On June 27, Coherus Biosciences announced the sale of Yusimry, its low-concentration biosimilar of adalimumab, to a Chinese company for $40 million.
The buyer’s US subsidiary, Meitheal Pharmaceuticals, will take over all US commercial activities after the purchase of Yusimry. According to Meitheal’s press release, they expect “additional indications, including a high-concentration formulation, to be approved in 2025.” This would require some level of research and development expertise, but are they up to it?
Who Is Meitheal Pharmaceuticals?
Owned by Hong Kong King-Friend, Meitheal is based in Chicago, and is developing a stable of biosimilars. It was founded in 2017. On its website, it lists the insulin products glargine, aspart, and lispro, all in phase 1 development. In addition, MAB-22, a denosumab biosimilar, is currently the subject of a phase 1 trial, due to be completed July 2025.
The company earns its keep currently by manufacturing and commercializing 30 injectable generic medications. Judging from today’s portfolio, Meitheal’s salesforce is focused on hospitals and health systems. The company is seeking to expand its “biosimilar pipeline to 10 by the end of 2024.”
Based on the new acquisition and its plans for substantial growth, the company will need to broaden its reach to the payer and pharmacy benefit managers.
Where Does This Leave Coherus?
As reported previously, Coherus has just the pegfilgrastim products left in its biosimilar franchise. Earlier this year, it sold its stake in its ranibizumab biosimilar Cimerli® to Sandoz, and it had signaled the desire to sell off its adalimumab biosimilar, which had been underperforming (by a lot). Udenyca® prefilled syringe, autoinjector, and on-body injector are the company’s mainstays, outside of existing branded product Loqtorzi®, a PD-1 inhibitor, and its desire to work with novel therapies.
“With the divesture of Yusimry, Coherus reinforces its strategic focus on oncology,” said Denny Lanfear, Coherus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The proceeds from the sale of Yusimry will bolster our cash position, advance our efforts to become a sustainable and growing oncology company, and efficiently allocate our resources for maximum value creation.”
We can’t predict whether Meitheal can make a successful run with Yusimry in the current US market. The competition is brutal and biosimilars in general are still wholly underutilized. However, we expect that other companies with limited ability to cut deals or with limiting drug characteristics to exit this market, which cannot sustain the 10+ individual agents currently available
