CGRP migraine competition intensifies Lundbeck Pharma lays off 300 employees

CompilationFan Dongdong

In February last year, with the approval of the US FDA, Lundbeck Vyepti (a CGRP inhibitor infusion) directly entered the pandemic and migraine market, which is now flooded with injection and oral options from large pharmaceutical companies
.

In order to promote Vyepti's future growth, the Danish company is planning to cut spending elsewhere

Lundbeck Chief Financial Officer Anders Götzsche told investors on Wednesday's third-quarter earnings conference call that Lundbeck plans to "fine-tune" based on the lessons learned from the new crown pandemic and announced plans to lay off up to 300 positions
.

Götzsche said that some of the layoffs have been completed, and the company expects that the cost of restructuring in the fourth quarter will be between $15.

Götzsche stated that part of the savings will be used to invest in Vyepti
.

The move comes as Lundbeck expects Vyepti to be launched in another 15 regions between this year and next year, including the European Medicines Agency's expected approval in the first quarter of 2022

Specifically, the layoffs mainly involve the firing of about 100 employees in the US market and the firing of 50 employees in the Japanese market
.

The company had previously closed its subsidiary in India, and Götzsche stated that the subsidiary was not profitable

Lundbeck CEO Deborah Dunsire said that in the third quarter, demand for Vyepti in the United States increased by 43% over the second quarter, and sales rose from US$15.
6 million to US$23.
2 million
.

Dunsire believes that Vyepti is expanding its coverage in doctors' clinics and some "alternative care settings

In addition to increasing its sales influence, Lundbeck is also actively investing in Vyepti's R&D projects
.

Two ongoing Asian-focused trials, SUNLIGHT and SUNRISE, will support applications in China and Japan

Nonetheless, as SVB Leerink analyst Marc Goodman pointed out in a report on Wednesday, Lundbeck's product pipeline is "seriously inclined to early high-risk, high-return projects
.

" When asked about the company’s business development strategy, Dunsire explained that the establishment of the Vyepti brand already requires a lot of investment.

At present, the migraine market is increasingly crowded with CGRP inhibitors, especially in the field of prevention, Vyepti has been approved for listing
.

In addition to Amgen’s Aimovig, Eli Lilly’s Emgality and Teva’s Ajovy injections, more convenient oral CGRP drugs such as Biohaven’s Nurtec ODT and AbbVie’s newly approved Qulipta are also expected to be favored by patients

Reference source: Lundbeck cuts 300 jobs to fuel Vyepti growth as CGRP migraine competition heats up