Outside of industry specialists, his name is unknown. Yet, in the pharmaceutical industry, Revlimid is a superstar. This cancer drug, used in particular in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting the bone marrow, is one of the drugs that generates the most revenue in the world. For the year 2020 alone, it brought in 10.6 billion euros for its owner, the American Bristol-Myers Squibb.
A gold mine for the New York laboratory (37.3 billion euros in turnover in 2020), which inherited this product after the takeover of Celgene, in 2019. However, the blessed period is over. about to end. Revlimid, hitherto protected by a patent which guaranteed it, as is the rule in the pharmaceutical industry, commercial exclusivity, will lose its monopoly in a few weeks.
What arouse the concern of analysts, concerned about the inevitable decline in sales of Revlimid with the arrival of competing generic drugs. Especially since two other flagship drugs of the group, Eliquis and Opdivo, will suffer the same fate in the coming years, which constitutes a challenge for Bristol-Myers Squibb. These three drugs account for two-thirds of Big Pharma’s sales.
Diversified offer
“Obviously, we’re losing an important product with Revlimid, but that’s the way our sector works. The important thing is to make sure we carry the next generation of products that will advance science, help patients, and grow the business. In this respect, we are very satisfied with the way we are positioned”, explain to World Chris Boerner, Group Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer.
The laboratory is confident. It has already begun to sow the seeds, which it believes will offset revenue declines from its blockbuster drug. In particular, with the launch, since 2020, of a series of new products, like Abecma or Breyanzi, two cell therapies for the treatment of certain rare blood cancers, or Reblozyl, a drug against myelodysplastic syndromes, sources of severe anemia or leukaemia, and whose sales, in the space of a year and a half, have already exceeded 500 million dollars (440 million euros). “We are in the process of launching nine new products: six of them have already been launched in the last two years, and we are preparing the arrival of the other three for 2022. These products have the potential to generate sales of $10 billion to $13 billion by mid-decade”, emphasizes Chris Boerner.
You have 25.06% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.