AstraZeneca acquires well-known pharmaceutical company

AZ's largest acquisition, an important step

1.

This is AstraZeneca's largest acquisition since the merger of two pharmaceutical companies in the UK and Sweden in 1999.

This proposed acquisition was first announced in December 2020, and it will enhance the company's scientific strength in the field of immunology by adding Alexion's innovative complement technology platform and powerful channels.

It is understood that after the successful completion of the acquisition, AZ will set up a dedicated business unit headquartered in Boston, USA.

Today, more than 7,000 rare diseases are known, and the FDA has approved only 5% of the treatments.

2.

As a main component of the natural immune system in biological evolution, complement, like cytokines, plays a very important role in the physiological and pathological processes of the human body.

It is understood that Alexion’s business scope is mainly focused on the development and marketing of orphan drugs for super-serious rare diseases.

data shows that.

There are opinions in the industry that AZ’s acquisition of Yalixiong Pharmaceuticals can use AZ’s excellent commercialization capabilities to promote the market share of existing approved clinical indications for rare diseases; in addition, AZ’s immunological advantages and size also promote complement The expansion of preparations to major diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, organ transplantation, and autoimmune diseases has promoted the downward adjustment of drug prices and the expansion of the rare disease drug market.

3.

In the survey conducted by Thomson Reuters, this data will be even higher.

To some extent, rare diseases are often difficult to diagnose, there is no cure after diagnosis, the treatment drugs are not on the market or there are no indications for rare diseases, the treatment drugs are already on the market but the price is high, there is no medical insurance, or the drugs are difficult to be prescribed, etc.

At the same time, rare disease drug companies will face the problem of too small patient populations, and drug sales cannot offset the problems of early R&D and costs, and therefore lose their motivation to enter related fields.
There are not many leading rare disease drug production giants in the world, and few related varieties are listed in China.

It is worth noting that the approval of the identification and indication of rare disease drugs will drive the expansion of rare disease drugs in common disease indications.
For example, in the United States, the market size of rare disease drugs has developed rapidly in the past 20 years, and the sales contribution of non-rare disease indications far exceeds that of rare disease indications, which places higher requirements on the commercialization capabilities of rare disease drug companies .

With the expansion of AZ's product line and the gradual entry into the rare disease market, AZ's sales and commercialization capabilities may bring new vitality and opportunities to the further expansion of the orphan drug market.