GSK and Flagship Pioneering Announce $7.2B-Per-Program Partnership to Co-Develop 10 Novel Therapeutics and Vaccines in Respiratory and Immunology

Aug 01, 2024 11:44 CST Updated 11:44

GSK

Pharmaceutical R&D Manufacturer

August 1, 2024

eMedClub News

Recently, MNC giantGlaxoSmithKline (GSK)Well-known venture capital firms in the life sciences fieldFlagship Pioneering(abbreviation "Flagship") jointly announced a significantCooperation Plan. The two parties aim to jointly develop10 ProductsFrontier Drugs and Vaccines in Respiratory and Immunology FieldsThrough this collaboration, GSK's deep expertise in disease treatment and strong development capabilities will perfectly align with the over 40 bioplatform companies under Flagship.

In order to achieve this goal,GSKWill jointly invest with Flagship$150 millionAs initial exploration funding. Meanwhile,GSKWill beEach candidate drug or vaccineProvide up to$720 millionThe prepayment(Highest Total7.2 billionUSD), covering key milestones in both development and commercialization. In addition, the company will also provide funding support for preclinical research and enjoy a specific percentage of sales revenue after the product is launched.

In recent years, Flagship has successfully propelled the rise of several well-known pharmaceutical companies with its unique incubation model. Since its establishment in 1999, Flagship has successfully nurtured 109 life science enterprises, with a cumulative total value exceeding $140 billion, among which...25 companiesThe company has successfullyIPO. Among them, the most notable is the development of the first COVID-19 vaccine byModerna。

Unlike traditional venture capital firms, Flagship's support goes beyond just financial investment. It covers everything from drug research and development, manufacturing, commercial promotion, to team building, operational management, and financial backing.Provided one-stop comprehensive incubation services. It is precisely this incubation model that has enabled Flagship to accumulate valuable experience in the field of innovative drug development, forming a powerful bioplatform system.

Meeting Challenges, Flagship Innovation Cooperation Model

Fully Utilize Incubator Enterprise Resources

However, since 2022,Flagship has encountered certain challenges.。

According to the data released on Flagship's official website, among the 87 biopharmaceutical companies it has invested in and incubated, nearly50 CompaniesDuring 2022 to 2023Faced development bottlenecks, only in 2023, there wereFour companiesA U.S.-listed biotech company incubated by FlagshipDeclare Bankruptcy。

In response to this situation,Flagship Begins Actively Seeking Collaborations with Large Enterprises, with the aim of commercializing its innovative achievements on a large scale.In the past year, Flagship has established strategic partnerships with Samsung Biologics, a well-known CDMO company, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, a leading enterprise covering scientific instruments, CRO, and CDMO services. Additionally, Flagship innovatively proposed"Innovative Supply Chain Partnership"The model, which leverages its incubated ecosystem of biotechnology companies, continuously develops innovative drugs for partners. These companies all possess their own bio-platforms and technologies, providing an unceasing driving force for innovation.

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With this new type of partnership, in July 2023,Flagship and PfizerJoin hands to cooperate, with both parties investing$50 millionAs initial funding, jointly explore and develop10 New Projects. For each project, Flagship has the opportunity to receive up to$700 millionMilestone payments. These collaboration projects cover multiple fields such as vaccines, rare diseases, inflammation and immunology, oncology, and internal medicine. By June 12, 2024, Pfizer and Flagship further announced that they had locked inThe First Collaborative Goal —— Jointly Develop New Weight-Loss Drugs。

In addition, at the beginning of 2024,Novo NordiskAlso announced new drug research collaborations with Omega Therapeutics and Cellarity, two companies incubated by Flagship. The parties will collaborate to developEpigenetic drugs for obesity management and novel therapies for MASH.Under this cooperation framework, Novo Nordisk will bear all R&D expenses and provide up to$532 millionThe upfront payment and milestone payments, as well as royalties based on sales.

The innovative partnership between Flagship and MNC has opened up new development opportunities. Through close cooperation with large enterprises,Flagship has successfully transformed its rich innovative resources and R&D capabilities into actual commercial value, bringing more resources and financial support to itself and the companies it incubates., providing broader development space and market opportunities.

Responding to Competition

GSK Focuses on Strengths, Increases Innovation Investment

GSK's product portfolio mainly covers three major areas: vaccines, specialty medicines, and general medicines.Since 2022,GSKIt has strategically adjusted its business, spun off its consumer healthcare operations, thereby focusing more on the research and development of new drugs and vaccines.Currently, GSK has achieved a leading position in the fields of respiratory, HIV, and vaccines.In 2023,GSKFurther clarified its development priorities and decided to exit the cell therapy field.Focus on areas of strength.

Now, the collaboration between GSK and Flagship aims to advance the research and development process of vaccines and specialty drugs in the respiratory and immunology fields.This collaboration not only ensures GSKCan continue to focus on its areas of strength, solidify its leading position in the market, and at the same time help it continuously improve its product portfolio and deepen its moat.Prepare for future revenue growth.

Vaccine Field: Continuing to Lead, Confronting Competitors, and Consolidating Advantages

According to the 2023 financial report,GSKFull-year revenue reached £30.328 billion (approximately $38.39 billion), representing a 14% increase year-on-year (excluding COVID-19 solutions). Among this,Shingles VaccinePerformance was very impressive, with nearly full-year revenue.£3.445 billion, isGSKBest-selling Single ProductIn 2023, in the top 10 best-selling vaccines globally,GSKThe shingles vaccine, meningitis vaccine, and RSV vaccine ranked top3, top7, and top8 respectively with good performance.

