(PFE) Archives - Page 20 of 45 - Mad Hedge Fund Trader

A Secure Stock to Assuage your Fears

The year 2022 marked the time fear made a comeback to Wall Street.

Since the year began, we’ve been plagued with fears over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, constant threats of high inflation, and the possibility of a recession.

There’s even the fear of major corrections among overheated stocks that could drag the entire market along with it.

Nevertheless, it’s critical to bear in mind that what we have is a market of stocks rather than a stock market.

Although the S&P has been unstable and the Nasdaq continues to be riddled with corrections, we can still be confident that value stocks and, of course, dividend stocks are faring much better.

Truth be told, that’s hardly surprising since value stocks typically outperform the market even in the most challenging periods.

Moreover, the highest-quality stocks tend to deliver the best performance.

When it comes to high-value stocks, one of the defensive, low volatility names that constantly crops up is Novartis (NVS).

To date, Novartis is considered as one of the Big Pharma companies globally, with a staggering market capitalization of $224 billion.

Recently, Novartis has become more aggressive in diversifying its lineup—a strategy that showed tremendous payoffs.

After all, one of the competitive edges of Novartis is its solid profitability compared to its peers, which is primarily driven by the company’s well-balanced portfolio.

For years, the company has been widely known for its oncology treatment portfolio, which was strengthened by its eventual collaboration with Incyte (INCY).

Apart from cancer, it has so far succeeded in developing treatments for cardiovascular, immunology, and even blood disorders.

Its current portfolio of drugs generated impressive revenue despite the economic slowdown over the past months.

For example, psoriatic arthritis drug Cosentyx, which is AbbVie’s (ABBV) top-selling Humira’s biggest competitor, raked in $3.5 billion in sales last year, showing off a 20% increase year-over-year, while myelofibrosis treatment Jakavi reported a 23% jump to reach $1.2 billion.

Meanwhile, heart failure treatment Entresto recorded an impressive 46% climb year-over-year to reach roughly $3 billion.

Aside from these, Novartis has a promising pipeline. Thus far, it has 54 programs queued for Phase 3 trials.

Even if we assume that the company only achieves a 50% success rate, these new products could still add substantial revenue streams within the next few years.

Further leveraging its size and capital, Novartis has been searching for avenues to expand its in the biotechnology market.

Its latest move towards this direction is a license option agreement with Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Novartis has long been on a perennial search for revolutionary therapies to take under its wing, and this deal with Voyager appears to be an excellent opportunity for both companies.

In a nutshell, the two companies have agreed to collaborate on gene therapy programs for adeno-associated virus capsids.

This biobucks deal sees Novartis paying Voyager $54 million upfront, with the possibility of shelling out up to $1.7 billion in several milestone payments and royalties.

The agreement covers three programs targeting the central nervous system plus potentially two more after 12 months.

In addition, Novartis will be granted access to Voyager’s proprietary RNA-based screening platform used to deliver the payload in gene therapy-based treatments.

Another biotechnology-related venture for Novartis is its deal with Carisma Therapeutics.

Following its success with the COVID-19 vaccine production for Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX), the Big Pharma company entered another contract manufacturing agreement with Carisma Therapeutics.

In this deal, Novartis will handle the manufacture of Carisma’s HER2-targeted CAR-M cell therapy, which is under development for the treatment of solid tumors and is slated to be submitted for approval in 2023.

Other than Carisma, Novartis also signed an initial manufacturing deal with CureVac (CVAC) and Roche (RHHBY) in 2021.

Overall, this makes Novartis a relatively safe and low-risk play in the biotechnology and healthcare sector.

Global Health Tech Pioneer Soaring Under the Radar

Biotech Letter

The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on innumerable flaws in the way several industries function, ranging from the healthcare system to the global supply chain.

At the same time, this phenomenon granted a rare chance for several innovative businesses to offer solutions to these flaws.

Although COVID-19 is a healthcare issue, the secondary effects like economic and financial instability it caused aggravated the situation.

Worldwide poverty worsened in 2020—something that has not happened in 20 years—forcing roughly 100 million individuals below the poverty line.

The absence of much-needed essential healthcare products and services in several areas across the globe resulted in restricted capacity to respond to the pandemic and its effects.

While the situation was definitely heightened in developing nations, even countries like the United States struggled with the situation, with 1 in 4 adults suffering from 2 or more chronic health conditions.

Moreover, the country’s national healthcare expenditure rose 9.7% to reach $4.7 trillion in 2020, accounting for 19.7% of the GDP. That’s roughly $12,530 per person.

