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【drug-news】默克引入新的发展策略：生物仿制药
Dec 10, 2008
By: George Koroneos, Online Content & News Editor
PharmExec Direct
While some big pharma companies are in the midst of buying up biotech firms, Merck decided that it could to the job itself, announcing on Tuesday that it will establish a biologics division called Merck BioVentures.
The new biotech division will take advantage of the GlycoFi technology that Merck purchased in 2006 for $400 million. Glycoengineering allows scientists to produce proteins using yeast. The company is currently working on a follow-on version of Amgen’s anemia drug Epogen, and expects to have about five additional candidates in Phase III trials by 2012. To make sure everything goes smoothly, Merck plans to put $1.5 billion into the division by 2015.
“Merck BioVentures is uniquely positioned for success as a result of the humanized GlycoFi yeast platform, which has the potential to provide us with a competitive advantage at a time when the patents on many marketed biologic therapeutics are set to expire,” said Peter Kim, executive vice president and president of Merck Research Laboratories.
Outlook Down
This news comes less than a week after the company announced that it would be lowering its 2009 outlook in the midst of a huge restructuring plan and an economic downturn. Last Thursday, Merck CEO Richard Clark told investors that it was downgrading its outlook for 2009 to between $3.15 and $3.30 per share.
The company expects to see two new candidates for migraine and acute heart failure in 2009, and plans to continue pushing Januvia despite the potential for competition. Meanwhile, Merck’s blockbuster HPV vaccine Gardasil might see a decline in first dose vaccines because it’s running out of people to vaccinate. The company said it might be difficult to penetrate the remaining non-users. Rather, the plan is to seek approval to raise the age limit that women can be vaccinated, and receive approval to vaccinate men.
“While we expect weakness in Merck’s shares because the ‘miss’ relative to expectations, the operating components of the P&L are largely in line. Hence, we view this weakness as a buying opportunity,” Deutsch Bank analyst Barbara Ryan said in a statement last Friday.
One of the topics not brought up was the possibility of further layoffs. Merck has cut approximately 7,200 positions in preparation for patent expirations. “We are focusing our resources on the highest value activities, while outsourcing more transactional work,” Clark said Tuesday. “We are also bringing in new talent with the new skills and expertise we need to complement the strong talent and experience we already have. And we will continue to invest in developing the strong leaders we need to carry out our plans.” 本人认领该文,48小时如未提交,请站友自由认领. Merck Introduces New Strategy: BioVentures
默克引进新策略:生物仿制药
Dec 10, 2008
By: George Koroneos, Online Content & News Editor
PharmExec Direct
While some big pharma companies are in the midst of buying up biotech firms, Merck decided that it could to the job itself, announcing on Tuesday that it will establish a biologics division called Merck BioVentures.
虽然一些大型制药公司正在收购生物科技公司，默克公司决定根据工作本身，周二宣布，它将建立一个默克生物仿制药的生物制剂部门。
The new biotech division will take advantage of the GlycoFi technology that Merck purchased in 2006 for $400 million. Glycoengineering allows scientists to produce proteins using yeast. The company is currently working on a follow-on version of Amgen’s anemia drug Epogen, and expects to have about five additional candidates in Phase III trials by 2012. To make sure everything goes smoothly, Merck plans to put $1.5 billion into the division by 2015.
新的生物技术部门将充分利用GlycoFi技术，默克公司在2006年购买了4亿美元。GlycoFi工程使科学家可以利用发酵粉生产蛋白质。该公司目前正在制定一项阿目金贫血药物的后续版本，并预计到2012年实验第三阶段将增加五个候选人。为了确保一切顺利，默克公司计划到2015年投入1.5亿美元。
“Merck BioVentures is uniquely positioned for success as a result of the humanized GlycoFi yeast platform, which has the potential to provide us with a competitive advantage at a time when the patents on many marketed biologic therapeutics are set to expire,” said Peter Kim, executive vice president and president of Merck Research Laboratories.
“默克生物仿制药是作为人造化GlycoFi酵母粉平台结果成功的独特位置，这有可能为我们提供一个潜在的竞争优势，许多市场生化治疗的专利将到期，”默克公司研究实验室副总裁彼得金说。
Outlook Down
This news comes less than a week after the company announced that it would be lowering its 2009 outlook in the midst of a huge restructuring plan and an economic downturn. Last Thursday, Merck CEO Richard Clark told investors that it was downgrading its outlook for 2009 to between $3.15 and $3.30 per share.
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-03-11 17:11
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