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Much has been written about the emerging markets in China. While there are likely thousands of business article and white papers on China’s economic expansion, I was unable to find a single source that provided me with some vital economic and social statistics to explain China’s rise as an economic power; that is until I received OnWisconsin, a quarterly publication from my alma mater the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

An article entitled “Delicate Balance” by Jenny Price ’96 provided me with a plethora of data that cogently and expertly explained the Chinese ascendancy as an economic power. Not surprisingly, the data offered by Price was compared with economic, social and business data from the US. Some of the information was startling to say the least (bold italics); so here goes:

Urban Population

United States 82%

China 47%

Median Age

United States 36.9 years

China 35.5

Total Fertility Rate

United States 2.06 children born per woman

China 1.54 children born per woman

Infant Mortality Rate (death per 1,000 live births)

United States 6.06

China 16.06

Net Migration Rate

United States 4.18 migrants/1,000 population

China -0.33 migrants/1000 population

Largest City

United States New York/Newark 19.3 million

Shanghai 16.6 million

Imports/Exports

United States $1.903 trillion/$1.27 trillion

China $1.307 trillion/$1.506 trillion

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Sector

Agriculture

United States 1.2%

China 9.6%

Industry

United States 22.2%

China 46.8%

Services

United States 76.7%

China 43.6%

External Debt

United States $13.98 trillion

China $406.6 billion

Public Debt

United States 58.9% of GDP

China 17.5 % of GDP

Budget Revenues/Expenditures

United States $2.092 trillion/$3.397 trillion

China $1.149 trillion/$1.27 trillion

Population (2011 estimate)

United States 313,232,044

China 1,336,718,015

Literacy (ages 15 or older or can read and write)

United States 99%

China, 91.6%

Life Expectancy at Birth

United States 78.37 years

China 74.68 years

After reviewing the data, it became much more apparent to me as to why so many companies, most notably pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, are investing heavily in the Chinese market. Financial analysts predict that the Chinese pharmaceutical market will surpass the US (currently the world’s largest) by the end of the decade. That said, I think it may be time for the American public to learn more about China. Learning as much as possible about the competition is essential if you want to stay in the game.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!

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The Pharmalot blog today reported that pharma and biotech downsizing, restructuring and outsourcing have resulted in 38 manufacturing facilities in 2011. While this may not sound like a lot given the ongoing tough economy, the post reports that 65 facilities were closed in 2010. According to some estimates, these closures have resulted in the loss of roughly 18,000 life sciences manufacturing jobs in the past two years. Sadly, pharmaceutical manufacturing, like almost all other manufacturing jobs in the US are being lost at an unprecedented rate. Further, many of these manufacturing jobs are being outsourced to multinational CMOs or to manufacturing facilities being built by pharma companies in emerging markets like Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Not surprisingly, most of the 2011 closures were in the Northeast (8) resulting in the loss of roughly 1,400 jobs. And, not surprisingly again, one of the hardest hit states was New Jersey; home to almost all of the major pharmaceutical companies in the world. The next region that was hit hard is the Mid-Atlantic (7) with notable closures in Maryland (Shire Pharmaceuticals) and North Carolina (DSM Pharmaceutical Products).

Interestingly, while plant closures are on the rise, there is new manufacturing facility construction that may help to offset the losses. However, unlike the past, many of the new facilities are being financed by academic institutions and not-for-profits rather than life sciences companies. According to the post, roughly 106 new North American (not only the US) are underway and represent an investment value of $4.3 billion. The new Shire facility being constructed in Lexington, MA and the International Vaccine Center (InterVac) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan were cited as examples.

Despite the constructions of several new manufacturing facilities in North America, it is obvious that most major life sciences companies are looking South and East for future pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing capabilities. The bottom line is that labor and the cost of goods are cheaper in these markets and in contrast with the past, there are skilled workforces in place to manufacture life sciences products according to American, European and Japanese Current Good Manufacturing Practices. 

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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Merck today announced that it will establish an Asia Research and Development headquarters in Beijing, China as part of a $1.5 billion commitment the company made to invest in China over the next five years.

The new headquarters will be focused on new drug discovery and development. Merck’s Asian commercial operations (known as MSD outside of the US and Canada) are located in Shanghai, China and will remain a separate entity from the new R&D center in Beijing. In addition to these facilities, MSD possesses manufacturing capabilities at many other locations throughout China.

