The BD strategy behind the PD-1 business war

In 2020, global sales of PD-1/PD-L1 drugs are approaching 30 billion U.

PD-1/PD-L1 market performance in 2020

Some people say that Keytruda wins by relying on the market space under the active expansion of the indications, and some people think that Keytruda wins by marketing.

OK wars, BD goes first

Why can Keytruda surpass Opdivo in record? The industry generally believes that the former has been approved for more than 20 indications worldwide, especially the victory of "Tianwangshan" in the field of lung cancer has played a decisive role.

There is also a view that whether it is the product itself or the solid channel marketing ability, it is inseparable from the far-sighted BD strategy formulated by Merck at the beginning of Keytruda.

As the saying goes, the anti-tumor market is dominated by lung cancer patients.

In November of the same year, Merck announced the expansion of its cooperation with Eli Lilly to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Alimta and Keytruda in the first-line treatment of non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer in a pivotal phase III study.

At that time, because the combination of Opdivo and galunisertib failed to meet expectations, BMS put more resources on the combination of Yervoy (Ipilimumab), another internally marketed product.

After tasting the sweetness of export-oriented BD cooperation, K medicine is also more open in choosing partners (CP), and has successively carried out in-depth bundling development with olaparib (AstraZeneca), lenvatinib (Eisai) and other products .

Yuan Bin, the founder of OnCusp Therapeutics, was responsible for the global business development of Merck's oncology drugs.

He explained to the medical Rubik’s Cube reporter: “It is not just an indication for lung cancer.

Domestically produced PD-1, use BD to enter overseas markets

It is not difficult to see from the example of the "OK" war that the role of BD cooperation in expanding the commercial value of drugs is immeasurable.

What role does BD strategy play in the commercial competition of domestic PD1?

Taking the first echelon Junshi, Cinda, Hengrui, and Baekje as examples, after the earliest launch of "small indications" such as melanoma or lymphoma, the most important competition dimension for each PD1 drug is medical insurance negotiation, Cost and pricing, etc.

As for external BD cooperation, domestic PD1 has also made active attempts.

On the whole, there are not many surprises in the combination strategy of domestic PD1 in the development of indications.

According to the medical cube NextPharma, in the field of PD-1/PD-L1, the frequency of authorization by domestic companies to foreign pharmaceutical companies is close to 20 times.

What is the enlightenment of the aforementioned PD-1 cooperative transaction for the domestic innovative drug BD? Qiang Jing, the managing partner of Xingze Capital, told Pharmaceutical Rubik that the current domestic products are mainly fast follow, and the first condition for license out is that the product must be innovative and differentiated.

From the perspective of investors, Qiang Jing said that under normal circumstances, investors will evaluate the BD capabilities of innovative drug companies based on the product latitude and the BD team.
In his view, product differentiation is the key to deciding whether to develop BD; secondly, understanding and accurately grasping the needs of the other party and being able to combine the needs of the other party with the differentiation of their own products are the breakthrough points for an excellent BD team to complete the transaction.

Conclusion

For pharmaceutical companies, which track and target to bet on, which product to choose, which partner to choose, how to discuss cooperation framework, and how to achieve higher sales targets are all important parts of BD's strategy.
The participation of innovative drugs in global competition has become the general trend.
BD capabilities are not only an important strategic weapon for innovative drug companies, but also gradually become an important piece of the company's overall strength.
Chinese pharmaceutical companies should also pay attention to this.