Shingles Vaccine: Domestically Produced Vaccines Capture Market Share

GSK's shingles vaccine is currently the "only one" in the shingles vaccine field in Europe and the United States, but this is not the case in China. In 2023, after GSK's shingles vaccine had dominated the market in China for four years,，ChinaBaike Biotech Successfully Launched a Live Attenuated Vaccine, this vaccine in terms of price andGSKCompared with the recombinant protein vaccine, it shows certain advantages. Within a short period of 9 months, the vaccine has created astonishing results in the Chinese market.900 million RMBSales have put considerable pressure on GSK.

Faced with the loss of market share in China, GSK quickly made strategic adjustments. In order to regain its market position,GSK Decides to Grant Exclusive Sales Rights for Shingles Vaccine in China to ZF Bio.In October 2023, GSK and ZF Bio officially reached a cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, ZF Bio's cumulative procurement amount for the shingles vaccine will be no less than 20.64 billion RMB in the next three years.

RSV Vaccine: The Rising Star Closely Trailing Behind

In the RSV vaccine field,GSK takes the lead,Its recombinant protein vaccine for the population aged 60 and above“arexvy”In the United States in May 2023Approved for marketing, markingWorld's First Long-Acting RSV VaccineThe Birth.Following closely,Pfizer's RSV recombinant protein vaccine "Abrysvo" launched in June，Not only suitable for elderly people over 60 years old, but also approved in August for pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks of gestation, protecting newborns from RSV infection through maternal vaccination.

As the world's first RSV vaccine targeting the elderly population, Arexvy achieved strong market demand and leading market share in the U.S. during its first year on the market.£1.2 billionThe astonishing sales volume. According to statistics, about 7% of American adults aged 60 and above with related risks have chosen this vaccine for inoculation.

However, the competition did not end there.On May 31, 2024, Moderna's mRNA vaccine "mResvia" was approved by the FDA., also used for protectionProtect adults aged 60 years and above from lower respiratory tract diseases caused by RSV. Moderna emphasized that the main advantage of its vaccine lies inConvenient method of administrationCompared with GSK's Arexvy and Pfizer's Abrysvo, which require cumbersome preparation steps, mResvia uses a pre-filled syringe, saving clinicians a significant amount of time and reducing the risk of operational errors.

In the fierce competition of the RSV vaccine market, whether GSK can successfully maintain its sales volume still depends on the continuous innovation and further iteration of its products to enhance competitiveness.

Meningitis Vaccine: Two Leading Vaccine Companies Engage in Fierce Competition

In the field of meningitis vaccines,In 2023, the sales of GSK's two meningitis vaccines reached£1.26 billion(approximately US$1.615 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 14%.While Pfizer's Trumenba and Nimenrix vaccines had total sales of only $305 million in the same year. Clearly, based on the 2023 sales data,GSKHas occupied a significant advantage in the meningitis vaccine market.

However, with the launch of Pfizer's new pentavalent meningitis vaccine Penbraya, this market landscape may change.Penbraya, the world's first vaccine capable of simultaneously preventing five groups of meningococcal bacteria, undoubtedly putting considerable competitive pressure on GSK's meningitis vaccine.

Fortunately, GSK's 5-in-1 combined meningitis vaccine ABCWY is also about to hit the market. Although Pfizer's Penbraya has gained a head start in entering the market, previously released study data from GSK shows that the protective effect generated by using its Bexsero and Menveo together is no less effective than Pfizer's Penbraya. Therefore, once GSK’s 5-in-1 vaccine receives approval and hits the market, Pfizer will likely face challenges in...GSKIt is not easy to seize the market share of meningitis vaccines.

Although GSK's vaccine sector achieved good results in 2023, but the continuous rise of competing products from rivals such as Pfizer and Baike Bio to some extent also givesGSKPerformance GrowthHas brought considerable resistance, in order to maintain the revenue of the vaccine sector,It must continue to research and develop to ensure product competitiveness.

Specialty Drug Field: Continuous Deep Cultivation, Strengthening Innovation Drug R&D Efforts

In the specialty drug field,GSK's Respiratory Immunology Sector Performs Strongly, with 2023 Revenue Reaching£3 billionAmong them, the IL-5 monoclonal antibody Nucala contributed £1.65 billion, while Benlysta, used for treating systemic lupus erythematosus, generated £1.35 billion in revenue, with an overall growth rate of 16%.

Recently, GSK announced more good news. On May 21, the company reported positive results from two Phase III clinical trials, SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2, for its investigational long-acting IL-5 antibody depemokimab in treating severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) in adults and adolescents. The trials successfully met the primary endpoint of significantly reducing asthma exacerbation frequency over 52 weeks. GSK is actively advancing the iterative upgrade of its IL-5 products to address challenges posed by patent expiration.

In the future,GSKWill continue to increase investment in respiratory/immunology. Currently, the company has more than ten clinical trials of respiratory/immunology pipelines underway.This collaboration with Flagship is expected to further enrich the company's pipeline and product portfolio.ForGSKBring new growth momentum, thereby continuously enhancing its competitive advantage in the market.

References:

1. Public Information on the Internet

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Disclaimer: This article aims to convey industry development information and explore the frontier progress of biomedicine. The content of the article represents the author's viewpoint and does not represent the position of EMedClub, nor does it constitute any value judgment, investment advice, or medical guidance. If needed, please consult a professional for investment or visit a正规 hospital for medical advice.

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