Merck joins a growing list of big pharma companies that are rapidly establishing R&D centers in China and other emerging markets. With this in mind, don’t expect US R&D jobs to return to the US anytime soon! Now, may be a good time for American students to reconsider an anticipated career in life sciences R&D. On the other hand, the future is bright for Chinese life sciences graduate students and postdocs who are training in the US.

While Horace Greeley may have gotten it right in his day, I think the saying “Go East young man/women” may be more apt for the 21^st century life sciences industry.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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While Samsung is mostly know for flat screen televisions and other electronic appliances, one of South Korea’s largest companies has been quietly evaluating a play in the protein engineering and manufacturing space. For those of you who may not know, Korea possesses one of Asia’s most vibrant biotechnology industries. At present, there are over 600 Korean biotechnology companies in existence. In April 2011, Samsung created a business units called Samsung Biologics which specializes in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Today, Samsung formally announced that it would create a joint venture with America’s Biogen/Idec to develop market and manufacture biosimilar molecules. Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung will invest $255 million and garner a 85% stake in the venture which will be located in South Korea. Biogen/Idec will invest $45 million for a 15% stake in the joint venture. Samsung will take a leading role in developing and marketing the joint venture’s products whereas Biogen/Idec will contribute expertise in protein engineering and biomanufacturing. The joint venture will not develop biosimilar versions of Biogen/Idec’s proprietary, branded protein-based drugs which include Avonex (MS), Rituxan (oncology) and Tysabri (MS).

Biogen/IDEC is the first “big biotech” company to jump on the biosimilar train. The company joins Merck BioVentures and Sandoz (Novartis) as major players in the biosimilar marketplace. Teva, which began looking at biosimilars about eight years ago, is also widely believed to be a biosimilar player. While the financial fate of biosimilars is still uncertain in the US, these molecules are generally perceived as having a much higher financial upside in large emerging markets such as China, Korea, Brazil and Russia which are susceptible to government pricing controls.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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While China and India have gotten the most attention as emerging pharmaceutical markets, Latin American markets most notably Mexico and Brazil (okay, it is a South American country but it can be included in Latin America) have been quietly expanding as rapidly as the Indian and Chinese markets. To wit, Denmark-based, Novo Nordisk—the world’s largest insulin maker—recently announced that it will be beefing up its medical consultant (aka sales reps) presence in Latin America over the next two to three years. During this period, the company expects to increase its current headcount of 300 to 800 employees.

Novo currently holds a 50 percent share of the Latin American insulin market. The company currently generates annual sales in Latin America of approximately $360 million. But, its main rivals Sanofi Aventis and Eli Lilly & Co, which sell faster-acting insulins, are beginning to cut into Novo’s market share.  The solution: add more sales reps in the region. While this may be great news for Latin American sales reps, it is not good news for American sales reps. Unless, of course, these reps speak Spanish and are willing to relocate!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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It seems that big pharma always waits for early Fall to announce pending job cuts. Novartis, Europe’s second largest pharmaceutical company, announced two days ago that it would eliminate 2,000 jobs mainly in the US and Switzerland but add new employees to operations in emerging markets like India and China. Novartis is just another addition to a growing list of big pharma companies that are slashing jobs in the US and Europe and hiring new employees in lower cost markets.

The announce cuts represent a 1 percent reduction in Novartis’ global workforce. The cuts will be implemented over the next three years and are predicted to save the company in excess of $200 million annually. 

According to a company spokesperson, Novartis will eliminate 1,100 jobs in Switzerland, with the balance in the U.S., Jimenez said. Some research will be moved to the U.S. from Switzerland, and reductions will be made in technical research and development, data management, clinical trial monitoring, drug safety and regulatory affairs. Novartis will add 700 positions in China and India in data management and trial monitoring.

As part of the reorganization and job cuts the company will close an over-the-counter drug manufacturing plant in Nyon, Switzerland and chemical production facilities in Basel and Torre, Italy.

The current cuts come after Novartis announced last November that it would eliminate 1400 U.S. sales jobs and more recently in March that it would reduce operations in the UK.

Although life science pundits recently suggested that job cuts in the pharmaceutical industry are slowing and may have hit rock bottom, it appears that the carnage is still taking place and will likely continue well into the future as more resources and monies are invested in emerging markets.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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I just returned from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) meeting in Washington DC where I gave three talks about biocareer development strategies. One of the talks, "Emerging Job Opportunities in the Life Sciences Industry" was reported on (see below) by a writer from Fierce Pharma.  While I don't usually "too my own horn." about my achievements, I thought a Number 2 ranking in the publications daily top 10 list was certainly worth a mention.  