That’s why it comes as no surprise that even the most developed areas of the globe are scrambling to find answers to the debilitating cost of healthcare.

A total of $44 billion was raised in 2021 solely for healthcare innovation initiatives. This represents a jaw-dropping increase from the $22 billion raised in 2020.

Notably, 2021 also saw a 50% rise in health tech companies' acquisitions, and these numbers are anticipated to climb in 2022 and beyond.

By 2028, the US national healthcare expenditure is projected to hit $6.2 trillion, primarily due to the steady increase in spending on healthcare technology.

While the rise in expenditure would undoubtedly lead to improved healthcare quality, the increase tends to be misleading because it implies an increase in cost as well.

That can’t be any further from the truth.

Aside from offering life-saving solutions, the introduction of more advanced technology like AI in healthcare actually saves money. In fact, the estimated savings rate annually by 2026 is at $150 billion.

Given that AI technology alone is anticipated to save roughly 22,000 people each year starting 2033, the most logical move is for the healthcare industry to keep investing in this kind of technology and other life-saving solutions.

One critical player in this transition period is Iqvia Holdings (IQV).

This company, which was featured in Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” in 2022 and the No. 1 in “Healthcare: Pharmacy and Other Services, focuses on leveraging data science to provide life-saving solutions.

It was formed in 2016 following the merger of Quintiles and IMS and has since then transformed into the leader in health information technology in the world.

The company aims to elevate research and innovation through offering business intelligence to the healthcare industry and offering its assistance in clinical studies.

While Iqvia did not become a household name like Moderna (MRNA), Pfizer (PFE), and BioNTech (BNTX), this health tech company gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iqvia was able to provide the necessary insights that organizations needed to manage the effects of the pandemic. The company's analysis proved to be vital in coordinating efforts, predicting future situations, and determining unforeseen problems.

The capacity to share their valuable data anywhere in the world drastically reduced the time wasted on coordinating and boosted efficiency.

Basically, Iqvia has three primary segments: Technology and Analytics Solutions, R&D segment, and Contract Sales and Medical Solutions.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic and its effects, Iqvia’s three segments still managed to grow.

The revenue of Technology and Analytics Solutions climbed by 10%, reaching a total of $1.34 billion.

Meanwhile, its R&D division raked in $1.85 billion, showing off a 32.4% rise from the same period in 2020. While this is an impressive growth, the company aims to continue expanding, with an additional $6.9 billion worth of backlog in its R&D in 2022.

Finally, the revenue of its Contract Sales and Medical Solutions sector reached $201 million, with more and more services expected to enter the market.

However, one of the most promising stats from Iqvia is its recent buyback in September 2021. The company repurchased shares worth $202 million using its accumulated cash, of which $125 million was generated in the third quarter alone.

Following this move, the company still has $697 million left in share repurchase authorization. This recent buyback follows an Iqvia tradition, which dates back to 2018—a tradition that definitely inspires confidence in the long-term outlook of the company.

Other than these three core businesses, Iqvia has revealed the addition of a Research Nursing and Phlebotomy services unit.

The emergence of these mobile units would ensure that the company becomes more accessible and can offer more affordable services.

Another new segment is its Grants and Funding Management platform, which offers solutions to other companies in the life sciences.

Iqvia is a pioneering name in the healthcare industry, and this company is among the handful of names that look extremely promising.

Looking at its trajectory, Iqvia has proven its rightful place in this emerging market by delivering highly critical improvements and essential insights.

Considering all these, Iqvia is no doubt a rock-solid bet.

iqvia

February 17, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
February 17, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(IS THIS THE SOLUTION TO ANTI-VAXXERS?)
(NVAX), (MRNA), (PFE), (BNTX), (SNY)

Is This The Solution To The Anti-Vaxxers?

Biotech Letter

One of my old friends, a 45-year-old teacher, has long held the belief that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a terrible idea.

Despite the growing number of people getting jabbed, he still felt uneasy over the new mRNA technology applied in the two most widely used shots, Moderna (MRNA) and Pfizer (PFE) / BioNTech (BNTX).

His anxiety worsened when his neighbor was sent to the hospital following his second shot, especially after the doctors said that the official cause of the heart muscle inflammation was the vaccine.

No amount of convincing could change his mind regardless of how many times I explained that the condition was a rare and relatively mild side effect.

However, things seemed to have changed when he heard about the Novavax (NVAX) vaccine, Nuxavoxid.

