Multinational pharmaceutical companies are accelerating the "subtraction" of non-core assets, focusing on oncology and other fields

Recently, a number of reports said that Novartis is considering selling non-core assets in ophthalmology and respiratory medicine in 2023, of which the ophthalmic business is valued at about $5 billion
.
It is understood that Novartis currently mainly focuses on the five main therapeutic areas of heart and kidney care, immunology, neuroscience, oncology and hematology, and also has a layout
in the field of ophthalmology and respiratory care.
Among them, in the field of ophthalmology, Lucentis, a large ophthalmic product, was developed by the company in cooperation with Roche for the treatment of macular degeneration in the elderly, with a revenue of 2.
16 billion euros
in 2021 。 But the product has been hit by generics, revenue is declining, and Novartis' next-generation macular degeneration drug Beovu has yet to achieve commercial success; In the field of respiratory and allergy drugs, Novartis has a partnership with Roche on the asthma drug Xolair, which generated $2.
1 billion in revenue from products such as Xolair in 2021, and the two companies are testing Xolair as a drug to treat food allergies, but the product also has competitors
in the market.
Novartis has made frequent moves in recent years, divesting Alcon's eye care business and selling nearly one-third of Roche's shares
since 2019.
In August, it also announced plans to spin off its generic drug unit, Sandoz, which has been affected by price pressure, to focus more on proprietary prescription drugs
.
In addition to Novartis, since the beginning of this year, a number of multinational pharmaceutical companies are accelerating the "subtraction"
of non-core assets.
For example, in July, GSK officially spun off its consumer health business and became a more focused biopharmaceutical company
.
On February 22 this year, the group officially announced the divestment of its consumer health business to form a new company, Haleon, which is reported to be fully focused on consumer health
.
In June, Pfizer announced plans to divest 32% of
Haleon, its consumer healthcare joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
After that, the company will focus on the research and development
of innovative drugs and vaccines.
On April 1, the first Sangong (China) official WeChat news that the company transferred the production and sales rights of Chinese mainland Colabital preparation and all the shares of the production company that produced the preparation to Chongqing Yaoyou, and it is expected to complete the transfer at the end of August this year, divesting non-core businesses and focusing on the field of
oncology.
In addition, multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson are also divesting or spinning off consumer or generic drug businesses recently, focusing more energy and financial resources on core areas
.
From the perspective of the areas that multinational pharmaceutical companies have focused on after doing "subtraction" in recent years, they are mainly in the field of
tumors.
More than 1,000 clinical trials of 19 multinational pharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie, Amgen and AstraZeneca, compiled by Guosheng Securities, show that tumors account for nearly half
of the total number of R&D pipelines.
Behind the active layout of multinational pharmaceutical companies, the global oncology drug market is growing rapidly
.
According to PwC's information consultation, the global oncology drug market has increased from US$83.
2 billion in 2015 to US$165.
3 billion in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 14.
7%, higher than the growth rate
of the overall global pharmaceutical market.
During the period 2021-2026, the global oncology drug market is expected to grow
at an average annual rate of 10%.
In China, based on the huge population base, with the intensification of aging, the continuous upgrading of consumption, and the advancement of medical insurance negotiation policies, the scale of the oncology drug market is also growing rapidly
.
According to data from Minai.
com, in 2020, the sales of the domestic anti-tumor drug market have exceeded 145.
8 billion yuan
.
According to other data, the market has exceeded the 200 billion yuan mark in 2021, increasing to 231.
1 billion yuan.

The industry expects that with the development of cancer treatment technology, China's anti-tumor drug market will also be on the rise in the next few years
.
It is expected that the domestic market will reach 254.
9 billion yuan in 2022, with a compound growth rate of 14.
7%
from 2021 to 2025.
Disclaimer: Under no circumstances does the information or opinions expressed herein constitute investment advice
to anyone.