 
New job opportunities emerging in Big Pharma
October 26, 2011 — 7:24am ET | By Maureen Martino

Since 2001, 300,000 pharma employees have lost their jobs, primarily in R&D and sales. That's according to Clifford Mintz, the founder of BioInsights, which develops and offers bioscience education and training. Mintz spoke at a session on new job opportunities in biotech and pharma at the annual AAPS meeting in Washington, D.C. While the losses have been steep, they're balanced by emerging, in-demand careers in the industry.

The industry's struggles are well-known: Many companies are facing loss of exclusivity on their biggest sellers but have little in the pipeline to pick up the slack. Productivity is dropping as the cost of bringing a new drug to market soars. Government and payors want more effective drugs for less money. The list goes on.

Developers are looking to new markets and new technologies to address these issues. But how do these trends play out for the pharma job seeker? Many people, particularly Ph.D.s, may have to consider getting additional training if they want to land their dream job. "Companies used to be willing to just hire smart people. But with the economic downturn and global competition, companies can no longer afford to invest in people who have promise. They need to see proven skills," Mintz explained. With the right blend of skills and experience, however, there still some pharma jobs that are in demand.

Clinical Research and Regulatory Affairs

"Clinical research is the lifeblood of the industry," Mintz said. As developers expand in emerging markets, there's a particular demand for people to manage and organize overseas clinical trials. "There's a huge need for clinical research professionals worldwide," he said, noting that most Phase I and II trials are conducted outside of the U.S.

Another one of the industry's perennial needs is regulatory affairs professionals. "Regulatory affairs experience is a skill that all companies large and small would die to get their hands on," explained Mintz. The increasingly complex and uncertain world of FDA regulation--particularly when it comes to new technology and science--means that companies are always on the prowl for individuals with solid regulatory knowledge and ability to interact with the FDA. You can read more about the demand for clinical research and regulatory affairs jobs here.

Biomanufacturing

The pharma industry's interest in biologics remains strong--just look at Sanofi's buyout of Genzyme, or Roche's purchase of Genentech. They're lured by disease-altering biologics that are less likely to face generic competition than traditional drugs. As a result, there's been increased demand for professionals who can navigate the complex world of biomanufacturing. Those with a background in upstream and downstream processes, large-scale protein purification, fermentation technology and bioengineering can make the transition to biomanufacturing.

Healthcare Information Technology

The rise of bioinformatics and genomics coupled with the push for electronic medical records has created jobs in healthcare information technology. Health informatics--the intersection of healthcare and IT--is ideal for people with expertise in genomics, bioinformatics or software that understand how to work with and manipulate large data sets and databases. The Obama administration has made EHRs a priority, and there's a need for software engineers and biologists who are comfortable working with medical information.

Medical Devices

"The medical devices industry has been experiencing explosive growth for the past decade," Mintz said. Regulatory hurdles in the medical device industry are much lower than they are for biologics or small molecules, making the industry a more stable alternative to biotech and pharma. The demand for devices, which address problems that can't be treated with medicine, will continue to grow as the population ages. Job seekers with strong backgrounds in bioinformatics, genomics, engineering and translational medicine are best suited to this field.

Medical Communications

Medical communications--which includes medical writing, editing, graphic design and science journalism--continues to boom. The demand for these jobs has risen because companies need a slew of communication materials to send to patients, physicians, researchers, investigators and the general public about their products and business.

Patent Law and Technology Transfer

Recent changes to U.S. patent laws have increased the demand for patent agents and patent attorneys in the life sciences field. Pharma's growing reliance on basic research from learning institutions means that there's a need for technology transfer experts. These experts manage the patent estate and intellectual property of universities and colleges that may engage in licensing deals with the industry. A law degree is a must to compete in this field.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!
 

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British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca today announced that it would invest $200 million into a new manufacturing facility located in China Medical City in Jiangsu province in Eastern China. This is the company’s largest global investment ever in a single manufacturing facility. The new plant which will be completed by 2013 will manufacture intravenous and oral solid drugs. 

AstraZeneca was one of the first Western pharmaceutical companies to establish a presence in China (1993) and has fast become one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in the country doing about $1.0 billion in business annually. 

