Pfizer, Merck have shot!

The hot mRNA field in 2021 will still have a "high fever" in 2022
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In just two days on January 5th and January 6th, Pfizer and Merck made their moves one after another and reached capital cooperation with BioNTech and Exelead respectively, with a total amount of more than 1 billion US dollars, further consolidating and extending the industrial layout in the frontier field
.
The data shows that (except for the new crown vaccine) the global mRNA drug market size in 2018 was 3.
43 billion US dollars, which will rise to 3.
92 billion US dollars in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 7%.
It is expected to grow to 6.
33 billion US dollars in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate.
The rate is 10.
2%
.
mRNA technology has won the favor of the capital market because of the new crown epidemic, and the industry is entering a period of accelerated development
.
Continue to "burn money" in 2022? mRNA attracts giants to compete for layout mRNA drugs have crossed the "first year" of industrial development and entered a new era of rapid leap-forward development
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The rapid growth of global market demand has provided attractive business opportunities and has become an incremental market that multinational companies pay close attention to
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On January 6, 2022, Merck spent about US$780 million to acquire Exelead, further increasing the layout of the mRNA track
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Exelead is a biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) focused on complex injectable formulations, including lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-based drug delivery, a key component of mRNA therapeutics
.
In fact, around the mRNA core technology platform, Merck has a very large investment and technical layout determination
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Just in January 2021, Merck announced the acquisition of AmpTec, a leading mRNA CDMO headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, to complete the PCR technology chain in the mRNA sector
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In less than a year, the company once again bet on the mRNA field, which is enough to reflect the fierce competition for resources in the segmented field.

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In addition to Merck, Pfizer, as the player with the most technological, market and commercial "dividends" in the mRNA field, will naturally not miss the readily available industrial opportunities
.
In 2018 and 2020, Pfizer and BioNTech cooperated to develop mRNA vaccines.
Affected by the epidemic, the mRNA vaccines cooperated by the two parties continued to increase in volume, becoming Pfizer's fastest-growing "blockbuster" in sales
.
The company's annual report shows that Pfizer's revenue in the third quarter of 2021 was US$24.
1 billion, with a growth rate of 454.
59%
.
In order to further consolidate commercial cooperation and strengthen the layout of innovative technologies, on January 5, 2022, Pfizer and BioNTech signed a new global cooperation agreement to develop the first mRNA technology-based herpes zoster vaccine.
Pfizer will pay BioNTech an upfront payment of $225 million payment, which includes a cash payment of $75 million and an equity investment of $150 million
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Pfizer and Merck deepen their innovative technology layout at the beginning of the new year, which is just a microcosm of the continued popularity of the mRNA field
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In August last year, Sanofi spent $3.
2 billion to acquire Translate Bio, an American biotechnology company, and the two parties will cooperate to develop multiple mRNA vaccines against infectious diseases
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In addition, Merck, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Janssen, GSK, etc.
have reached related drug research and development cooperation with mRNA technology companies
.
Today, clinical trials of mRNA drugs are springing up like mushrooms
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Industry experts analyzed that, technically speaking, the mRNA drug chain includes multiple links such as the screening and modification of raw material sequences, the research and development of delivery systems, and the production process of nucleic acid drugs, but the core technologies are mainly concentrated in the hands of a few leading innovative companies
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In the face of extremely promising market demand, multinational companies must deploy in a short period of time and compete for breakthrough technologies through capital and mergers and acquisitions.
This will be an important industry trend in 2022.

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Beware of the risk of "stuck neck" Local companies urgently need hard-core innovation In the future, mRNA may become an innovative therapy with great potential, which is expected to solve many unmet clinical needs, such as cancer, infectious diseases and rare diseases
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In the short term, mRNA vaccines can help humans quickly respond to the new crown epidemic; in the long run, mRNA therapy is expected to be applied to multiple therapeutic fields such as infectious diseases, cancer, and rare diseases, becoming an epoch-making pharmaceutical technology revolution
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With the acceleration of drug approval and approval, Chinese pharmaceutical companies are integrating with the international market, and mRNA technology has also attracted many local companies to actively deploy
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In March 2020, Fosun Pharma cooperated with BioNTech to jointly develop mRNA vaccines; in September 2021, Sinopharm China Bio-Fornojian mRNA Vaccine Industrialization Base started construction in Shanghai, and the Sinopharm mRNA Vaccine Industrialization Project was launched.

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On the other hand, the mRNA track is also favored by capital
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According to incomplete statistics, since 2019, many Chinese companies engaged in the development of mRNA therapy have received high financing.
Among them, Aibo Bio has successfully conducted three rounds of financing in just one year, attracting the attention of the industry and the capital market: February 2021 In March 2021, Jiachen Xihai raised more than 100 million yuan in Series A financing; in March 2021, Aibo Bio received 600 million yuan in Series B financing; in April 2021, Bendao Gene raised 60 million yuan in Series A financing; in May 2021, Qichensheng Biological Hundreds of millions of pre-A+ round financing; In June 2021, Chuanxin Bio’s angel round financing is nearly 100 million yuan; In July 2021, Neighbor Bio’s seed + round financing exceeds 10 million yuan; In July 2021, Shenxin Bio’s A round financing Hundreds of millions of yuan; In August 2021, Aibo Bio’s C-round financing exceeded 700 million US dollars; in November 2021, Aibo Bio’s C+ round financing was 300 million US dollars
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It is not difficult to see that the domestic mRNA field is entering the "golden period" of the market
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Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, publicly stated that the current global vaccine research and development has entered a stage of "stuck in the brain"
.
"The success of mRNA vaccine research and development has given us unlimited room for imagination, and it has also given China an opportunity to overtake the world in the field of vaccinology; at the same time, we need to change traditional concepts and strengthen original innovation in the process of innovation
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" High-value innovation , Breakthrough technology To solve the "stuck neck" problem, the essence is to solve the "stuck brain" problem behind these problems
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As more and more players enter this track, whether they have core technology, whether they have core intellectual property rights, and whether the innovation platform has the sustainable development ability of self-hematopoiesis, this is when latecomers face increasing competitive pressure.
The core issues that must be faced and considered
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Industry insiders said that mRNA drugs have the advantages of short duration of action, good safety, and wide range of uses.
The new crown epidemic has made mRNA technology shine, and it has become the world's most watched investment track
.
Although the current mRNA track is hot, in fact, the innovation and transformation capabilities of domestic mRNA layout companies still need to be improved.
Whether the mRNA boom can continue in the future remains to be seen
.