Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd

Roche has committed $75 million upfront for global rights to Simcere Pharmaceutical's experimental blood-cancer drug SIM0660, in a deal that could be worth up to $1.53 billion. The Swiss pharmaceuticals and diagnostics giant will gain exclusive development, manufacturing, and commercialization rights outside Simcere's retained markets, with up to $1.455 billion in potential milestone payments and tiered royalties reaching double-digit percentages. The drug remains preclinical, and Roche's upfront payment represents just 4.9% of the deal's maximum value, keeping the early financial risk low. Roche's U.S.-quoted shares fell to $53.55 on Tuesday, trading 30.01% above the GF Value of $41.19, indicating a premium valuation while the drug is far from commercialization.

The positive rate for COVID-19 tests has recently climbed to 20.3%, driving up market demand for antiviral drugs. Yet physical pharmacies are widely out of stock, with some staff even recommending anti-flu medications such as oseltamivir and baloxavir marboxil. Six domestically developed oral COVID-19 treatments have now been approved in China, including Genuine Biotech’s Jiebeian, Simcere Pharmaceutical’s Xiannuoxin, Junshi Biosciences’ Mindewei, Zonsen Pharmaceutical’s Leruiling, Cosunter’s Taizhongding, and Aisen Pharmaceutical’s Aoweining. However, multiple pharmacies reported that none of these drugs appeared in their inventories. Online platforms, by contrast, all have them available. Data from JD Pharmacy shows that transaction volumes for COVID-19 medications in July rose nearly fourfold month on month. Faced with surging demand, Simcere Pharmaceutical said it has activated an emergency production mechanism. Cosunter noted that sales of Taizhongding have increased and it will broaden hospital coverage. Junshi Biosciences has also launched an emergency plan to ensure supply. Industry insiders point out that earlier regulatory restrictions confined COVID-19 drugs mainly to hospitals and online sales, and they are calling for a reassessment of retail channel controls.