Many of Astra Zeneca’s competitors including Novartis, Roche, Merck & Co. and others have also recently made large investments into Chinese R&D and manufacturing facilities. If this doesn’t eliminate anyone’s doubt that pharma is shifting its focus from the West to emerging markets, I am not sure what will!!! While this shift may be bad news for American life scientist seeking employment, it is certainly welcome news for Chinese Nationals who received their life sciences training in the US and other Western nations.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (there are openings in China!!!!!!)

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By now, most BioJobBlog readers have heard that China is poised to become a world leader in the life sciences. As some of you may already know, over 80 per cent of the worlds active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are used to produce FDA-approved medicines are synthesized in China and exported to manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Further, not a day goes bye without a press release about a new partnership forged between multinational life sciences companies and a Chinese partner. Finally, the Chinese government is heavily investing in the life science industry in an attempt to manufacture medicines for internal use and to export. 

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Chinese life sciences companies are hiring. One such company is ShangPharma Corporation. ShangPharma was established in 2002 and has locations in Chengdu and Shanghai, China. It is one of China’s largest contract research organizations and employs over 1,600 persons. The company offers discovery and preclinical development services in both chemistry and biology including API and biologics manufacturing. 

The company is currently looking for a person with a PhD or Masters degree with expertise in CNS and/or cognitive subhuman primates (cymologous and/or rhesus monkeys) models. This is a Group Leader position and the ideal candidate will have a background in pharmacology and neurosurgery. Strong communication skills and the ability to speak and write reports in English are required. Please click here for more information or to apply for the position.

While working in China may not be the first choice for most Americans, it may be ideal for foreign students who trained in the US and have a good command of the English language. Whether you are Chinese or American, a sobering fact to remember is that almost 300,000 American pharmaceutical employees have lost their jobs since 2001; making this one of the worst life sciences job markets in history!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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The US is slipping and emerging markets are growing in competitiveness according to an annual list compiled by the World Economic Forum. Perhaps even more troubling is that the same group found that the US is lagging in the adoption of internet, computing and mobile communication technologies. After all, adopting of new technologies has been widely viewed as a means to improve competitiveness.

According to the report, the US, which topped the list in 2008, slid from number 4 last year to number 5. Surprisingly, for the third year in a row, Switzerland ranked first. The list is compiled by assessing 12 categories that include innovation, infrastructure and the world economy. The fact that many EU countries continue to improve in their ability to compete on a global scale, suggests that socialist-leaning governments may not be as bad as many free market US zealots would have you believe!

Singapore replaced Sweden for the number 2 position in this year’s list. Behind Sweden (no. 3), Finland was ranked fourth, and Germany was ranked sixth. Germany was followed by the Netherlands and Denmark. The UK was 10, France was 18^th and China moved up one place to 26 this year. Among other major Asian economies, Japan ranked ninth and Hong Kong 11^th. 

Among other major emerging economies, South Africa was 50^th, Brazil 53^rd, India 56^th and Russia 66^th.

The weaker performance of the US was attributed to economic vulnerabilities and low public trust in politicians and concerns about government inefficiency. The loss of US competitive coupled with fewer students opting for careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and poorer adoption rates of new technologies suggests that the US decline will continue.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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A report in Bloomberg News today suggested that Eli Lilly & Co. Chief Executive Officer John Lechleiter, PhD told a technology conference today that unfavorable US permanent resident (green card) laws are to blame for declining US innovation in the life sciences. With this in mind, Lechleiter plans on calling for US immigration officials to issue more green cards and adopt a shorter and simpler process for highly skilled foreign nationals to gain permanent residence in the US. According to Dr. Lechleiter, one of only a handful of big pharma CEO who is also a PhD-trained scientist, current green card regulations are so-called job killers and force many talented foreign nationals to return to their native countries to work with firms that directly compete with American life sciences companies. Unlike most of his peers, Lechleiter has been very outspoken about the lack of US life sciences innovation.

While Lechleiter comments may have been appropriate five or more years ago, they are no longer germane to America’s waning innovation in the life sciences. There is little doubt that many bright and talented foreign nationals were denied permanent residency during the Bush era (2000 to 2008) because of stringent immigration policies and limits on the numbers of green cards allotted for persons from certain parts of the world; mainly China, India and the Middle East. This, in turn, forced many life scientists—many of whom desperately wanted permanent residency in the US—to return to their home countries to look for work and gainful employment.

