Top 20 global biopharma companies report 9.1 per cent QoQ decline in market capitalisation during Q3 2022: GlobalData

Expanding generic drug competition and a decline in the demand for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies have brought down the aggregate market capitalisation of the global top 20 biopharma companies by 9.1 per cent from $3.45 trillion in Q2 2022 to $3.14 trillion in Q3 2022, reveals GlobalData.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center Drugs Database reveals that despite a drop in sales of COVID-19 antibody, REGEN-COV, due to ineffectiveness against Omicron variant, Regeneron experienced record US sales of $1.63 billion in Q3 from its eye-disease drug Eylea.

Sharon Cartic, Associate Director, Business Fundamentals Databases, GlobalData, commented, “Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Daiichi Sankyo witnessed the biggest growth in market capitalisation over Q3 2022 with 15.6 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Daiichi Sankyo experienced boosted sales with its partner AstraZeneca for cancer drug Enhertu after receiving FDA approval in Q3 for HER2-low metastatic breast cancer and HER2-mutant metastatic non-small lung cancer.”

Vertex is another biopharma company in the top 20 list that went against the tide and indicated upward trajectory in Q3 2022 by recording three per cent market capitalisation growth.

Further, 16 companies reported drop in Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ) market capitalisation where eight companies saw a greater than 10 per cent decline. Johnson & Johnson continued its dominance by maintaining its top position, although suffering market capitalisation loss of eight per cent, followed by Eli Lilly, Roche and Pfizer, according to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center Companies Database.

Cartic continued, “GSK and Sanofi’s share prices dropped sharply by 46.4 per cent and 24.2 per cent, respectively, due to the increasing number of Zantac cancer lawsuits with GSK slipping down four places to 17th place. However, this recovery is anticipated as the company awaits FDA approval in May 2023, after receiving priority review for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine.”

Bayer recorded a negative market capitalisation growth of 22.3 per cent in Q3 due to its announcement regarding the $706 million provision for the environmental damage caused by some legacy Monsanto chemicals. Moderna’s market capitalisation tumbled by 18.6 per cent with Pfizer and AstraZeneca reporting a drop of 16.5 per cent and 16.2 per cent, respectively, as concerns that sales of their COVID-19 vaccines may start to decline soon.

Other major players indicated negative market capitalisation growth of more than 10 per cent include AbbVie (-12.3 per cent) and Novo Nordisk (10 per cent).

Cartic concluded, “Although AbbVie’s Humira is set to face biosimilar competition next year, the blockbuster drug reported strong US sales of $4.96 billion in Q3, according to GlobalData’s Drugs Database and is expected to continue positive growth from its new immunology drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq.”