Sanofi, sixth on the market, wins a niche for the PD-1 player and the big hit, Libtayo

The new immuno-oncological drug from Sanofi and Regeneron may well be the sixth member of its class to get FDA approval, but it already has something that all its predecessors have not done: a market by itself.

On Friday, US regulators highlighted Libtayo, a PD-1 inhibitor, to treat metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCCCC) in patients who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation therapy. The disease is the second most common form of skin cancer, accounting for about 20% of all skin cancer cases in the United States, Sanofi said (PDF).

RELATED: What is the difference between Merck, Roche and Bristol-Myers I-O stars? It depends on who you ask

And not only is Libtayo the first PD-1 / PD-L1 drug to get approval for this indication, but it's the first drug, period.

With this in mind, Geoffrey Porges, an analyst at Leerink Partners, expects that "the adoption is relatively fast and a large demand for patients already diagnosed understand each other," he wrote in a note. to customers, predicting the price of Libtayo. tied with rivals at $ 12,130 a month – would treat 5,000 patients by 2021.

This is improving for Sanofi and Regeneron, which will arrive on the market behind the nemeses of the Merck & Co. class, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, AstraZeneca and a Pfizer-Merck KGaA team. The partnership between Sanofi and Regeneron is "likely to have this indication for several years at least," said Porges, adding that he hoped to see Libtayo's US revenue grow from $ 15 million this year to 600 million in 2021. billion that same year, according to his predictions.

RELATED: Can Sanofi compete in lung cancer? With I-O med cemiplimab, he aims for the third

Of course, Sanofi does not intend to keep Libtayo in a niche. Instead, he wants to jump into the fight against lung cancer as soon as possible to take a share of a very lucrative pie. According to the French drug manufacturer, Libtayo can possibly be outdistanced by two rivals, despite their beginnings.

"I think we're third behind the current leader of Merck and Opdivo, Keytruda, of Bristol-Myers Squibb," said Jorge Insuasty, senior vice president and global head of development, at a news conference this week. summer.