Pfizer, which had a revenue of more than 100 billion US dollars, is now targeting the tumor field as it seeks new growth points in its performance after COVID-19's business dividend has declined. The Chinese market has always been one of Pfizer's strategic key markets globally, and the company is expanding its oncology business in China.
Recently, Wang Yu, vice president of Pfizer China and general manager of tumor business department, said in an exclusive interview with China Business News that in the past 35 years, the company has brought 15 tumor products to Chinese patients, covering lung cancer, breast cancer, urinary system tumors, blood tumors, digestive system tumors and other fields. Pfizer China's goal is to launch more than 15 new products or indications in the field of oncology in China by 2030. This means that new drugs launched in China should be developed, submitted, and marketed in sync with the global market as much as possible.
In 2022, with COVID-19 vaccine and COVID-19 oral medicine selling well, Pfizer will become the world's first pharmaceutical enterprise with a revenue of 100 billion dollars. However, since 2023, the demand for COVID-19 products has been greatly reduced after the COVID-19 has become normalized. In 2023, Pfizer achieved a global revenue of 58.5 billion yuan, of which the revenue from its oncology business was 11.6 billion US dollars.
During this year, Pfizer spent a whopping $43 billion to acquire Seagen, an antibody conjugated drug (ADC) pharmaceutical company. Starting from the end of this year, Pfizer began to reorganize its oncology business and established a global oncology division.
Pfizer Global set a goal during its Oncology Innovation Day at the beginning of this year, stating that it will launch at least 8 heavyweight anti-tumor products by 2030, with new oncology products accounting for two-thirds of the total revenue of its oncology business. The company will focus on three core technology platforms in the field of oncology, including small molecule drugs, antibody conjugated drugs, bispecific antibodies, and other immunotherapies; It will focus more on major cancers, including breast cancer, urogenital system cancer, blood tumor, chest cancer and head and neck cancer.
After the global adjustment, Pfizer China's oncology business also welcomed a new leader, and Wang Yu returned to Pfizer in this wave of adjustment.
She stated that Pfizer has accumulated a lot in the research and development of targeted drugs in the past. With the cooperation with high-tech platforms such as Seagen, the company is developing the next generation ADC technology platform, aiming to find new targets and differentiated carriers, and explore innovative biologics and new drug combinations. The company hopes to launch ADC drugs in the future that can more accurately attack corresponding tumor cells, reduce adverse reactions, bring more benefits to patients, and help patients achieve high-quality long-term survival.
In Wang Yu's view, China's cancer prevention and treatment still faces many unmet needs. She cited lung cancer as an example. Although the survival rate of lung cancer in China has greatly improved, there is still a long way to go before the main goal of "achieving a 5-year overall cancer survival rate of 46.6% by 2030" in the "Healthy China Action - Cancer Prevention and Control Action Implementation Plan (2023-2030)". Lung cancer still ranks first in the incidence rate and mortality of malignant tumors in China.
"The incidence rate of lung cancer in China is very high. Every year, the number of new lung cancer patients in the world is nearly 2.5 million, and the number of lung cancer patients in China has reached 1.06 million. From this perspective, the number of lung cancer patients in China is very large, and lung cancer is also a key disease field that Pfizer is deeply cultivating in China. Our third-generation ALK inhibitor has enabled patients with ALK positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer to achieve no disease progress for more than five years, which is an unprecedented breakthrough in the field of solid tumors. In the future, the company will further focus on lung cancer, breast cancer cancer, kidney cancer, prostate cancer and other domestic high incidence, focus on clinical treatment gaps, introduce more innovative drugs, and provide more treatment options for Chinese patients." Wang Yu Say.
In fact, the field of oncology in China is also a fiercely competitive area for multinational pharmaceutical companies as well as local Chinese pharmaceutical companies. In this context, how can Pfizer break through?
As a pharmaceutical company, we hope to support the standardized and homogeneous development of cancer diagnosis and treatment in China, promote early screening, diagnosis, and treatment of single diseases, as well as standardized treatment and disease management, and improve the homogenization level of cancer diagnosis and treatment. In the past, we have cooperated with relevant departments to help promote the construction of a four level diagnosis and treatment system for single diseases of cancer. We will continue to support and assist various measures for cancer prevention and control in China, and enhance public awareness of cancer prevention and treatment, "said Wang Yu.
Wang Yu also said that with the gradual transformation of tumors such as breast cancer and lung cancer to chronic diseases, Chinese cancer patients are facing more diversified disease management scenarios and more individualized needs. The company will work with more industry partners to support the improvement of patients' health literacy, multi-level medical security and more efficient disease management construction.
For cooperation with local innovative pharmaceutical enterprises, Wang Yu said that "the company is gaining momentum".
"In fact, since 2021, the company has carried out some commercial cooperation with several domestic Biotech companies. In the future, the company may look for cooperative partners in lung cancer, breast cancer, urothelial cancer and prostate cancer. I also believe that in the future, research and development in the field of cancer will generate more cooperation, and the form of relying on only one company for research and development may gradually be replaced by diversified cooperation, such as joint research and development, joint completion of different stages of clinical registration, which can more effectively solve clinical pain points and provide more solutions for patients." Wang Yu said.