Sandoz will boost delivery tech portfolio with Oriel buy

Sandoz, the generics unit of Swiss drug major Novartis, said the Oriel technologies build on its in-house respiratory drug capacity, which includes a $60m, 10,000 sqm DPI and MDI inhaler manufacturing facility in Rudolstadt, Germany.

In addition to the two delivery platforms, Oriel will also add several promising generic asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment candidates to Sandoz’s portfolio, which already includes generic salbutamol.

And, in wider terms, the Oriel acquisition bolsters Sandoz’s position in the generic respiratory drug market, which is set to see considerable competition in the next few years due to the impending loss of patent protection of top selling products.

For example, according to IMS Health, respiratory drugs the generate revenues of $15bn, including Advair, Symbicort and Spirivia, will begin to lose patent protection over the next few years, creating considerable opportunity for generic alternatives.

This point was stressed by Jeff George, Sandoz’s division head, who said that: "One of our strategic objectives is to offer fully substitutable generic versions of key branded medicines, including respiratory medicines​."

The Oriel deal will also go some way towards strengthening Sandoz’ position after the problems encountered during its development collaboration with respiratory drug delivery group Vectura.

In March, Sandoz handed back US development and market rights to the asthma drug VR315 that it was developing in collaboration with Vectura, with the speculation being that the Swiss firm considered regulatory approval to difficult to achieve.