As Lechleiter rightly asserts, these scientists found work with companies that began to directly compete with US life sciences. This phenomenon, coupled with the rapid assent of the middle class in many of these nations, made it possible to begin to conduct Western style research at a much lower costs in these countries. To that end, by 2007, most big pharma companies—many of whom had dwindling pipelines and monstrous overhead costs—realized that it would be more cost effective to outsource or move R&D to countries with emerging pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets and a well trained R&D workforce. And, for the past four years downsizing and outsourcing of R&D are exactly what have been taking place at many American big pharma and biotechnology companies.

In my opinion, the larger question that must be addressed, as far as US innovation in the life sciences is concerned is: why are so few Americans willing to pursue scientific careers? To wit, the main reason why so many foreign life scientists were educated and trained in the US over the past 20 years was because there weren’t enough American students to fill the incoming roster at most American graduate training programs. Put simply, America’s growing lack of innovation in the life sciences over the past decade can be directly attributed to far fewer Americans pursuing scientific careers and an increased reliance on foreign nationals—who were unable to stay in the US—to innovate! While changing US immigration laws may allow some foreign nationals to more easily remain in the US, there simply aren’t enough life sciences jobs left in the US to make it worth their while! In fact, the likelihood of them finding life sciences jobs in their home countries is now greater than it is in the US. In my opinion, the only way to restore American innovation in the life sciences is to convince American students that pursuing scientific careers is worthwhile and that the requisite training for industry jobs is available to them.

Interestingly, after leading with changes to US immigration laws, Lechleiter also suggested that America’s innovation problem could be solved by lowering US corporate tax rates and American companies should not be forced to pay taxes on oversea earnings. Also, he asserted that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should stop putting off decisions or erring on the side of avoiding risk when considering new drug applications. 

This begs the questions, how do lower taxes, no overseas taxes and expedited drug approvals help to spur American innovation when most life sciences R&D is conducted outside of the US?

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Innovating!!!!!!!!

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Not too long ago, the mere mention of the word “vaccine” caused most big pharma executives to break out into a cold sweat. Once derided as low margin products and potential market busters—once most populations are immunized the incidence of disease declines and the market begins to falter—vaccines, primarily pediatric ones, have made a huge comeback over the last five years. 

One of the main reasons for the resurgence of the vaccine industry, was passage of US legislation that better-defined the legal obligations of vaccine makers and inclusion in the legislation of provisions that cap the size of awards made to persons claiming injury after vaccination. Another factor that contributed to the growing popularity of vaccines was emergence of the middle class in vast and concomitant improves in the healthcare systems of emerging markets that include South America, Asia and Africa. Unlike the mature vaccine markets in the US, Europe and Japan (because of low birthrates), the Asian, Latin American and African markets are poised for explosive growth over the next two decades.

In a recent article entitled “Vaccines-The Sustainable Blockbuster Business” Frost and Sullivan’s Senior Healthcare Analyst Barath Shankar Subramanian provides some interesting and insightful factoids about the vaccine industry. They are:

Pediatric vaccines are leading adult vaccines and represent the fastest growing segment of the global vaccine market

Europe is the world’s leading vaccine producer with over 90% of total production

The top five vaccine manufacturers (all big pharma companies) produce more than four-fifths of global vaccine revenues while other manufacturers (approximately 40) account for only one-fifth.

The North American market accounts for over 50 percent of the total spend on vaccines

North America and Europe supply only 14 percent of the world’s vaccine demand; the rest is met by suppliers in developing markets

Government investment, not-for-profit spending and industry alliances/ partnerships, in addition to private R&D spending, are helping to drive the current resurgence of the global vaccine industry

At present, there no fewer than 80 new candidates in late stage clinical development. Further, almost 40 per cent of the new vaccine candidates are for indications that currently have no vaccines on the market.  Finally, improvements in vaccine delivery are helping to drive the improved uptake of vaccines. For example, aerosols, transdermal skin patches, oral drops and even pills—all designed to eliminate needles and improve patient compliance and overcome cold chain supply issues are currently being developed.

From a business perspective—as far as sustainable markets go—the pediatric segment of the vaccine market is a clear winner. Currently, the leading global causes of vaccine-preventable, deaths for children under five include: pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, measles, Hemophilus influenzae b (Hib) infections, pertussis and tetanus. To that end, it is likely that governments in emerging markets will continue to add existing and new vaccines to government-mandated immunization programs. This is almost certain to propel the vaccine market to new heights over the next 10 years or more.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (think biologics!)