Since Nuxavoxid uses a decades-long pre-existing protein-based platform instead of a novel approach, more and more people like my friend are starting to take interest and considering signing up for the vaccine.

Actually, this reaction can be observed not only in the US but also across the globe. Data suggest that previously wary individuals now feel more confident over a more established technology.

Novavax’s vaccine uses a recombinant protein technology, which has been around since the mid-1980s.

In fact, this has become the go-to or standard platform used in developing vaccines against Hepatitis B, cervical cancer, and even meningitis.

What does this mean for Novavax?

Considering that over half of the global population has already been inoculated, it’s safe to say that Novavax is late to the party.

However, recent reports showed that a fourth vaccine does not show any significant antibody increase. This isn’t particularly promising especially in light of the Omicron variant.

Moreover, the EMA warned that "repeat boosters every four months might actually weaken people's immune systems. Boosters can be done once, or maybe twice, but it's not something that we can think should be repeated constantly.”

This can be good news for the newcomer Novavax.

Since Novavax uses a recombinant nanoparticle technology, this approach might be considered more effective as a booster shot instead of using the same mRNA technology for a fourth jab.

So far, this is presumed as one of the major reasons for Israel’s—one of the leading countries in vaccine administration—decision to place an order for an alternative COVID-19 vaccine last January.

Instead of reordering from Pfizer or Moderna, Israel opted to get 5 million doses, with an option to add 5 million more, of Novavax vaccine to serve as the fourth booster for its population.

Given that Israel is ordering for its 9.4 million citizens, this deal would serve as an excellent source of real-life data for Novavax’s candidate and whether it can become the go-to choice for booster shots across the globe.

Before this development, Novavax’s projected 2022 revenue was at $4.94 billion. However, the recent regulatory approvals from various nations and advanced orders have the company adjusting this projection.

Needless to say, the possibility of Nuxavoxid practically monopolizing the booster shot market has dramatically bolstered expectations.

On top of these, Novavax has been simultaneously working on a flu vaccine, Nanoflu, that can rival Sanofi’s (SNY) FluZone.

Given that the market size for influenza is expected to grow from $6.5 billion in 2022 to $10.73 billion by 2028, and the fact that Nanoflu easily outperformed the leading product by 40% in clinical trials, it’s safe to say that this is yet another promising revenue stream for Novavax.

Overall, I think Novavax is a good long-term play. It’s important to remember, though, that Novavax’s profile is very close to Moderna and BioNTech.

That means investors interested in this stock must have boundless patience and a strong stomach for the volatility in the following months.

Looking at its excellent potential, it’s clear that the stock is undervalued. Hence, it would be wise for interested investors to buy the dip.

February 15, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
February 15, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(AN EMERGING LEADER IN THE HEALTHCARE REVOLUTION)
(CRSP), (VRTX), (EDIT), (NTLA), (PFE), (NVS), (GILD), (RHHBY), (BMRN), (QURE), (SGMO), (CLLS), (ALLO), (BEAM)

An Emerging Leader in the Healthcare Revolution

Biotech Letter

Mankind has always imagined a future filled to the brim with technological advancements serving as the panacea to all our ills.

One of the prevailing ideas focuses on the developments found in the healthcare sector.

Movies, television shows, graphic novels, and books have all pictured a world with such revolutionary technologies capable of not only diagnosing but also curing any and all types of diseases.

Since the introduction of these ideas, many have believed that these would remain in the fictional universe. However, these “ideas” have slowly transformed into reality.

One of the biggest indicators that we’re heading in that direction is the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry by Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier. The two were recognized for their pioneering work in CRISPR-Cas9.

Basically, Crispr-Cas9 functions like molecular scissors.

What makes this technology incredible is that Crispr-Cas9 can classify a single address out of 3 billion letters within the genome by using only a particular sequence. With this, we can repair thousands of genetic conditions and even offer more potent ways to battle cancer.

This Nobel Prize led to commercializing the 2012 discovery, Crispr-Cas9, at breakneck speed, with gene-editing companies like CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), Editas Medicine (EDIT), and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) gaining a considerable boost in their values.

Surprisingly, the trajectory of these gene-editing stocks took a tragic turn in 2021.

In fact, the once-upon-a-time-market-darling CRISPR Therapeutics saw its market capitalization brutally shaved off from $8.7 billion to $4.55 billion in the past months.

No matter how we look at it, there’s genuinely no way to sugarcoat the reality: the market has been second-guessing CRISPR Therapeutics’ ability to truly deliver on its promise.

