(Bloomberg) -- Ipsen SA has about 2 billion euros ($2.16 billion) in firepower for dealmaking, Chief Executive Officer David Loew said, as the French drugmaker prepares for stiffer competition for its best-selling cancer medicine.
Ipsen’s targets could include assets that are close to market readiness as well as compounds in the earlier stages of human or lab studies, Loew said in an interview. Targets could exceed the size of the last year’s acquisition of liver disease therapy maker Albireo Pharma Inc. for $952 million, he said.
“We are going to be opportunistic and see where do we actually want to put a bet,” Loew said. “It could be that it’s two or three bets, or it could be that it’s one very large bet.”
Loew has used dealmaking to reshape Ipsen’s portfolio as the French drugmaker prepares for competition for its top-selling drug Somatuline. Competition for the cancer medicine will probably rise in the second half of the year, thanks to US regulatory approval of a generic version from Cipla Ltd., said Citigroup Inc. analyst Emily Tedbury.
The stock has dropped 4.5% this year, compared to a 17% increase in a Bloomberg index tracking European drugmakers.
The franchise of long-acting neurotoxins also offers dealmaking opportunities, including for migraine, which is a “very big market,” Loew said. He recently entered licensing pacts in cancer with Day One Biopharmaceuticals and Foreseen Biotechnology.
Somatuline sold more than €1 billion last year, and this year analysts expect revenue to drop to about €953 million. Loew said he’s not worried about the decline in sales due to generic competition, and the company has plenty of time to think about the right deals.
“We’re not desperate; we’re very disciplined,” Loew said.
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