Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi, this week called on the Spanish government to make a greater commitment to the pharmaceutical industry, facilitating the sale of innovative medicines – more effective, but more expensive – when they are approved by the European Union. In his opinion, this would facilitate investment and allow Spain to gain weight in clinical research, an activity in which it is already the second country in the world after the United States.
At the inauguration of the new Sanofi offices in Barcelona, ??you explained that you had met with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Ministers of Science and Innovation and Economy.
The president was very interested in knowing what Spain could do to become a leading country in RD. We explained to them that every year we invest an average of 750 million euros in Spain in wages, procurement, manufacturing and RD. And what we get in income does not reach this figure. It is important to us that you understand that we invest a lot but that people have to have access to our medicines. And many of the medicines authorized in Europe are not yet for sale in Spain.
How is it possible?
If the industry gets the European pharmaceutical authority, the EMA, to approve a new medicine, it takes another 516 days for patients in Spain to be able to use it, because the Government does not approve the financing. In Germany it is 100 days. Speed ??is key, as is drug value. But I think these are things that the government is committed to addressing. I saw it very clearly in the meeting with the president and the ministers. There is a real desire to make innovation accessible to patients. But desire is very important, so you have to make things happen.
Why is it important for a country to grow in clinical research?
Clinical research is one of the fastest growing opportunities in healthcare in Europe. If you invent in a laboratory, you have to test the drug on a large group of people because the EMA requires it. Spain is the second country in the world in this and it is growing fast, because there are large hospitals and research centers. Clinical research focuses on biomarkers, and it is a way of predicting the future. If the country does RD it is easier for it to do more. And that generates jobs of high quality and specialization.
The European pharmaceutical industry has lost competitiveness with respect to the US, especially in research. The EU wants to launch a strategy to recover RD but some businessmen, such as the president of Bayer, have warned that it will not be effective if business activity is not favored. What is Sanofi’s position on the issue?
Our path is to look for miracles in science: 96% of the drugs that we have under investigation are the first to treat a pathology, or the best in treatment, which provide a significant improvement in the patient’s life. You can grow the company if you discover “miracle” drugs: EU governments will find a way to make them available. But it’s not easy, and it should be. If your drugs aren’t much better, accessibility for patients is much more difficult.
What can Europe do to make up the ground lost to the US?
I think we need three things to happen: to have the best medicines, to change lives and to save them. Make them available to patients in the European Union quickly. And that governments trust that these medicines are incredible and finance them. If this is combined, everything can change in Europe. It is not easy, because with the pandemic public deficits have increased and governments have to decide. But look at our factory in Riells, for example, and what this industry can contribute: 90% of what we manufacture is exported there. If the governments of Spain and the EU can focus their efforts on health, as they have done on hydrogen or semiconductors, for example, if they treat health in the same way, then Europe can compete. I am convinced. But something needs to be done. Europe, as a whole, if it is coordinated, can do really significant things to compete with the United States. I hope that during the Spanish presidency of the Spanish Union, President Pedro Sánchez and his team will launch some of these initiatives to make health a European strategic priority.
Sanofi is the result of the merger of Hoechst, from Germany, and Rhône-Poulenc and Sanofi, from France. Does the European industry need more mergers like yours to create more competitive companies in the global environment?
That is history, from 20 years ago. Today at Sanofi we are almost unique in that in the next ten years we have no patent loss. Other companies can lose up to 75% of their income in the next six years due to the entry of generics into their drugs. The interesting thing would be if these big companies decided to come together to protect themselves from the loss of income due to the decline of their portfolios. Sanofi, on the other hand, is the only one that does not have this problem, so our travel plan is to go alone.
Sanofi is one of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers, and everyone was disappointed not to have a covid vaccine from Sanofi. Even a blow to the self-esteem of the European industry. Why it happened?
None of the major vaccine manufacturers developed one for covid. The reason is simple: RNA technology had never been capable of treating anything, but in the face of a single-antigen disease such as covid, it allowed rapid immunization. But a week ago Moderna announced that it had not been able to make a flu vaccine… because it has more than 20 antigens. From the beginning we knew that we were slow, because our system of developing vaccines is slow. But it’s sure. Our covid vaccine is now available and its effect lasts twice as long as RNA (8 months) and is much safer. RNA technology was the right one at the time. And in oncology he will do admirable things. But in vaccines it is not the best. From the beginning we knew that if they failed we would win, months later. But it’s a race we were happy to lose. Because the priority was that the world could return to normal.
Dupixent – ??which they have developed with Regeneron – is now their flagship drug. Can you tell us how much you have invested in the drug and what sales you anticipate this year?
We did not share the total investment, because Dupixent was part of a global acquisition agreement for several medicines. When we signed the contract we did not know that it would be a great success, because the drug was still in the laboratory. We expect annual sales to be more than 13,000 million euros. And we are going to use it in new diseases because we want it to be used by patients who now have no therapeutic alternatives. Dupixent is already taken by half a million people around the world, who until now could not lead a normal life due to atopic dermatitis. And also for asthma and COPD. It is a pleasure for a company to develop a medicine, based on an idea, that brings so much value to humanity.
