Bayer Divests Two Iconic Oncology Drugs in China, Yifan Pharma Takes Over Commercialization

Mar 06, 2025 23:51 CST Updated 23:51

Bayer

Pharmaceutical Product R&D Developer

On March 6, 2025, Yifan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. officially announced that it had recently signed a commercialization cooperation agreement with Bayer. According to the agreement, the company has obtainedBayer's classic targeted drugs, Stivarga (generic name: Regorafenib Tablets) and Nexavar (generic name: Sorafenib Tosylate Tablets), have exclusive marketing rights in mainland China.

These two drugs were once the core products of Bayer in China's oncology field. Behind them, it not only involves corporate strategic adjustments but also reflects the multiple games involving centralized procurement policies, market competition, and the localization transformation of multinational pharmaceutical companies.

Failed to be selected for centralized procurement, market share declined

Before the implementation of the centralized procurement policy, Bayer's two drugs maintained relatively stable market performance due to the brand influence and clinical efficacy of the original research drugs. However, with the advancement of the centralized procurement policy, both drugs failed to win bids, which had a certain impact on Bayer's revenue.For example, Nexavar® did not win the bid in the fourth centralized procurement, and Stivarga® also failed to win the bid in the tenth centralized procurement.

In Bayer's oncology drug portfolio, Regorafenib tablets occupy a rather crucial position. The drug was launched in September 2012 as a small-molecule targeted therapy and has demonstrated potent efficacy in the field of cancer treatment. Regorafenib tablets are mainly used to treat patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, and hepatocellular carcinoma. It was approved for marketing in China in 2017, becoming the first targeted drug approved for second-line treatment of liver cancer.

In 2021, the global sales of Regorafenib tablets reached 580 million US dollars, and by 2022, this figure approached 700 million US dollars. In the Chinese market, its performance was equally impressive. In 2019, hospital sales exceeded 400 million yuan, followed by steady growth. By 2022, hospital sales surpassed 800 million yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 15.8%.

However, the centralized procurement policy is like a double-edged sword, which has had a huge impact on its revenue. On December 12, 2024, the tentative results of the tenth batch of national centralized procurement were announced, with the latest price for Regorafenib dropping to just over 4 yuan per tablet, compared to the pre-centralized procurement market price of about 172 yuan per tablet, marking a 90% decrease from the previous price limit.Before the centralized procurement, this drug accounted for nearly 100% of the market share in mainland China. After the centralized procurement, domestic companies such as Zhengda Tianqing won the bid at low prices, and Bayer's market share may drop to less than 30%.

Another drug by Bayer – Sorafenib (Nexavar) is a multi-kinase inhibitor that works by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis. It is suitable for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer. As a "pioneering work" in targeted liver cancer therapy, this drug has been widely used globally, establishing the foundation for targeted liver cancer treatment.

Nexavar once dominated the market for as long as 10 years, but with increasing market competition and the continuous emergence of new treatment options and drugs, its revenue growth has faced significant pressure.

In the fourth round of China's national centralized drug procurement, although Bayer participated in the bidding, it failed to win the bid due to its relatively high quotation (5,388 yuan/60 tablets, equivalent to 90 yuan per tablet) and limited price reduction.After this centralized procurement, the per-tablet price of Nexavar (Sorafenib) has significantly dropped from 95 yuan before the procurement to a minimum of 22.82 yuan. Based on a daily dosage of two tablets, patients can save approximately 3,730.8 yuan per month on medication costs.

Notably, after the implementation of the centralized procurement policy, Bayer also made corresponding adjustments to the drug's price to enhance market competitiveness. Due to the impact of generic drugs, the market share of Nexavar has dropped from a peak of 80% to less than 20%.

Transaction Drivers: Why Did Bayer Choose to Divest?

In recent years, original research pharmaceutical companies have frequently divested mature products. It is not difficult to understand why Bayer chose to divest these two drugs. First, the normalization of China's centralized procurement has forced multinational pharmaceutical companies to adjust their product lines and focus on high-profit innovative drugs; second,Bayer's core patent for Nexavar has expired, and the patent protection period for Regorafenib is also approaching., the market diversion after the launch of generic drugs is inevitable. The company may avoid subsequent risks by transferring the promotion rights in advance; thirdly, Bayer's choice to divest its mature products allows the company to concentrate resources on promising products such as Nubeqa (a new drug for prostate cancer).

As a local company, Yifan Pharmaceutical has more advantages in channel expansion, medical insurance negotiations, and cost control, which can help Bayer extend the product life cycle while reducing its own operational investments. However, after taking over, Yifan Pharmaceutical may face these challenges —First, the profit margin after centralized procurement is extremely low, requiring scaled procurement and cost compression to maintain profitability; second, the brand effect of original research drugs is diminishing, necessitating the rebuilding of market trust.

Of course, there are opportunities, such asYifan Pharmaceutical Can Leverage Local Channel Advantages to Expand Into County-Level Hospitals, Covering Long-Tail Demand Not Reached by Centralized ProcurementYifan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. claims that it has a professional oncology marketing and sales team consisting of more than 300 people. Most of the team members have an oncology sales background in foreign pharmaceutical companies and rich experience in compliant promotion.

This transaction reflects a profound shift in the strategies of multinational pharmaceutical companies in China: moving from a "high pricing, high profit" model to a "light asset, local cooperation" approach.In the future, more original research drugs may "soft land" through methods such as authorized promotion and joint venture production, while local enterprises will become important drivers for the implementation of innovative drugs by virtue of their sensitivity to policies and markets.

Bayer's collaboration with Yifan is both a reluctant response to the impact of centralized procurement and an inevitable choice driven by market logic. For patients, the widespread availability of low-cost drugs means improved accessibility; for the industry, it signals a new pattern of competition and cooperation between multinational pharmaceutical companies and local players. In this transformative phase, only those who can flexibly adapt to the dual variables of policy and market will remain invincible.

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