From Today's Times Newspaper13 Jun 2017 08:35
Drug development is all about pushing boundaries, and that is the case at Hutchison China Meditech, or Chi-Med, as it is known. The Shanghai-based pharmaceuticals company, whose biggest shareholder is Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Group, is on the verge of launching the first mainstream drug developed in China from design to production.
Fruquintinib, a potential treatment for various cancers, has been in development for about a decade.
The drug passed a major milestone in March when Chi-Med unveiled positive phase III trial results for patients with advanced colorectal cancer, which was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual gathering in Chicago last week.
Yesterday, as expected, Chi-Med submitted its application to market the drug to the China Food and Drug Administration, triggering a $4.5 million milestone payment from Eli Lilly, the US pharmaceutical group and Chi-Med’s partner on the drug. The regulatory process takes about 12 months but there are hopes Chi-Med will secure it sooner, given the attention that the drug has received and its significance to the international standing of China’s pharmaceutical industry.
If Chi-Med launches the drug next year, as the market is forecasting, the opportunity is significant.
Colorectal is the second most common cancer type in China, with about 380,0000 new cases a year, according to the national central cancer registry. Analysts at Stifel are pencilling in sales of $300 million to $400 million a year in China.
The company also has a marketing and distribution platform which sells prescription and over-the-counter medicines and provides a launch pad to take its drug pipeline to market.
Globally there are about 1.4 million new cases a year and the price would probably be higher in the US, where Chi-Med is also carrying out clinical trials and is targeting phase III results in a couple of years.
With eight drug candidates in 30 clinical trials, including savolitinib, a cancer treatment being developed with Astrazeneca, the bulls have been grabbing the stock by the horns. Shares have rallied about 60 per cent over the past 12 months and remain close to March’s peak.
MY ADVICE Buy
WHY Shares have eased off record highs, but the pipeline is slowly delivering
Here's the link to the article for those with a subscription:-
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chi-med-on-way-to-break-out-of-china-k7x6kf9zf
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