Top 10, the biopharmaceutical industry's most valuable acquisition target of the year.

According to a recent article published by Fierce Pharma, a foreign pharmaceutical website, there were more than 25 acquisitions in the biotech industry in 2019, 14 of which were using US$100 million.
in 2020, mergers and acquisitions activity in the sector will remain quite active, although the start has been somewhat sluggish due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
, most large pharmaceutical and biotech companies still need business development to rebalance operations.
companies have experienced the challenge of slowing mature products over the past few years due to increased competition and the rise of biosimilars.
as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many large companies have made no secret of their desire to make the most of their in-house research and development projects, while keeping a close eye on fast, complementary acquisitions that could strengthen pipeline construction.
cancer, rare diseases and central nervous system participants are the most matching targets for potential buyers.
, the industry's product line is at an all-time high, providing buyers with a big window of choice.
following are the acquisition targets listed in Fierce Pharma's article TOP10, the most valuable acquisition target in biopharmaceuticals.
01Alexion Alexion, a biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, has been a leader in biotech acquisition targets in recent years, and throughout 2019 its management has made it clear that it is not interested in a deal, but more recently that position appears to have loosened.
's long-standing dominance may be linked to its flagship Soliris.
2019, the drug will have sales of nearly $4 billion.
but the patent period is drawing to a close, and large biotech companies, including Amjin, are already developing biosynthics for the drug.
, Alexion has been trying to shift patients to the upgraded long-acting drug Ultomiris, while investing in pipelines for rare and autoimmune diseases.
forecast that 10 projects will be launched in 2023.
there are some signs that this shift is beginning to take effect.
but not all efforts can be successful.
, the company abandoned its main asset in a $930m takeover deal in July after a mid-term clinical failure, adding to shareholder anger.
But Alexion insists it is in the middle of a long game, such as buying Portola for $1.4 billion for an anticoagulant reversal agent, Andexxxa, which has underperformed since it went on sale in 2018, but Alexion is confident that its potential will eventually be realized.
may make sense to sell to a big seller who is already interested in rare diseases or investing in Alexion's diversified pipeline.
02Amarin Amarin, an Irish pharmaceutical company focused on improving cardiovascular health, has a potentially multi-billion dollar cholesterol-lowering giant, fish oil derivative Vascepa, which has been shown to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events in a large-scale trial.
Amarin's appeal as a potential takeover candidate increased significantly after the FDA approved Vascepa's cardiovascular disease reduction response in December based on data from the REDUCE-IT study.
Amarin has been aggressively promoting the drug's new allergy, but in 2020 it will be hit hard by a sharp drop in consultation and prescription rates caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, and there is another huge shadow hanging over it.
, a key patent protecting Vascepa from generic competition in the U.S. market until 2030 was ruled invalid.
appeal, failure could lead to early entry of generics into the U.S. market, which would significantly reduce peak sales.
U.S. Court of Appeals recently upheld the previous ruling.
Amarin is now reconsidering other legal options.
Amarin has previously reached patent litigation settlements with Teva and Apotex, which requires the generic pharmaceutical companies to delay the release of Vascepa generics until 2029, but the agreements will be void if Amarin succeeds on appeal.
said it expected to submit a petition calling for a full review of the jury's verdict in September.
, analysts are divided on whether these events will affect Amarin's chances of success.
If Amarin wins, it could create a situation where the acquisition of Amarin makes more sense for a buyer who wants to expand its position in cardiovascular/primary care, and the company's valuation could be close to or above the $9.7 billion it was when it was acquired by Novarma late last year."
, however, if Amarin fails, the company says it will reduce marketing and commercial spending in the U.S. and consider launching its own generics.
, Amarin still has 10 years of exclusive ownership in the EU, which it considers a big market for Vassepa.
notable, the company also said it had rejected several offers from a larger partner to help Vascepa commercialize in Europe and said it thought single-payer was the best move.
03BioMarin BioMarin is a biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases with unique strengths and insights in the field of enzymatic research.
the company has brought in more than $2 billion a year from the underlying businesses of Aldurazyme and Kuvan, a rare disease drug sold on the market, and will provide cash flow improvements for any acquirer.
the company also has two late-stage drugs: gene therapy val-rox for type A haemophilia and vosoritide for cartilage dysplia, which was submitted to the FDA but rejected in August.
is currently under EU review and could be delayed by several years.
, analysts had said the two therapies could be on the market for the first time in 2020/2021, with a sales potential of more than $1bn.
bioMarin remains one of the biggest opportunities for pharmaceutical companies seeking to enter gene therapy, especially in the weak state of their share prices.
threshold for people with haemophilia remains low, and the price of these one-off therapies is around $1.5 million per patient, even if the market penetration is low, income will increase significantly.
, bioMarin is not without competitors.
Pfizer and Sangamo Therapeutics' type A haemophilia gene therapy SB-525 reported positive interim data last year and is just beginning to be drugged in Phase 3 trials, while Roche's Spark Therapeutics is also developing gene therapy SPK-8011.
