Glenmark sets its sights on becoming a hybrid company
After focusing on the generics market, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, whose U.S. headquarters are in Mahwah, N.J., is looking to expand its scope.
“Our strategic platform has three pillars: to continue to get new product approvals for generics, to get into more complex generic drugs and develop our own innovative pipeline to bring our own branded products to market eventually,” said Glenmark’s president of North American and global API Robert Matsuk. “We are evolving into a hybrid pharmaceutical company. Today our core business is generics, and we’re evolving our R&D on the innovative side in three core areas: dermatology, oncology and respiratory.”
Historically, Glenmark brought novel research and development molecules to a specific point in the development cycle and out-licensed them. “Our current plan is to consider bringing at least some of these all the way through to approval and build our own branded commercial organization on some of those novel assets,” Matsuk said.
The mid-tier generic company has 138 ANDAs on the market today and another 62 waiting for FDA approval.
Matsuk also envisions that based on IQVIA data, which shows the number of specialty pharmacy products brought to market is increasing, more generic companies will get into those products when patents expire.
“While some products will go through a specialty pharmacy distribution channel, community pharmacy is going to continue to be a major channel, and the reimbursement landscape will be similar,” he said. “Some products, such as biosimilars could be administered in a physician’s office and not go through a traditional retail pharmacy. Pharmacies tend to make better percentage margins on generic products than on branded products.”
Matsuk emphasized that its generics business will continue to be a combination of high-volume oral solid products and niche products. “How we’re evolving ourselves as a company is becoming a hybrid model, and getting into the innovative space from an R&D and commercialization perspective,” Matsuk said. “We’re a strong derma company, and our generics will continue to increase our presence there. Evolving our generics portfolio into a more complex portfolio will be significant for us as we move forward.”
“Our strategic platform has three pillars: to continue to get new product approvals for generics, to get into more complex generic drugs and develop our own innovative pipeline to bring our own branded products to market eventually,” said Glenmark’s president of North American and global API Robert Matsuk. “We are evolving into a hybrid pharmaceutical company. Today our core business is generics, and we’re evolving our R&D on the innovative side in three core areas: dermatology, oncology and respiratory.”
Historically, Glenmark brought novel research and development molecules to a specific point in the development cycle and out-licensed them. “Our current plan is to consider bringing at least some of these all the way through to approval and build our own branded commercial organization on some of those novel assets,” Matsuk said.
The mid-tier generic company has 138 ANDAs on the market today and another 62 waiting for FDA approval.
Matsuk also envisions that based on IQVIA data, which shows the number of specialty pharmacy products brought to market is increasing, more generic companies will get into those products when patents expire.
“While some products will go through a specialty pharmacy distribution channel, community pharmacy is going to continue to be a major channel, and the reimbursement landscape will be similar,” he said. “Some products, such as biosimilars could be administered in a physician’s office and not go through a traditional retail pharmacy. Pharmacies tend to make better percentage margins on generic products than on branded products.”
Matsuk emphasized that its generics business will continue to be a combination of high-volume oral solid products and niche products. “How we’re evolving ourselves as a company is becoming a hybrid model, and getting into the innovative space from an R&D and commercialization perspective,” Matsuk said. “We’re a strong derma company, and our generics will continue to increase our presence there. Evolving our generics portfolio into a more complex portfolio will be significant for us as we move forward.”