2014年12月11日讯 /生物谷BIOON/ --关心2014年生物医药领域的朋友都知道，在今年美国生物医药公司纷纷开始了海外兼并的计划。这一计划的重要目的就是通过兼并变更公司的注册地从而回避美国本土过高的税率。此举理所当然的引起了美国政府不满并迅速做出相应应对措施。这也导致一些生物医药公司兼并重组计划的搁浅，而艾伯维公司和Shire公司的合并项目就是其中的牺牲品。
不过，最近Shire公司已经从此次失利中走出，公司在纽约公布了未来研发和兼并重组方面的一些计划。根据Shire透露，未来将会把更多精力放在罕见病药物研发和兼并业务的进行上。
目前Shire公司有22种药物处于临床研发过程中，还有一项关于囊胞性纤维症药物的合作项目，预计这些项目到2020年能增加30亿美元的收入。目前其最为看重的是其正在进行的SHP607药物，SHP607是一种用于治疗早产儿罕见视网膜疾病的蛋白替代疗法。此外，Shire开发的治疗干眼症药物SHP606也预计将于2015年第一季度获得批准。这一药物是Shire公司去年收购SARcode Bioscience公司的过程中获得的。另一方面，公司最近还和囊肿性纤维化基金会达成了一项合作协议，希望共同开发一种mRNA药物，以修正患者体内常见的CFTR基因突变。囊肿性纤维化基金会在这一项目中投入了1500万美元的研发经费。
Shire公司雄心勃勃的计划到2020年，公司的总收入将达到100亿美元以上，而此次公布的相关药物研发计划都将在这其中扮演着重要角色。公司研发部门主管Philip Vickers在声明中强调，Shire公司拥有出色的罕见病药物研发通道，未来这些通道将为公司更好的发展提供强大动力。
不过，值得注意的是，公司CEO Flemming Ornskov暗示，公司在未来几年中也将在兼并业务中投入更多的精力。在Flemming Ornskov任内，Shire公司进行了6次兼并行动，其中最为著名的是去年公司以45亿美元收购ViroPharma的协议。
详细英文报道：
Shire, settling into life on its own after a failed merger with AbbVie ($ABBV), believes its in-development drugs can bring in a combined $3 billion in sales by 2020, sharpening its focus on rare diseases and keeping an eye out for bolt-on acquisitions.
At its R&D day in New York, Shire ($SHPG) pulled back the veil on its pipeline, pointing to a company-record 22 candidates in clinical development and heralding a new collaboration that will broaden its work in cystic fibrosis.
Among Shire's most promising assets is SHP607, a protein-replacement therapy for the rare retinopathy of prematurity, which affects premature infants. The treatment, currently in Phase II, received the FDA's fast-track designation, Shire said, guaranteeing a speedy regulatory review if and when it completes pivotal trials. Then there's Lifitegrast (SHP606), star of Shire's $160 million buyout of SARcode Bioscience last year, which is a dry eye disease therapy the company expects to file for approval in the first quarter of 2015.
Shire is also making progress on the liver treatments it acquired in a $260 million deal for Lumena Pharmaceuticals. The company has wrapped up enrollment in two Phase II studies of SHP625, the former LUM001, an oral drug designed to block the body's ability to transport bile acid and thus halt the buildup of fluids that can cause major damage in patients with rare cholestatic liver diseases. And, last month, the company filed an IND for SHP626 (LUM002) with plans to start a Phase I trial in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis early next year.
Separately, Shire has struck up a deal with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's nonprofit drug development arm in hopes of developing an mRNA solution for the disease. The nonprofit has committed up to $15 million to support Shire's work in mRNA, through which it hopes to craft a treatment that can correct the errant CFTR gene at the heart of the disease.
Each of those parts plays a role in Shire's plan to effectively double its revenue to $10 billion by 2020, a figure that includes $7 billion from on-the-market products like the ADHD treatment Vyvanse and rare disease therapy Firazyr, the company said.
"Our clinical and scientific capabilities in discovering new therapies for rare diseases are focused on new indications and therapeutic areas," Shire R&D chief Philip Vickers said in a statement. "We have a number of significant clinical milestones anticipated over the next 18 months, and aim to accelerate delivery of therapies to patients from a highly productive internal pipeline, complemented by the acquisition of external assets and innovative collaborations."
Shire is quickly moving on after AbbVie's plot to buy the company for $55 billion fell apart last month, giving the Irish drugmaker a new lease on freedom and a $1.6 billion breakup fee for its trouble. Now CEO Flemming Ornskov, who has presided over 6 acquisitions in his brief tenure, is hinting at more deals to come, pointing to Shire's $4.5 billion deal for ViroPharma last year as a template for the future.