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While R&D scientists and sales representatives continue to struggle to find jobs in the US at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the competition is fierce to hire and retain pharma employees in emerging markets like China and India. Earlier this week, I posted a piece on big pharma’s continuing expansion of its R&D activities in Asia and the growing need for US-trained PhDs in this region. However, it appears that hiring and retaining pharma sales reps is a bigger problem in China and India for big pharma companies like GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi-Aventis (SA) and Pfizer.

According to a recent article in Bloomberg News about 20 percent of GSK’s sales forces in both countries quits each year in favor of better offers from its rivals including Pfizer and SA. One GSK executive quipped “There’s a huge war for talent. It’s hard to do anything about. If you have a good person, they could find someone else willing to pay twice as much.” This is in marked contrast with the US where almost 100,000 pharma sales reps may have lost jobs over the past five years.

Emerging Asia Pacific markets accounted for roughly 17 percent of GSK’s sales in 2010 as compared with 18 percent for Pfizer and 30 percent for SA. Sales revenues for most major pharmaceutical companies declined in both the US and Europe last year. There is no question that big pharma is turning to emerging markets as a means to maintain and increase sales of drugs after patents expire and generic competition cuts into revenue. Sales in emerging markets are predicted to reach about $400 billion by 2020 which is equivalent to the current size of the US and the five biggest European markets combined!

By its own admission, GSK was “fairly late” in their investments in China and may explain why the company may be experiencing trouble with competing for talent in that market. Employment opportunities in emerging markets will likely resemble those in the late 1990s in the US and Europe, when there was a dearth of talents life sciences professionals and companies were willing to pay large salaries (regardless of whether or not job candidates were qualified) to employees to maintain operations. This trend is driving up labor costs in China and interestingly, China is beginning to outsource work to Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore where labor and raw materials costs are less expensive.

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (Go East Young Man and Woman)

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While India and China have been getting much of the attention and press over the past few years, Latin America is quietly become a market to watch for the life sciences industry.  According to industry analysts,the Brazilian pharmaceutical market has been growing at a rate of about 12 percent per year and is expected to be the world's fifth-largest pharmaceutical market by 2015.

A number of companies have been doing deal in Latin America mainly in Mexico and Brazil. Late last week, Amgen announced that it had purchased the privately-held Brazilian company Bergamo for about $215 million. As part of the transaction Amgen had reacquired marketing rights in the country to several Amgen products. Also, Amgen also agreed with Hypermarcas, a maker of personal hygiene products, to reacquire Brazilian rights to several products, including its Vectibix cancer drug.

Bergamo, which had $80 million in revenue last year, supplies medicines to the Brazilian hospital sector and has capabilities in oncology. Amgen, which is acting more and more like a pharmaceutical company rather than a biotechnology company, has clearly signaled its intention to take advantage of opportunities in emerging markets in BRIC (Brazil, China, India and China) counties.

Amgen has been struggling of late and its drug development pipeline, like many of its pharmaceutical rivals, has grown thin over the past decade.  Don't be surprised if Amgen is the next biotechnology company to be purchased by a big pharma company.  Merck's intention to enter into the biosimilar and biomanufacturing sectors suggest that Merck may be a likely suitor to gain control of the EPO and Neupogen franchises as well as Amgen's stake in the Enbrel market.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Brazil)

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The German drug maker Bayer today announced that it plans to eliminate 4,500 jobs by 2012. Of the 4,500 positions to be cut, roughly 1,700 will be eliminated in Germany. Interestingly, during the same period, Bayer plans on creating 2,500 new jobs in “emerging markets;” yet another sign that big pharma is betting on translating the explosive growth of these markets into large profits.

While pharma’s interest in emerging markets may be good for the workers who live in these regions, it has been disastrous for scientists and sales personnel in developed markets like the US and Europe. To date, almost 200,000 pharmaceutical and biotechnology employees have lost their jobs since 2007.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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Merck & Co today announced that is reached an agreement with Sinopharm Group Co Ltd one of China’s largest biopharmaceutical companies to market its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil and other protein-based products in China. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, it is Merck’s first attempt to expand its vaccine and biotechnology business in the rapidly emerging Chinese biopharmaceutical market. Merck, like many other American pharmaceutical companies, now recognize that a Chinese marketing and distribution partner is required to successfully penetrate and compete in China.

