Daiichi Sankyo Co.
Headcount 30,488
Year Established 2005
Pharma Revenues $10,794 10%/-6%*
Total Revenues $11,318 10%/2%*
Net Income $820 82%/68%*
R&D Budget $2,274 7%/-1%*
* Converted at avg. exch. rate / based on reported currency (JPY)
Top-Selling Drugs in 2010
Drug |
Indication |
$ |
(+/- %) |
Olmesartan |
hypertension |
$2,826 |
10% |
Levofloxacin |
anti-infection |
$808 |
-14% |
Pravastatin |
cholesterol |
$525 |
-11% |
Loxonin |
analgesic |
$634 |
25% |
Account for 44% of total pharma sales, down from 47% in 2009.
PROFILE
At the core of Daiichi’s business model is an emphasis on vaccines, established pharmaceuticals and OTC products aimed at market and consumer diversity, as well as geographic synergy leveraging subsidiary Ranbaxy Laboratories, and the growth potential of emerging markets. Although a 17% sales boost from Ranbaxy helped propel Daiichi’s modest FY10 results, don’t be overly impressed by the 68% increase in income, as it was partly due to prior-year tax adjustments.
Major drug launches this past year, expected to sufficiently pad the company’s bottom line, included the combination antihypertensive agents, Tribenzor/Sevikar in the U.S. and Europe, and in Japan the antihypertensive Rezaltas, anti-inflammatory analgesic Loxonin Gel, and the flu treatment Inavir. Also, Nexium just received its first regulatory approval for the treatment of acid-related disease in Japan, where Daiichi and AstraZeneca will co-promote the drug.
In addition to maximizing sales of the Olmesartan franchise (Rezaltas, Olmetec, and Calblock), the company plans to bring new products to market — such as flu drug Laninamivir and Memary/memantine for Alzheimer’s dementia — in an effort to sustain growth, as well as develop new blockbuster drugs. Its next anticipated global blockbuster is Edobaxan, for which the company is pursuing in VTE and other metabolic disorders. Edoxaban, part of the new class of oral factor Xa inhibitors www.inpharm.com/news/new-anti-clotting-drugs-stopping-silent-killers, is looking to replace the 65-year-old warfarin treatment. The drug is perched to pocket a significant portion of the anticoagulant market by 2015. Perhaps the blockbuster strategy will prove beneficial if the company can make some major therapeutic breakthroughs in critical areas such as hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease.
Fostering recent R&D initiatives, Daiichi gained late-stage oncology product PLX4032 with the acquisition of Plexxikon. The drug met primary endpoints of overall survival and progression-free survival in metastatic melanoma in a Phase III trial.
Additionally, Daiichi expanded its R&D alliance with ArQule, establishing a third oncology therapeutic target, with an option for a fourth. Closer to fruition, Daiichi and AstraZeneca are in a co-promotion pact in Japan for pending drug Denosumab, Amgen’s treatment of bone disorders stemming from bone metastasis.
In business related news, Daiichi acquired from Amcor its first U.S.-based manufacturing and packaging and facility. The Bethlehem, PA acquisition, worth $10.3 million, supplements its operations and is expected to package portfolio products, such as Benicar, Welchol and Azor, as soon as this summer/early fall.
Also, earlier this year, Daiichi an-nounced restructuring plans, which took effect in April, consolidating R&D, healthcare, and sales divisions. Although there was no mention of associated job cuts, the company phased out two R&D departments and two sales departments in an effort to “streamline decision-making processes” by creating single departments for each.
As a result of the Japan earthquake and ensuing disaster, Daiichi-Sankyo incurred $68 million of costs associated with damage to facilities. As of the latest update on operations, restoration of facilities is underway at the Onahama plant, which manufactures APIs, including pravastatin and olmesartan, and normal operations have been restored at the Hiratsuka plant. —KB
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