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    Home > Active Ingredient News > Drugs Articles > Snapped up by three multinational giants, with a market value of more than 100 billion, what did this Biotech do right?

    Snapped up by three multinational giants, with a market value of more than 100 billion, what did this Biotech do right?

    • Last Update: 2023-01-01
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    How critical is commercialization and capital capability for a Biotech to grow into a Biopharma?

    Reality tells us that it is enough for a small company to spend more than ten years, from being unknown, the CEO does not even have an office, can only work from home, into a market value of nearly 100 billion yuan, and is snapped up by multinational pharmaceutical giants
    .

    On the evening of November 29, 2022, Horizon, a well-known NASDAQ-listed company Therapeutics announced that it confirmed that it is in high-level discussions with Amgen, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi, which may result in an offer by one of the three companies to acquire the entire share capital of Horizon
    .

    Image source: Wind

    After the announcement, Horizon shares surged 30%
    in after-hours trading.
    As of the close of trading on December 1, Horizon's total market capitalization reached US$22.
    86 billion (about 162.
    8 billion yuan).

    Biotech, which traditionally relies on independent research and development of scientists, Horizon is on the road of rapid development, and was its second CEO Tim in 2008 Walbert took office and took full control of Horizon
    .

    Tim Walbert, President and CEO of Horizon Image source: The company's official website

    Tim Prior to joining Horizon, Walbert had a strong track record in business and capital operations, where he led the global development and commercialization of "PharmaKing" Humira, held senior management positions in several listed biopharmaceutical companies, and served as IDM, a listed biopharmaceutical company Pharma's president and CEO, IDM Pharma, was acquired
    by multinational pharmaceutical company Takeda in 2009.

    In Tim Under Walbert's leadership, Horizon has gone all the way to create a "blockbuster", 10 listed products, annual revenue of more than $3.
    2 billion and net profit of more than $500 million in 2021
    .

    It has created a "blockbuster drug", 10 listed products, annual revenue of more than US$3.
    2 billion and net profit of more than US$500 million in 2021

    Tim Walbert also "turned around"
    during Horizon's growth.
    As of May 31, 2022, Tim Walbert is personally worth more than $158 million
    .

    Tim Walbert is personally worth more than $158 million

    Horizon's success is, of course, a triumph of science, but it was Tim who was able to compress the growth period from Biotech to Biopharma to such a short time Walbert is skilled in business insight and capital operations
    .

    Capital-driven rapid development

    Capital-driven rapid development

    Despite the overwhelming publicity of outside public opinion, Tim Walbert is portrayed as the founder of Horizon, and the reason for the founding of Horizon is also portrayed as Tim of the rare disease patient Walbert's obsession
    with seeking medical treatment to improve his own situation and that of his son, who was also diagnosed with a rare disease.

    But actually, Tim Walbert was not the founder of Horizon, but an executive who only joined halfway in 2008, and Horizon's birth, like other biotech, was the result
    of scientists' ideas.

    George F Tidmarsh, founder and first CEO of Horizon Image source: Stanford University website

    The real founder of Horizon is George F Tidmarsh
    , an adjunct professor at Stanford University School of Pharmacy and serial entrepreneur.
    George F Tidmarsh is a pharmaceutical professional with more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical experience and has successfully developed 3 innovative drugs approved by the FDA, George F Tidmarsh is also a serial entrepreneur and founded Threshold Pharma
    .

    Horizon by George F Tidmarsh was founded in 2005 as a biopharmaceutical company developing new drugs in the field of mild to moderate pain and arthritis, from its inception in 2005 until July 2008 Tidmarsh served as CEO of Horizon Pharma until Tim Walbert succeeded George F Tidmarsh
    .

    At the time, Horizon was so small that it had few employees and no office, and Tim Walbert had to work
    remotely from his own home.

    Despite its low starting point, under Tim Walbert, Horizon moved away from a path of relying entirely on self-development and instead accelerated the development and expansion
    of the business with the help of capital.

