AstraZeneca touting for business at partnering conference
pharmafile | March 19, 2012 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Bio-Europe, R&D, partnering
AstraZeneca is marketing itself as a key partner for drug development deals, ahead of a European partnering conference.
The Bio-Europe Spring 2012 conference is designed to help smaller biotechs partner with big pharma firms, and runs this week in Amsterdam.
Ahead of its attendance at Bio-Europe, AZ has been tweeting about its new approach to partnering, and has created a new site to explain its attractiveness to smaller companies with potentially lucrative pipelines.
AZ said: “We know how to work collaboratively. We recognise the importance of understanding each other and of being flexible, responsive, open and honest.
“Talk to us and let’s explore the potential of working together. Then we’ll get you to the right people and give you quick decisions. This is about you and us, working jointly and combining our talents to achieve a common goal – better healthcare.”
Approved drugs that AstraZeneca has sourced from partners include oral DPP-4 inhibitor type II diabetes treatment Onglyza (developed with Bristol-Myers Squibb), and rheumatoid arthritis treatment Vimovo (co-marketed with Pozen).
This is the second time this year AZ has touted its suitability as a pharma partner – in January, the firm also spoke at the JP Morgan partnering event to sell itself to new partners.
And AstraZeneca needs new collaborations and quickly, as it is considered to have one of the weaker pipelines of its big pharma peers.
The firm has also endured a number of pipeline problems and failures in recent years.
Its collaboration with BMS for diabetes treatment dapagliflozin is being held up by regulators due to safety concerns, and there is the possibility it could not make it to market.
Also struggling is TC-5214 for depression being made in conjunction with Targacept, which suffered a late-stage setback last year, again casting doubts on the drug’s future.
The firm has tried to enter into to new deals to bolster its pipeline – in 2006 it paid over $15 billion to acquire the biologics firm MedImmune – but so far little has come from the deal.
It got worse in 2010 when the FDA refused to back motavizumab, MedImmune’s most advanced drug, saying it should not be licensed for the prevention of serious respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as it was no better than current treatments.
AstraZeneca pulled the drug shortly afterwards, and had to take a $445 million hit.
On top of its pipeline problems the firm is also feeling the bite from several large patent expiries, which is expected to wipe off around $6 billion from its annual revenue stream by 2016.
This all highlights the firm’s need to find the right partner with the right pipeline, as it tries to stabilise its growth for the longer term.
Ben Adams
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