In a final gesture that closes the books on its attempt to become a “pure-play” biosimilar company, Coherus Biosciences has sold off its pegfilgrastim franchise–its last biosimilar asset–to Intas Pharmaceuticals for $558 million.
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise, in that much of the company’s hopes were staked on the revenues to be gained by the introduction of the Udenyca On-Body Injector (OBI). Yet supply issues involving a third-party supplier delayed these aspirations. Still, Coherus had some measure of success in the pegfilgrastim category, achieving a 28% market share. Demand for the OBI formulation was growing, despite limited revenues.
The company had announced third-quarter earnings for the Udenyca franchise of $66 million, an increase of 30% over the previous quarter. However, Denny Lanfear, CEO of Coherus, was determined to redirect the company’s resources towards marketing its PD-1 product for oncology indications and on a pipeline of innovator products.
In a press release, Mr. Lanfear said, “The proposed divestiture of Udenyca represents the successful execution of our strategy to focus R&D and commercial resources on Coherus’ innovative immuno-oncology portfolio and to strengthen our financial position.” Coherus had sold off its ranibizumab biosimilar (Cimerli) to Sandoz and its adalimumab biosimilar (Yusimry) to Meitheal Pharmaceuticals. The company’s stock, which was trading at more than $22 in 2019, has slipped to less than $2 (albeit with a 25%+ jump at the latest news).
The acquisition bolsters Intas’ (and its specialty division Accord Biopharma’s) biosimilar portfolio, Chrys Kokino, US President of Accord, stated, “By adding UDENYCA to our growing portfolio of biosimilars, we will strengthen our business footprint in the U.S. With an expanding presence in the market, we can fuel the internal innovation and external expansion needed to deliver more accessible treatment options to patients.”
According to Accord Biopharma, the acquisition should close in the first quarter of 2025, and the company will absorb some Coherus employees working on the Udenyca franchise. Accord currently has two FDA-approved biosimilars: trastuzumab (Hercessi) and ustekinumab (Imuldosa). Both are expected to be marketed in the first half of 2025.
