2014年11月17日讯 /生物谷BIOON/ --随着专利悬崖的临近，许多生物医药公司都不得不面对自己开发的畅销药物即将收到来自廉价仿制药的围攻。也正是借着这一机会，著名的私人投资公司Apollo Global Management将目光投放到这些畅销药的生产厂家。
最近有媒体透露Apollo Global Management公司向葛兰素史克公司报价30亿美元收购其一些失去专利保护的药物。这其中就包括葛兰素史克治疗抗抑郁症药物Paxi、偏头痛药物Imitrex、胃酸降低药物Zantac和晕船药物Zofran。据估计这些药物2014年总销售额接近14亿美元，但是随着仿制药对市场份额的侵蚀，这些药物的销售额必将受到严峻考验。
不过，Apollo Global Management公司可不是第一个打这个如意算盘的买家，今年八月份，著名投资公司KKR、Warburg Pincus、Blackstone Capital和Bain Capital等金主就曾计划收购葛兰素史克公司和诺华公司的相关部门并将其合并重组为一个新的生物医药公司。当然，葛兰素史克公司也有着自己的小算盘，考虑到这些药物即使失去了专利保护也会在发展中国家中的市场中占据重要地位，葛兰素史克公司保留了自己在新兴市场的相关权利。
正所谓英雄所见略同，许多医药巨头看准了一旦仿制药进入自己的领域，将会为自己的相关业务带来巨大冲击，因此都纷纷寻找潜在买家进行类似的交易。这其中就包括了雅培、强生和默沙东等生物医药公司。
而置身这一消息之中的葛兰素史克现在显然顾不上对此发表评论。公司目前正全力完成与诺华公司完成一项业务互换的协议。根据协议，诺华公司将获得葛兰素史克公司肿瘤研发部门，而葛兰素史克公司则如愿获得了诺华的疫苗业务。
详细英文报道：
GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) has long explored a sale of some $3 billion worth of its older drugs, planning to shed products by geographic region to meet buyers' interests. Now, the company could have a more enticing offer on its hands as private equity firm Apollo Global Management is planning to bid on GSK's entire portfolio of drugs, people familiar with the process toldReuters.
Last month, sources told Reuters that GSK would begin to take bids for aging products in November and that the company would hive off drugs by geographical region, reflecting the needs of buyers. Potential suitors such Denmark's Lundbeck and India's Lupin are both looking to expand in the U.S. and are also preparing for patent losses some of their top-selling products. GSK brands up for sale include the antidepressant Paxil, migraine treatment Imitrex, stomach acid-reducer Zantac and nausea fighter Zofran--drugs expected to have combined 2014 sales of around ?1 billion ($1.6 billion) but face competition from cheap generics.
As part of the deal, GSK would hold onto rights for the drugs in emerging markets, where demand for the products is still growing.
This is not the first time private equity has weighed a buyout of Big Pharma's aging meds. In August, KKR, Warburg Pincus, Blackstone Capital, Bain Capital and Apollo were also said to be eyeing GSK's and Novartis' older drugs, planning to merge the two company's portfolios into one bigger set.
Meanwhile, GSK is waiting to complete its three-part deal to sell and combine assets with Novartis ($NVS). In April, the company engineered a $20 million asset swap with the Swiss drugmaker, handing its oncology business to Novartis, snatching up the latter's vaccines unit and setting up a consumer health joint venture to market over-the-counter products with an estimated $11 billion in sales. Novartis and GSK expect to close the multipart deal sometime early next year, the companies said when the asset swap was announced.
GSK is not the only drugmaker looking to unload aging products. Abbott Laboratories ($ABT) recently sold off many of its older drugs to Mylan ($MYL) in a $5.3 billion deal, and in September AstraZeneca ($AZN) passed off 18 aging meds to specialty generics maker IGI Laboratories for $500,000 up front, plus $6 million in milestones and up to $3 million in royalties. Merck ($MRK) and Sanofi ($SNY) are also shopping around portfolios, but Sanofi's plans have stalled as top company managers could not agree on how to move forward with the sale.