Like other big pharma companies, Merck recognizes that its future growth lies in making inroads into emerging markets like Asia, Africa and South America.  Merck executives project that more than 25 percent of the companies pharmaceutical and vaccine sales will come from emerging markets by 2013 (currently 17 percent of revenues are derived from emerging markets). Last May, Merck indicated that it already had 3,000 sales representatives in China which represents a 90 percent increase since 2007.

Cancer is a major problem in China and it is putting a lot of financial pressure on the Chinese government. Moreover, the cervical cancer rate is inordinately high in China mainly because there is no formal screening program similar to those found in the US and Europe. 

Interestingly, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) types that cause cervical and other cancers in China are somewhat different than those that cause disease in Western countries. For example in addition to HPV 16 and HPV 18, HPV 58, 52 and 33 have also been associated with a high incidence of cervical cancer in China. This suggests that Merck will have to reformulate Gardasil (which contains HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18) to be effective for the Chinese market.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!! (try China)

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Astellas, Japan’s second largest pharmaceutical company, yesterday announced that it will hire at least 300 new pharma sales reps in China as part of its ambitious plan to increase its global revenue stream by 17 per cent over the next five years.

Documents released by the company indicate that it expects sales to double in China by March, 2015 emphasizing the fact that emerging markets will likely drive the future growth of the pharmaceutical industry. Astellas hopes to expand the indications for Prograf, its top selling organ transplantation medication to include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus nephritis, ulcerative colitis and myasthenia gravis.

Earlier this month, Astellas revealed that it would purchase NY-based OSI pharmaceuticals for $4.0 billion. The purchase will provide Astellas with its first approved cancer drug (OSI’s Tarceva) and allow Astellas to establish a firmer footing in the US pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets.

Total worldwide net sales of Tarceva for 2009, were approximately $1.2 billion and OSI's share of those revenues were $359 million. In the first quarter of 2010, Tarceva sales grew 10%

While hiring 300 reps in China may be good for the Chinese economy, the OSI deal will likely result in job cuts and further exacerbate the growing unemployment rate in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania region.

Unlike the US, there seems to be a growing need for pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D and sales employees in China and other parts of Asia. To that end, I hear that Beijing and Shanghai are lovely this time of year!!!!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting !!!!!!!!

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It is no secret that growth of the pharmaceutical industry has slowed to single digits in the past five years or more. In fact, many experts don’t expect there to be double digit growth in this sector for a long time. Instead, future robust growth of the pharmaceutical industry is expected to take place in emerging markets including India, China, Brazil, South Africa and others. This is because the economies of these countries are booming and the middle class in these nations continues to rapidly grow. 

While branded prescriptions drugs once dominated Western markets, it is likely that generics or branded generic products will be the major players in emerging markets. Because of this, big pharma companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Daiichi Sankyo and most recently Abbott Laboratories have either purchased or crafted large marketing deals with smaller regional drug manufacturers.

Daiichi Sankyo paid $4.0 billion in 2008 for a major share of India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories and GlaxoSmithKline earlier this year acquired exclusive rights to over 100 products produced by Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, another Indian drug maker with a broad reach in emerging markets.

Today, Abbott Laboratories announced that it would purchase the healthcare business of Piramal Healthcare Ltd, one of India’s largest purveyors of branded generics for $3.72 billion. When the deal closes, Abbott will inherit the rights to about 350 brands and trademarks and a manufacturing plant in northern India. Also, Piramal agreed to a six year non-compete agreement for branded generics. The remaining parts of Piramal include a custom manufacturing business, over-the-counter products, vitamins, diagnostic devices and Piramal Life Sciences a drug discovery company.

The company, which has India’s largest sales force, would become a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories and employ about 7,500 workers. Last week, Abbott said it would license at least 24 products from Zydus Cadila to sell in emerging markets. Analysts estimate that emerging markets account for 20 percent of Abbott’s business. The Piramal and Zydus Cadila deals suggest that Abbott maybe the company to reckon with in emerging markets in India and elsewhere.

 Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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Until recently, there was little or no mention of business activity within the emerging Chinese life sciences industry. However, as the Chinese middle class continues to grow, the need and demand for pharmaceutical and biotechnology drugs (including vaccines and other biologics continues) to grow at a frenetic pace. Further, a growing abundance of US-trained scientists has allowed the Chinese life science industry to develop much more quickly than anticipated. Also, many major pharmaceutical companies like Merck, Roche and Novartis have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in China and have already established world class Chinese R&D facilities. Finally, unlike in most Western countries, the Chinese government controls roughly 80% of the pharmaceutical and biologics manufacturing that takes place in China. Together, this suggests that China has quietly established itself as a life sciences power to be reckoned with! To that end, there were two reports that came across the transom this morning that piqued my interest. 