That is, investors have started to wonder whether the company’s early stage success would amount to anything commercially.

CRISPR Therapeutics is currently working on a treatment that would implant tumor-targeting immune cells on cancer patients. The company is also prioritizing therapies that could edit cells to treat diabetes.

So far, it has made significant progress in developing treatments for a genetic disorder called sickle cell.

In the US alone, at least 100,000 people suffer from sickle cell disease, with 4,000 more born every year. Conservatively, we can estimate at least 3,000 patients availing of this one-time treatment at over $1.6 million a pop.

To date, CRISPR Therapeutics has five candidates under clinical trials for diseases like B-thalassemia, sickle cell disease, and other regenerative conditions.

It has four more queued, which target diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Compared to its rivals in the space, it’s clear that CRISPR Therapeutics is ahead when it comes to product development and trials.

Two of its candidates, transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia treatment CTX001 and sickle cell disease therapy CTX110, have already been submitted for clinical tests for safety and efficacy.

Recently, Vertex (VRTX) boosted its 2015 agreement with CRISPR Therapeutics by 10%, with the deal reaching $900 million upfront to push for quicker results in developing CTX001.

This is a crucial move for Vertex, but more so for CRISPR Therapeutics as CTX001 holds a highly lucrative addressable market.

The additional funding significantly widened the gap between the Vertex-CRISPR team and bluebird bio (BLUE) in the race to launch a new gene-editing therapy targeting sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.

To sustain its growth, CRISPR Therapeutics’ strategy is to develop drugs that only require mid-level complexity but can rake in generous financial rewards.

This is a similar tactic used by bigger and more established biotechnology companies like Pfizer (PFE), Novartis (NVS), and Gilead Sciences (GILD).

Evidently, this strategy is a great way to ensure cash flow.

Aside from its earnings from the commercialization of these products, CRISPR Therapeutics can also attract larger companies to buy the intellectual property of their breakthrough treatments.

After all, startups generally get 100% premiums in contracts with Big Pharma.

Good examples of this are Novartis that bought AveXis and Roche’s (RHHBY) purchase of Spark Therapeutics.

The Roche-Spark agreement led to the first ever FDA-approved treatment since gene therapy trials started in the 1990s. It was for the genetic blindness therapy Luxturna, which received the green light in 2017.

The second approved treatment was a muscle-wasting disease therapy Zolgensma, which was the fruit of the Novartis-Avexis acquisition.

Both conditions are rare, but the financial rewards are impressive.

At $2 million for each treatment, Zolgensma sales reached $1.2 billion annually. At the rate the therapy is selling, Novartis estimates that Zolgensma will surpass the $2 billion mark in 2021.

Novartis and Roche aren’t the only ones partnering with smaller gene editing companies.

Pfizer has been working with biotechnology companies BioMarin Pharmaceutics (BMRN) and UniQure (QURE) to develop a treatment for blood-clotting disorder hemophilia.

The COVID-19 frontrunner is also collaborating with Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) to come up with a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Gene editing has also served as the foundation for several biotechnology companies out there today like Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO), Cellectis (CLLS), and Allogene Therapeutics (ALLO).

The market size for gene editing treatments is estimated to be worth $11.2 billion by 2025, with the number rising between $15.79 billion to $18.1 billion by 2027.

This puts the compounded annual growth rate of this sector to be at least roughly 17%.

While this is already groundbreaking with only a handful of companies knowing how to utilize the technology, the gene-editing world has come up with a more advanced technique than Crispr-Cas9.

The technology is founded on the “base editing” or “prime editing” technique, which is the simplest type of gene editing that alters only one DNA letter.

So far, one company holds exclusive rights to this technology: Beam Therapeutics (BEAM).

When the technology became public, Beam stock has increased sixfold since its IPO in February 2020.

This latest development can resolve thousands of genetic diseases. However, it still requires further trials since “base editing” can also trigger damaging responses from the body.

Overall, I think CRISPR Therapeutics is the most promising among these high-risk stocks.

The data from two of its candidates, CTX001 and CTX110, are promising. The added funding from Vertex boosts the confidence of investors that a regulatory approval is well on its way.

The company is also sitting on a massive cash pile and investing aggressively across different rare disease programs.

While the company has yet to be considered a major force in the biotechnology world, the potential multiple successes of its products could generate a company worth hundreds of billions.

This potential alone offers an investing opportunity with a substantial asymmetric advantage for its current share price.

However, bear in mind that the stock is not for conservative investors considering risks.

