Homemade CAR-T, it's time to speed up to the sea

Since the popularity of cell therapy, global pharmaceutical companies have almost swarmed, including domestic companies

2021 is the first year of CAR-T therapy in China.

This year, Legend Bio's CAR-T therapy Chidaki Orenza was officially approved by the FDA, becoming the third domestic CAR-T therapy to be marketed

After a product hits the market, the only measure of success is the frosty sales figures

In the first half of this year, the sales of Cidaki Orenza reached 48 million US dollars, or about 330 million yuan; while the sales of WuXi Junuo's Benoda were only 66 million yuan

Although the indications of the two are different, the huge numerical difference still tells us that "it's time to accelerate the overseas development of domestic CAR-T.

/ 01 /

84.

Fosun Pharma did not disclose the specific sales of Yikaida, but only showed the results of the layout:

As of the end of July 2022, Akilence has been included in urban Huimin Insurance and more than 50 commercial insurances in 44 provinces and cities, and nearly 100 treatment centers have been registered

Although the sales data of Achilles is a "blind box", the financial report of WuXi Junuo gives us an observation window

According to the semi-annual report, in the first half of 2022, WuXi Junuo issued 77 prescriptions of Benoda, completed the reinfusion of 64 patients, and brought 66 million operating income to the company

With the completion of the commercialization team, the overall operating efficiency of the company has been improved

But for WuXi Junuo, it is not enough to go ashore

At the same time, as a cell therapy with millions of injections, Benoda's gross profit margin is still limited, and this figure was 35% in the first half of the year

This also means that in order to cover marketing and administrative expenses in the first half of the year, WuXi Junuo's revenue needs to reach 500 million yuan

At present, the commercialization of Fosun Pharma Yikaida is not much ahead of Benoda

/ 02 /

The third domestic CAR-T: divided into 160 million in the first half of the year

In contrast, the days of the third domestic CAR-T therapy seem to be much better
.

On February 28 this year, Legend Bio's CAR-T therapy Chidaki Orenza was officially approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma
.

This is the third approved domestic CAR-T therapy, but the "first stop" is overseas; and the commercialization of Cidaki Orenza is not promoted by Legend Bio, but by the big pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson
.

As early as December 2017, the two companies reached a global promotion agreement:

In Greater China, Johnson & Johnson and Legend Bio will share costs and benefits in a 30:70 ratio; in the rest of the world, the ratio is 50:50
.

On July 21, Legend Bio released an announcement stating that as of June 30, 2022, the net sales of West Daqioren season was about 24 million US dollars, or about 160 million yuan
.

Since the Cidaki Orenza has not yet been listed for sale in China, all the sales figures come from overseas
.
Considering that Legendary Creatures only get 50% of the share, the total sales of Sidaki Orenza are 48 million US dollars
.

That is to say, although Cidaki Orensai is only a product that has just been approved for the market this year, its commercialization performance has been far better than the two "old predecessors"
.

Although the indications of Cidaki Orenza are completely different from that of Yikaida and Benoda, the disparate sales still make people feel emotional
.

/ 03 /

Homemade CAR-T, it's time to speed up to the sea

At present, restrictions on the development of the domestic CAR-T industry are multi-faceted, including the cognition of doctors, the cognition of patients, and the limitation of ability to pay
.

Many constraints can change over time
.
For example, the awareness of doctors, the popularity of treatment centers,
etc.
WuXi Junuo stated in its financial report that as of the end of June, the company had completed training, trial operation and evaluation of 83 hospitals; Fosun Pharma also stated that nearly 100 treatment centers had been registered
.

But there are also some constraints, and it is difficult to see room for improvement in the short term, such as affordability
.
Globally, domestic CAR-T therapy is already extremely "cheap", but the price is still around 1.
2 million yuan; plus treatment costs, the total cost exceeds 2 million yuan
.

Obviously, there are still only a handful of patients who can afford CAR-T therapy
.
The lack of commercial insurance has made domestic pharmaceutical companies put their hopes on the "Benefiting People's Insurance" launched by various provinces and cities
.

As mentioned above, Fosun Pharma's most recognized achievement for Yikaida in the first half of the year is that it has been included in the urban Huimin Insurance and more than 50 commercial insurances in 44 provinces and cities; WuXi Junuo also stated in the mid-year report, 52 commercial insurance and 28 local government supplemental health insurance plans
.

However, "Huiminbao" is also more than enough to face the sky-high price of CAR-T, and the upper limit of compensation is basically 500,000 yuan
.
Obviously, for unaffordable patients, the use of CAR-T therapy still needs to face a large funding gap
.

And if the product can successfully go to sea, the result will be different
.

One of the factors for the success of the Cedar Keoren Race is the price - as high as 465,000 US dollars, it is currently the most expensive CAR-T product in the world
.
On the one hand, the price is constantly decreasing, and on the other hand, it is the highest price in the world as soon as it is released.
The gap in imagination space is self-evident
.

Johnson & Johnson even began to imagine that the sales of Cidaki Orenza could reach 500 million US dollars in the second year of listing, and the peak value could reach 5 billion US dollars
.

Although this is only an imagination, it is not known how large the sales volume will be
.
After all, CAR-T is not perfect, there are many factors such as large side effects, and the sales volume of the currently approved products is not ideal
.

But there is no doubt that, compared with China, Legend Bio CAR-T has found an optimal solution for the commercialization problem when going overseas
.
It also allows more domestic pharmaceutical companies to see the vast overseas market
.

Not only for Legend Bio, but also for the entire domestic biopharmaceutical industry, going overseas this time is of great significance
.
Looking forward to more domestic pharmaceutical companies going abroad and standing on the world stage in the future
.