In December 2023, the group announced the acquisition of the Chinese Gracell Biotechnologies for a maximum value of 1.2 billion dollars, with the aim of strengthening its ambitions in the field of cell therapies. The cash deal values US-listed Gracell at $2 per share, plus a non-negotiable Contingent Value Right (CVR) of $0.30 per common share, if certain regulatory milestones are reached.
2023 Astrazeneca revenues by divisions
A separate discussion, compared to the big pharma companies, must be made for Moderna. Founded in 2010, the company had no drugs on the market in 2020, had revenue of $200 million and a net loss of $747 million. The Covid vaccine brought the company a turnover of 17.675 billion in 2021 and 18.435 billion in 2022 and profits of 12 billion and 8 billion dollars respectively. The results for 2023 will be released on February 22nd but Moderna has already made it known that the estimates are for sales of 6 billion, estimated to decline to 4 billion in 2024, and then return to growth in 2025 thanks to the marketing of new drugs.
The advancement of Moderna’s research
The race for acquisitions
It’s M&A time for the pharma sector, but the characteristics of the deals are no longer large marriages between the big names, but rather shopping by large multinational groups in very specific sectors. On the other hand, between now and 2030, the sector will see the expiration of a series of patents on some of the best-selling drugs, which will allow competitors to place so-called “generics” on the market at lower prices, thus affecting drug sales brand. According to EY estimates, the top 20 pharmaceutical companies have revenues of $180 billion at risk due to patent expiration between now and 2028. Many of the most important expiring drugs are biologics (such as hormones, enzymes, blood products, serums and vaccines, immunoglobulins), including Merck’s Keytruda, J&J’s Stelara and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo.
Added to this is the ongoing negotiation with the United States government, which aims to reduce the cost of medicines by up to 60% starting from 2026 and taking into account that the US market accounts for 52.3% (2022 data from Iqvia) for sales at a global level (compared to 22.4% in Europe), the price reduction will certainly have an impact on the balance sheets of large pharmaceutical groups. The latter are already taking action with price increases to anticipate the cut, so much so that in January, according to research by 46Brooklyn Research, the prices of 910 branded drugs increased by an average of 4.7% in the USA.
We therefore return to the need to diversify and above all to acquire drugs that are already at an advanced stage of research and approval. The race to conquer biopharmaceuticals has already begun in 2023: the value of the 10 main operations reached 115.8 billion dollars, exceeding the previous sums of 2022, 2021 and 2020, which amounted to 65 billion, 53 billion and 97 billion respectively. billion, according to Fierce Pharma data. A trend which is destined to be confirmed this year according to analysts, who also estimate rising multiples considering the competition between the large groups in the sector in conquering the most sought-after prey.