted by payers. Its blockbuster asthma said of Walmsley. “She has a very clear positioned for the commercial launch of and chronic obstructive pulmonary dis- strategy that Andrew of course laid out, Shingrix. ease drug Advair has experienced pricing and we continue to be focused on ex- “We feel good about how we are sized,” pressure that has resulted in declining ecuting that.” he said of the sales team. There may be sales, so that GSK has absorbed about 50% Nonetheless, GSK announced another some tweaking, he said, but the company of the effective economic impact of a ge- already has a presence in the adult vaccines high-profile leadership change Jan.