"Yiwu Market" among pharmaceutical companies?

A company announced the results of the first JAK inhibitor cream for the treatment of eczema in a phase III trial for vitiligo indications: an improvement of ≥75% from the baseline, and it is expected to become the first drug to directly solve the re-pigmentation problem on the market in the United States

We know that the US market completed the division of labor between pharmaceutical companies earlier than China.

01 The favorite of Chinese pharmaceutical companies

In August of this year, Nuocheng Jianhua and Incyte reached a cooperation

According to the terms of the agreement, Nuocheng Jianhua will pay Incyte a down payment of US$35 million

Nuocheng Jianhua will obtain the right to develop and commercialize Tafasitamab in hematoma and solid tumors in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan)

Tafasitamab is a monoclonal antibody jointly developed by MorphoSys and Xencor

In July 2019, Zai Lab and Incyte reached a licensing agreement for a clinical-stage anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody Retifanlimab

According to the agreement, Zai Lab will obtain the exclusive developer and commercialization rights for Retifanlimab blood and solid tumor indications in Greater China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), and Incyte will receive a down payment of US$17.

Retifanlimab is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody developed by MacroGenics

However, this is a ill-fated drug.

The FDA stated that more information is needed to prove the clinical benefit of Retifanlimab in this SCAC patient group

In December 2018, Innovent Biosciences and Incyte used Pemigatinib (FGFR1/2/3 inhibitor), Itacitinib (JAK1 inhibitor) and Parsaclisib (PI3Kδ inhibitor) for monotherapy or combination therapy in Mainland China and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

According to the agreement, Incyte will receive a US$40 million down payment from Cinda and a second US$20 million cash payment after the first submission of a new drug application in China in 2019

From 2018 to 2021, the license-in model is prevailing in China

02 Mutual achievements with international pharmaceutical companies

It is the international pharmaceutical companies that favored Incyte earlier than the Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies

Founded in 2002, Incyte caught up with the small molecule innovative drug boom in the United States

In December 2009, Incyte and Eli Lilly signed a global exclusive development and commercialization rights agreement for the JAK inhibitor Baricitinib
.
Baricitinib is a drug for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) independently developed by Incyte
.

In 2016, Baricitinib completed a number of phase III clinical trials
.
In the same year, Eli Lilly submitted a new drug application to the FDA to approve Baricitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis
.
Subsequently, Baricitinib was sold under brands such as Olumiant
.
In December 2016, Baricitinib was approved for marketing in the European Union for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
.
In May 2018, Baricitinib was approved in the United States for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
.
In March 2020, the US FDA granted Baricitinib a breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of alopecia areata
.

In May of this year, Eli Lilly and Incyte announced the positive top-line results of the BRAVE-AA2 Phase III study evaluating the oral JAK inhibitor Baricitinib in the treatment of severe alopecia areata (AA) in adults
.
The results showed that at the 36th week of treatment, the study reached the primary efficacy endpoint: patients who received two doses of Olumiant had a statistically significant improvement in scalp hair regrowth compared with patients who received placebo
.
This is also the first JAK inhibitor that is expected to treat alopecia areata
.

During the new crown epidemic, Olumian was also granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) by the US FDA: Combine Olumiant with Veklury (remdesivir, remdesivir) for suspected or laboratory-confirmed new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), need Oxygen supplement/invasive mechanical ventilation/extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), hospitalized adults and pediatric patients aged ≥2 years
.

Olumian's success in multiple indications is only a small part of Incyte's strength
.

In 2009, in addition to signing the rights and interests of the JAK inhibitor Baricitinib with Eli Lilly, ncyte also signed a cooperation and licensing agreement with Novartis for another drug, Ruxolitinib
.

Like Baricitinib, Ruxolitinib is also a JAK inhibitor
.
In November 2011, Ruxolitinib was approved by the US FDA for the treatment of moderate or high-risk myelofibrosis
.
Since then, Ruxolitinib has been sold under trade names such as Jakavi
.
In April 2012, Ruxolitinib was approved for marketing by the European Union EMA for primary myelofibrosis
.
In July 2014, Ruxolitinib was approved for marketing in Japan for the treatment of myelofibrosis
.
In September 2015, Ruxolitinib was approved in Japan for the treatment of polycythemia vera
.
In May 2019, Ruxolitinib was approved by the U.
S.
FDA for the treatment of steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) for children and adult patients 12 years and older, becoming the first drug approved by the FDA to treat this indication
.

In addition, Ruxolitinib is also undergoing clinical trials for malignant lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, psoriasis, and alopecia areata in many countries
.

According to Incyte's financial report, Ruxolitinib's sales in the United States in 2020 will be 1.
937 billion U.
S.
dollars
.
Novartis’s financial report shows that its sales outside the United States in 2020 will be 1.
339 billion U.
S.
dollars.
From the perspective of sales, Ruxolitinib is a well-deserved "blockbuster
.
" The emergence of a variety of blockbuster drugs also made Incyte selected as the top ten most innovative companies in the world by Forbes in 2018, and is the only pharmaceutical company among them
.

For the reasons why domestic and foreign companies often choose Incyte as partners, Cinda’s previous speech at the cooperation conference with Incyte may explain one or two: This time the introduction of three small molecule products of Incyte, mainly Incyte’s small molecule products and The company’s pipelines have very good complementary and synergistic effects; when the subsequent company considers the license-in target, it will not care whether it is a large molecule or a small molecule; but the company’s small molecule discovery ability is weak, and it will not consider adding in-house small molecules in the future.
The team of molecular discovery; but there is no difference between the clinical and large molecules of small molecule compounds, which is the company's strengths
.

Although large-molecule biopharmaceuticals are now emerging and becoming the focus of innovative pharmaceutical companies' own layout, in terms of disease treatment, whether it is large-molecule drugs or small-molecule drugs, drugs that can meet clinical needs are good drugs
.

For companies focusing on self-developed macromolecular drugs, it is the best of both worlds to be able to introduce high-quality small molecule drugs to supplement the pipeline without spending too much research and development effort
.
The success of Incyte's previous cooperation with Eli Lilly and Novartis on drugs has also verified its research and development capabilities
.

And how much global pharmaceutical companies prefer Incyte's products can be known from the cooperation ratio of their research pipelines
.

Of Incyte's 35 pipelines in research, 12 are targeted tumor therapies, of which more than half of the drugs have been authorized
.

Figure | Incyte pipeline (Source: Incyte official website)

Incyte's oncology pipeline has been welcomed by global pharmaceutical companies, and has a direct relationship with many global pharmaceutical companies flocking to the oncology field
.
In addition to tumors, autoimmune diseases are also another area where many pharmaceutical companies have followed suit
.

It is foreseeable that as more and more pharmaceutical companies turn from the hot track of tumors to autoimmune diseases, Incyte will continue to "supply" for global pharmaceutical companies
.