More importantly, its pipeline requires patience. Hence, CRISPR Therapeutics should be played as a long-term investment.

February 10, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
February 10, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(A HEALTHCARE ENIGMA TO ADD TO YOUR WATCHLIST)
(GILD), (JNJ), (PFE), (ABBV), (LLY), (MRK), (BMY),
(AMGN), (MRNA), (AZN), (REGN), (BNTX), (NVAX)

A Healthcare Enigma to Add to Your Watchlist

Biotech Letter

The top names in the biopharmaceutical world based on their market capitalization include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Pfizer (PFE), AbbVie (ABBV), Eli Lilly (LLY), Merck (MRK), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Amgen (AMGN), and Gilead Sciences (GILD).

Among these names, Gilead is often viewed as an enigma, given its history and the challenge in predicting its share price trajectory.

Over the past months, Gilead has been testing the patience of investors. In fact, the company is projected to experience a fall in revenues this year from $27 billion in 2021 to $24.05 billion in 2022.

The latest news that added to their anxiety was the pause on clinical trials for its cancer therapy, Magrolimab.

This came after its short-lived dominance in the Hepatitis C segment.

At that time, the sales of its leading drug Sovaldi skyrocketed from $140 million in 2013 to a jaw-dropping $10.2 billion by 2014.

Meanwhile, another Hepatitis C treatment, Harvoni, single handedly raked in $13.8 billion in sales in 2015, pushing the entire company’s revenues to an impressive $32.6 billion.

Unfortunately for Gilead, it became the victim of its own staggering success.

Its Hepatitis C treatments, Sovaldi and Harvoni, were incredibly effective and managed to cure the patients within months. The demand for these drugs fell because the patient pool gradually ran dry.

By 2019, the Hepatitis C franchise of the company had declined and managed to scrape $2.9 billion in combined sales.

Since then, though, the company has been struggling to regain investors' faith.

Nevertheless, these recent developments are not enough reasons to panic. If anything, Gilead has simply become even more attractively priced due to the fallout.

In 2020, Gilead managed to report its first year-on-year increase in revenues since its glory days in 2015.

As the COVID-19 pandemic started to take hold of the world, it was Gilead’s Veklury (Remdesivir) that secured the first-ever Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.

While Veklury was eventually overshadowed by COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna (MRNA), JNJ, and AstraZeneca (AZN), as well as other treatments and antibody cocktails from Eli Lilly, Regeneron (REGN), and Merck, Gilead’s candidate managed a comeback by the fourth quarter of 2021 after experts declared it to be effective against the Omicron strain.

In effect, Veklury had a major impact on the company’s 2021 performance, recording $5.6 billion in annual sales.

Although this is not as illustrious or groundbreaking as its Hepatitis C treatments, the reemergence of Gilead as a frontrunner in the pandemic is proof that the company has not lost its knack for discovering and developing a winning formula for blockbuster treatments.

Another avenue that Gilead has been exploring is actively acquiring assets to expand its portfolio.

One notable move in that direction is its $11.9 billion acquisition of Kite Pharma, a leader in the cell therapy space, in 2017. Thus far, this agreement has yielded two drugs: Yescarta and Tecartus.

Since oncology is one of Gilead’s major areas of concentration, the commercialization of these two treatments conveys a promising future.

While both are yet to become blockbusters, the field of cell therapy has been rapidly expanding and turning into a critical therapeutic option for certain patient categories.

Yescarta is projected to rake in $1.5 billion in revenues if it receives the FDA green light for large B-cell lymphoma

Considering that its last trial data showed off a 60% improvement with Yescarta compared to standard of care in terms of halting the disease’s progression or even death, there’s a huge possibility that Gilead will be delivering good news soon.

As for Tecartus, this treatment received approval for acute lymphoblastic leukemia last year and is aiming to expand to cover mantle cell lymphoma by July 2022.

With its list price of $373,000, this CAR-T therapy is projected to reach blockbuster status in the following months as well.

Another oncology drug anticipated to reach blockbuster status soon is metastatic triple-negative breast cancer treatment Trodelvy, which Gilead gained access to following a $21 billion deal with Immunomedics in 2020.

Given its current approved indications and the queued trials to expand its coverage, Trodelvy is projected to reach $4.7 billion in peak sales.

Going back to the 2022 revenue forecast for Gilead, I think the change is from the company’s anticipated decline in Veklury sales.