04bluebird bio Bluebird Bio, a biotechnology company focused on gene therapy, was approved by the European Union last year for its first commercial product, Zynteglo, to treat blood transfusion-dependent thalassemia.
is working with BMS on another anti-BCMA CAR-T therapy bb2121 for multiple myeloma, which could make it easier for BMS to acquire BMS, a deal that could make it easier for BMS or other pharmaceutical companies interested in addressing the blood therapy libido market.
Bluebird Creatures is also becoming a key player in sickle cell disease (SCD), with Zynteglo TherapeuticSCD due to submit regulatory documents next year, ahead of competitors including Vertex/CRISPR Therapeutics, which has a gene-editing drug under clinical development for SCDs.
addition, Bluebird Creatures plans to submit a gene therapy for the treatment of cerebral adrenal white blood malnutrition (cALD) in the United States in 2021, while in the European Union, the therapy has entered an accelerated review.
Overall, Bluebird Bio is transitioning to a commercial gene therapy company with a proven platform, and with a fairly ample early development pipeline, including a variety of gene therapy and oncology projects, multiple projects will be resulting in the coming years, making it an increasingly attractive acquisition target.
05 Deciphera Deciphera is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of cancer treatment drugs.
May, Deciphera's oral anticancer drug, Qinlock, was approved by the FDA for the first time to treat a rare stomach cancer, gastrointestinal mesothelioma (GIST), entering the market for a fourth-line treatment before competitor Blueprint Pharmaceuticals drug Ayvakit.
company may get a bigger return later in the year as it awaits data from INTRIGUE, a clinical study of qinlock's second-line treatment GIST, to be available in early 2021.
will greatly expand its market opportunities and push the drug to the top.
so far, the clinical results of Qinlock's treatment of GIST have been very encouraging, and potential acquirers may just be waiting for the phase 3 clinical results of the second-line treatment GIST to be validated before pressing the quote button.
Deciphera's early development efforts in solid tumor therapy have been impressive, including the new indications of Qinlock, CSF1R inhibitors DCC-3014 and RIE2 inhibitors rebastinib, creating an impressively fully owned portfolio, making it easier, at least in theory, from an acquisition perspective.
06Esperion Therapeutics Esperion is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in cardiovascular medicine.
the company's Two drugs, Nextol and Nexlizet, got off to a good start on the market, especially given the market during the COVID-19 pandemic.
, the initial prescription data for both products in the U.S. have been impressive and have been approved by the European Union.
novart bought TMC late last year for $9 billion in a deal largely related to the cholesterol-lowering drug incisiran, a subsurfed injection of siRNA that targets PCSK9 twice a year.
as Esperion begins to look for partnerships outside the U.S., this could spark interest in the deal.
so far, the company has authorized Otsuka to develop and sell Nexletol and Nexlizet in Japan, and in June authorized the first three to sell Nustendi in Europe.
07 Global Blood Therapeutics GBT is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative treatments for serious blood diseases.
the company's drug Oxbryta was approved by the U.S. FDA late last year to treat sickle cell disease (SCD).
the $125,000-a-year treatment is opening up in the U.S. market.
despite being adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the product sold more than $31 million in the second quarter.
in the long run, Oxbryta's prospects are very promising because of data showing that the drug significantly reduces painful vascular obstructive disorder (VOC), the weakest symptom in patients with SCD, with few treatment options.
Oxbryta is a daily oral tablet that treats patients as ≥ 12 years old and can address the underlying mechanisms of the disease.
drug was approved shortly after the FDA approved Novart's anti-P-selective antibody, Adakveo.
but Adakveo must be administered intravenously every 4 weeks after a 2-week import period.
the company is planning to apply for approval for the drug in ≥4-year-olds in the U.S. in 2021 under the STOP2 trial, which aims to prove that the drug can reduce the risk of stroke in children with SCD.
, the company is continuing to develop other new treatments for SCD and β thalassemia, in part through a partnership with Syros Pharmaceuticals.
08 Immunomedics Immunomedics is dedicated to the development of a new generation of antibody conceding drugs (ADCs).
past few months, deals and news about Immunomedics have been dominated by the anti-TRAP2 drug Trodelvy, and most of them have been positive.
, the FDA's refusal to use the ADC as a drug to treat patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) caused share prices to fall due to production problems.
but the company's acquisition interest rebounded in April after it received the agency's green light for TNBC's third-line therapy.
Trodelvy went public during the COVID-19 pandemic in May, with sales of $20 million in the first two months.
early performance has undoubtedly piqued Gilead's interest, with sales of the drug expected to peak at $4.7 billion.
Immunomedics recently teamed up with Roche to conduct a joint treatment trial with the checkpoint inhibitor Tecentriq and Immunomedics, and is also conducting clinical trials of other cancers, including phase 3 studies of HR-/HER2-metastatic breast cancer and early studies of bladder, lung and ovarian cancers.
09 Iovance Biotherapeutics Iovance is a start-up biotechnology company dedicated to the development of cell-based immuno-oncology therapies.
, the company's stock surged on the back of a report that said it was already looking.