GSK in running for Pfizer incontinence drug
pharmafile | October 31, 2003 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
GlaxoSmithKline has been tipped to buy a potential blockbuster incontinence drug from Pfizer ahead of the US company's merger with Pharmacia.
Overactive bladder drug darifenacin is one of several drugs that Pfizer and Pharmacia must sell off ahead of their $60 billion merger in order to satisfy the European Commission.
The Commission was concerned that darifenacin, in phase III trials, may have given the companies an unfair advantage given that Pharmacia already markets incontinence treatment Detrusitol.
Lehman Brothers estimates the drugs net present value at $2.2 billion. In comparison, sales of Detrusitol last year were $757 million.
Darifenacin has already been submitted to the FDA, increasing its attractiveness, but the urgency with which Pfizer wants to complete the merger means it may compromise on the sale price to ensure a quick sale. Lehman Brothers analyst Simon Baker told Reuters that Pfizer was "in essence a distressed seller, so whoever gets it ought to get it at a fairly decent price."
Darifenacin is seen as a good strategic fit for GSK, which is making inroads into the genitourinary therapy area. It will shortly launch Avodart, for benign prostatic hyperplasia, while erectile dysfunction treatment Levitra, co-marketed with Bayer, has just been given European marketing clearance.
Novartis has also been tipped by analysts as a possible buyer of Pfizer's drug, and is seen as one of only a small number of companies with the necessary marketing power to ensure the drug reaches its potential.
Consultants Wood Mackenzie estimate the market for incontinence products will reach $13 billion by 2010, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 22.5%.