Since Pfizer, BioNTech (BNTX), Novavax (NVAX), and Moderna have been actively working on Omicron-focused vaccines and treatments, Gilead expects its Veklury revenues to shrink as well.

Overall, Gilead still presents an excellent opportunity for long-term investors.

Despite its setbacks, the company has proven that it still holds the knack of rolling out remarkable and effective best-in-class treatments.

Moreover, its pipeline is filled with promising candidates poised to deliver in the years to come. So, don’t be too quick to write off Gilead just yet.

gilead

February 1, 2022

Biotech Letter

Mad Hedge Biotech and Healthcare Letter
February 1, 2022
Fiat Lux

Featured Trade:

(A SHIFT IN NEUROSCIENCE BIOTECH)
(BIIB), (AXSM), (PFE), (BMY), (MRK), (NVS), (ABBV), (GSK), (JNJ), (LLY), (RHHBY), (TAK)

A Shift in Neuroscience Biotech

Biotech Letter

Industry experts typically describe mergers and acquisitions as the life force that propels the biotechnology and healthcare sector forward.

Based on that description, it’s safe to say that the segment’s health has plummeted, considering the sluggishness observed last year.

In 2021, the M&A of this industry had fallen to one of its lowest recorded levels in history.

During this period, the deals only amounted to $108 billion for the entire year. This number was approximately 40% of the total recorded in 2019.

Despite the sluggishness in 2021 and the relatively slow start in 2022, this year is still projected to push the would-be buyers into more aggressive action.

After all, several key products are facing patent expiration before this decade ends.

The list includes Big Pharma players like Pfizer (PFE), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Merck (MRK), and Novartis (NVS).

This means that a massive deal might be on the horizon, pretty much when AbbVie (ABBV) executed its jaw-dropping $63 bill acquisition of Allergan in 2019 following its problems with generics competing against its blockbuster drug Humira.

Aside from patent protection concerns, another factor in play is the intense competition in lucrative research sectors such as immunology, neurology, rare diseases, and oncology.

Add to this the constant pressure of Congress to pull down drug prices, and it becomes apparent why companies—big or small—turn to mergers and acquisitions for survival.

Simply put, biotech and healthcare companies have no other choice but to be aggressive in looking for external innovation to secure the continuous transformation of their businesses.

On that note, I think there could be major acquisitions to be announced in 2022.

One deal I’m looking forward to is Biogen’s (BIIB) potential acquisition of Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM).

To remain competitive in the neuro stage, Biogen must keep up with the times—and a deal with Axsome might just be the solution.

Axsome’s size and price, with a market capitalization of $992 million, appear to be just the right fit for Biogen to gobble up.

More importantly, its portfolio is an excellent fit for Biogen. Both focus on neurological diseases, making their pipelines complementary to each other.

So far, Axsome has several leading candidates in the clinical stages.

One is AXS-05, which is a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD).

Apart from MDD, this candidate is under late-stage review to target Alzheimer’s disease agitation.

In addition, Axsome is looking to advance AXS-05 in late-stage trials for smoking cessation therapy.

Needless to say, AXS-05 would go hand in hand with Biogen’s own approved, albeit controversial, Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.

Another promising candidate is AXS-07, a potential competitor of Pfizer and Novartis’ migraine medication. This drug has been submitted for FDA approval and might be launched by the second quarter of 2022.

There’s also AXS-12, which is a narcolepsy treatment candidate, and AXS-14, which is geared towards fibromyalgia. Both candidates are slated for FDA review by the third or fourth quarter of 2022.

For over 20 years, even the biggest and most powerful drug companies have stayed away from working on treatments specifically for the brain and central nervous system (CNS).

That’s not surprising considering the sheer number of failed programs in neuroscience, pushing drugmakers to believe that we still don’t have sufficient data on the subject, so the money might be better spent elsewhere.

Nowadays, though, the CNS landscape is starting to shift.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recently embarked on reviving its CNS program by striking a $700 million deal with a smaller biotechnology company called Alector.

Meanwhile, Pfizer and Novartis reached an agreement with Biohaven Pharmaceuticals for the latter’s migraine treatment and Parkinson’s drug.

Aside from these, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Eli Lilly (LLY), Roche (RHHBY), and Takeda (TAK) are anticipated to secure CNS-centered deals soon.

Despite the lower number of M&A deals last year, the volume of strategic collaborations in the neuroscience sector climbed by about 50% in 2021 compared to its 2020 performance.

By 2022, this space is projected to become even more investable, considering the number of biotechnology companies focusing on CNS. Watch out for blockbuster deals in this sector.

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