The first report was about a company called Lotus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

"Lotus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a growing developer and producer of prescription drugs and licensed national seller of pharmaceutical products in the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), reported the groundbreaking ceremony on March 9 to construct a new building complex on the grounds of its production facility in Beijing.

Officials of Beijing municipal and Chaoyang district governments, officers of the China State Food & Drug, and representatives of both state-owned and private pharmaceutical companies attended the ceremony. CEO, Zhongyi Liu, welcomed the guests. "After a year of planning, we are pleased to start the construction of the new building complex and expect to finish the construction by July, interior decoration by September and GMP certification by December of this year," he said. "This is a new page for Lotus' development and it will provide important impetus to profitable growth, which is anticipated to reach $150 million in annual sales during the first year after the facility, is fully operational."

The second reported on plans to build a venture-back, “private” contract manufacturing facility that specializes in biomanufacturing in metropolitan Beijing.

"AutekBio, Inc., SUMA Ventures and Beijing E-Town Harvest International Capital Management Corporation, a venture capital group from Beijing Municipal Government announced a joint investment of more than US$100m to develop a new contract manufacturing organization (CMO) for biopharmaceutical industry in China. This joint effort led by AutekBio represents strong interests from both private investment sector and government to establish world quality capability and capacity in biopharmaceutical manufacturing in China.

The new joint venture will build up a world class R&D and manufacturing center in southern Beijing to service international biologic developments, with combined volumes of bioreactors up to 20,000 liters in multiple production lines (trains). The firm will also benefit from financial, regulatory and other supports from the Chinese government for the biotech industry." 

It is becoming increasingly apparent that China has clearly set its sights on establishing itself as player on the global life sciences stage. After spending a week in China during the country’s preparation for the Beijing Games, I discovered that China can achieve any goal that it sets for itself in very short order.  

Until next time...  

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try China)!!!!!! 

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From time to time, I come across some interesting facts and statistics that are worth noting. This month’s issue of Pharmaceutical Technology Europe offered several things that were blog-worthy. Here they are: 

• IMS Health has readjusted the growth of the pharmaceutical industry in 2009 from 4.5-5.5% to 2.5-3.6% with sales expected to exceed $820 billion
• The size of the US pharmaceutical market is expected to contract by 1-2% in 2009
• Emerging markets like China, India and Brazil are expected to contribute to more than half of the global market growth in 2009 and sustain an average growth rate of 40% by 2013
• The size of the Middle East pharmaceutical market is predicted to exceed $18 billion by 2014

As one industry analyst put it “This high level of growth in emerging markets, combined with the contraction of the US market and ongoing low single-digit growth in other developed markets, is driving the pharmaceutical market to a new world order.” If I had money, I would be investing in generic pharmaceutical companies and follow-on biologic manufacturers!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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According to a recent report from the consulting firm Ernst and Young, cost cutting and downsizing are no longer the primary objectives for most pharmaceutical companies. Instead, they are mulling over the new challenges that universal health care may bring and how to better reach consumers in emerging markets. 

In a recent interview, Carolyn Buck Luce, one of the paper’s co-authors said “in our previous report, cost containment was one of the most important initiatives. In this report we found more of a balanced approach where optimizing cost was [just] one the many objectives. Only 40 percent of the executives said optimizing costs was their most important initiative, compared to a similar study in 2007 where 92 percent of those surveyed ranked cost reduction as their main initiative. In the latest survey, 66 percent of executives said the most important strategic initiative was reinvigorating the R&D pipeline, while 40 percent said expanding into new markets and restructuring their marketing and sales programs to become more customer-centric were their main areas of focus. “

One of the most telling quotes in the piece is: “There was an awful lot of focus on costs a year ago, when companies realized there was a lot of fat in their companies and a lot of opportunity to cut costs.” Does that mean that pharma really didn’t have to lay off tens of thousands of employees over the past year? It kind of makes you wonder doesn’t it? And, if you believe that pharma is truly finished with downsizing--would you be interested in a great deal on some land in Florida?

Until next time…

Good Luck and Try to Hang On to Your Job!!!!!!!!

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