AstraZeneca China and Junshi Biotech reached a major strategic cooperation

Medical Network, March 2nd, AstraZeneca obtained the right to promote Junshi Biotreplimumab in non-core markets in
mainland China.
AstraZeneca China and Junshi Biotech reached a major strategic cooperation
on February 28, based on drug research and development, With resources such as market coverage and channel expansion, AstraZeneca China and Junshi Biotechnology have reached a major strategic cooperation
.
From February 28, 2021, AstraZeneca will officially obtain the right to promote the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody drug Teriplizumab injection independently developed by Junshi Biologics in non-core markets in mainland China, as well as subsequent acquisitions.
With the exclusive national promotion rights for the approved urothelial cancer indications, Junshi Bio will continue to be responsible for the core market promotion of teriplizumab in mainland China except for the approved indications for urothelial cancer
.
As for the division of core regions and non-core regions, AstraZeneca expressed to Cyberlan that it is temporarily inconvenient to disclose it
.
However, Junshi Biopharmaceuticals stated in today’s announcement that, with AstraZeneca’s extensive channel network accumulated over the years in China, especially in the county market, the cooperation with AstraZeneca has It is helpful to promote the commercialization of teriprizumab injection in China
.
It is not difficult to see that AstraZeneca's wide coverage of channel resources and its ability to promote in the county market may be the content that Junshi Biology attaches great importance to in the cooperation between the two parties
.
Since AstraZeneca proposed a grassroots business model of expansion and sinking in 2015, Lai Minglong, general manager of AstraZeneca China, has publicly stated that AstraZeneca China’s current "county team" can cover more than 42,000 hospitals and community hospitals.
There are more than 12,000 hospitals and the retail market covers more than 250,000 pharmacies
.
AstraZeneca told Cyberlan that within the framework of the agreement signed with Junshi Bio, it will give full play to its own advantages in the fields of market access, academic promotion, retail, and distribution channels, and strive to improve the injection of teriprizumab.
Market awareness and expand its coverage to benefit a wider range of tumorsPatient
.

　　Teriplizumab: the first domestically produced PD-1
On December 17, 2018, teriplizumab was approved for marketing as the first domestically produced PD-1, and the first approved indication was for past acceptance Treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma that has failed systemic treatment
.
In December 2020, through the national medical insurance negotiations, the above indications were included in the new version of the catalog.
It is also the only anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of melanoma in the new version of the national medical insurance list
.
It is reported that the medical insurance payment price of each bottle (specification: 80mg) of Tuoyi is 906.
08 yuan, and the one-year treatment cost is about 70,700 yuan
.
On February 19, 2021, according to the announcement of the National Food and Drug Administration, the second indication of Teriplizumab was officially approved for the treatment of patients with recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma who had previously failed second-line and above systemic treatments.
Treatment-Teriprizumab is the world's first anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer
.
In addition, teriprizumab covers fifteen indications, and more than 30 clinical studies of single and combination drugs are underway
.
The marketing application for the urothelial cancer indication involved in the cooperation between Junshi Biotechnology and AstraZeneca has been included in the priority review process by the NMPA in July 2020
.
As for why it chose to obtain the exclusive national promotion rights for urothelial cancer indications, AstraZeneca told Cyberlan that AstraZeneca’s Infineon (Durvalumab) is a human-derived PD- L1 monoclonal antibody, based on PACIFIC clinical trial data, Infineon has been approved in the United States, Japan, China, the European Union and many other countries for the treatment of non-cuttable non-small cell lung cancer after radiotherapy and chemotherapy
.
In addition, Infineon has been approved for the treatment of advanced bladder cancer in several other countries
.
In addition, duvalizumab has been approved for the treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer in the United States, the European Union, Japan and other countries.
The marketing application for this indication has been submitted to the National Medical Products Administration in 2020.

.
At the same time, a number of phase III clinical studies on lung cancer, liver cancer, esophageal cancer, bladder cancer and other tumor types are being carried out globally and in China
.
At present, the two approved indications of Tuoyi and Infineon do not overlap, and both parties will carry out corresponding work in accordance with their respective R&D plans
.
In public information, AstraZeneca also stated that it is seeking supplements for indications
.

　　Commercialization needs meet indication supplements.

In the announcement on March 1, Junshi Biotech stated that the specific amount of this cooperation with AstraZeneca is not yet predictable, and it will be beneficial to promote the development of teriprizumab injection.
Commercialization in China
.
According to the announcement, Junshi Bio will pay a service fee to AstraZeneca in accordance with the agreement.
As a consideration for obtaining the promotion rights, AstraZeneca needs to pay Junshi Biotechnology a down payment
.
The agreement between the two parties is valid for 5 years and can be extended for 5 years if the sales target is reached
.
According to Junshi Biotech's recent performance report, in 2020, it will achieve operating income of 1.
595 billion yuan, an increase of 105.
77% year-on-year, mainly due to the increase in sales revenue of teriprizumab injection and the revenue from new technology licensing
.
In the past year, PD-1 monoclonal antibody revenue was about 1.
319 billion yuan, compared with 774 million yuan in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 70.
41%, which is an amazing growth rate
.
In 2020, Junshi Bio will continue to strengthen the market promotion of its core product, tereprizumab injection, and rapidly increase the coverage of the product in hospitals.
The sales revenue of tereprizumab injection has increased significantly
.
However, Junshi Biotech also pointed out that due to its expansion of R&D pipelines, rapid advancement of R&D projects, increased commercialization expenditures due to the promotion of teriprizumab injection, and increased daily operating expenses due to the expansion of business scales, the company 'S net profit has decreased from last year
.
As for AstraZeneca, oncology is one of AstraZeneca’s key business areas.
AstraZeneca China continues to work in the treatment of lung, breast, ovarian, and prostate tumors.
At the same time, it is also engaged in tumor immunotherapy, tumor driver genes, and drug resistance mechanisms.
The DNA damage repair and antibody-conjugated drug complex platform realizes the layout
.
AstraZeneca expressed to Cyberland that it believes that this strategic cooperation with Junshi Biologics is the beginning.
With the close cooperation between multinational pharmaceutical companies and local pharmaceutical companies, China’s high-quality local innovative drugs will bring more benefits to patients.
Great value
.
AstraZeneca is optimistic about this "Chinese-Western integration" and is more firmly on the path of localization of multinational pharmaceutical companies
.
We will continue to leverage our R&D capabilities and commercial operation capabilities in the Chinese market to support more high-quality innovative drugs to benefit more Chinese patients
.
At the same time, multinational pharmaceutical companies should also actively play the role of international bridges and continue to bring high-quality and innovative drugs incubated in China, R&D in China, and made in China to a wider range of global patients
.
As for the battle of domestic PD-1 smoke, looking back on 2020, public information shows that Cinda’s PD-1 sales are 2.
2 billion yuan, Hengrui’s PD-1 industry generally predicts more than 3 billion yuan, BeiGene’s PD -1 Revenue is about 1 billion yuan
.
After entering 2021, with the four domestic PD-1 all entering the medical insurance catalog, it is expected that the competition in the entire industry will become more intense
.
Southwest Securities Pharmaceutical Du Xiangyang's research report "The tens of billions market is gradually realized, who will be the winners? "Point out that the following characteristics are necessary for the large variety of PD-1 monoclonal antibodies: approval for large indications & entering medical insurance & perfecting the commercial promotion team
.
It seems that indications and commercialization capabilities are indispensable for casting a large variety of monoclonal antibodies, and various pharmaceutical companies will also carry out corresponding cooperation and exploration according to their own resource conditions
.