    In 2010, Horizon merged with NitecPharma AG, a spin-off company from Merck in Germany, to form the new Horiozn
    .

    On July 28, 2011, less than 3 years after Tim Walbert was at the helm, Horizon was successfully listed on NASDAQ and raised $49.
    5 million in IPO.

    With the help of low-cost fundraising brought by the public capital market, Horizon made a number of mergers and acquisitions, and even directly moved the company's registration out of the United States for tax savings, a series of business and capital operations that laid the foundation
    for Horizon's later commercialization success.

    M&A seizes "bombshell drug"

    M&A seizes "bombshell drug"

    In March 2014, Horizon announced the acquisition of Vidara Therapeutics
    , an Irish specialty pharmaceutical company, for $660 million.

    Around the same time, Horizon made the decision to move its place of incorporation out of the United States and to Dublin, Ireland
    .

    The relocation was not a whim, but to circumvent the US tax rate
    on corporate income, which is as high as 35%.
    Tim In an interview, Walbert made it clear that moving the domicile will reduce Horizon's corporate income tax rate to less than 20% and will help level the playing field
    for future Horizon acquisitions.

    In fact, since then, Horizon has indeed embarked on a path
    of buying and buying.

    In October 2014, Horizon acquired the distribution rights
    to NuvoResearch's osteoarthritis drug Pennsaid (diclofenac sodium) in the U.
    S.
    for $45 million.

    In March 2015, Horizon acquired HyperionTherapeutics for $1.
    1 billion to expand its orphan drug portfolio
    .

    In December 2015, Horizon announced the acquisition of Crealta Holdings
    for $510 million.

    In September 2016, Horizon acquired Raptor Pharmaceutical, a rare and severe disease drug research and development company, for $800 million, adding Procysbi (cysteamine hydrogen bitartrate) and Quinsair (levofloxacin) to its rare disease drug portfolio
    .

    In 2017, Horizon announced that it would acquire River Vision Development for $145 million Corp, which acquired Teprotumumab
    , the company's ophthalmic product under development.

    In early 2021, Horizon Therapeutics acquired biotech company Viela Bio for $3.
    05 billion to acquire an autoimmune disease drug pipeline
    .
    It is reported that Viela Bio, formerly known as Med Immune, AstraZeneca's biologics research and development subsidiary, became independent
    in 2018.

    In this series of acquisitions, the most worthy is Horizon's $145 million acquisition of River Vision Development Corp.
    , which can be called "four or two pounds"
    .

    With this acquisition, Horizon acquired its investigational ophthalmic product, Teprotumumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting IGF-1R, which was approved by the FDA in January 2020 as the world's first drug to treat thyroid eye disease (TED), achieving sales of $820 million in its first year, surpassing all similar drugs
    .
    Horizon expects Teprotumumab to peak annual sales at more than $4 billion worldwide, making it a "super blockbuster.
    "

    Despite the attention, Teprotumumab contributes only a quarter of Horizon's revenue
    .
    In addition to Teprotumumab, Horizon has more cash-ready blockbuster drugs, such as chronic gout treatment Krystexxa (polyethylene glycolase) and Ravicti (glycerol phenylbutyrate) for the treatment of urea cycle disorders
    in adults and children.
    It is estimated that Krystexxa's annual sales peak in the United States exceed $1.
    5 billion
    .

    Horizon's financial position is also relatively strong
    through balanced development through mergers and acquisitions.
    As of September 30, 2022, Horizon had a cash and cash equivalents balance of $2.
    1 billion and maintained a positive net profit
    .
    It is no wonder that throughout the capital winter, this company will be snapped up
    by multinational giants.

    Horizon's development path is different from traditional Biotech, which is more commercial and capital-driven, and its development path may provide a reference
    for Chinese Biotech companies that continue to want to grow into Biopharma faster.

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