Bayer said it was setting up an organisation within its healthcare division to speed up and support cell and gene therapy development, following recent takeovers.
The new platform will provide services such as research, manufacturing, clinical development and project management to support the new business.
Bayer acquired cell and gene therapy companies BlueRock Therapeutics and Asklepios Biopharmaceutical in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
JD.com is offering a timely reminder of why big technology firms are valuable to Beijing. The e-commerce giant’s healthcare arm has priced shares in its initial public offering at a reasonable 13 times sales. The $3.5 billion deal is set to be the biggest IPO in Hong Kong this year after an abrupt regulatory halt to the debut of Ant, the Alibaba payments affiliate, in November. As Chinese officials also scrutinise competitive practices of internet platforms, the healthcare sector underscores a symbiotic relationship.
The pandemic has boosted demand for digital, contactless medical services. JD Health International was China’s largest online retail pharmacy by revenue in 2019, according to its prospectus, and was the first to offer online appointments for Covid-19 nucleic acid tests. Daily online consultations leapt to nearly 90,000 in the first half of 2020, almost six times more than the same period last year. The company’s topline grew 33% year-on-year in 2019 and accelerated to 76% in the six months of 2020, roughly the same pace of its closest rival, $39 billion Alibaba Health Information Technology, in its interim period. The bulk of JD Health’s business is in direct sales of medicines and other products. Other services include an over-9,000-merchant-strong online marketplace and digital marketing.
Assume JD Health’s enterprise value reaches $28 billion at the high-end of the range, after subtracting some $486 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June. Its roughly $2.2 billion in revenue for trailing twelve months implies a sales multiple of nearly 13 times, below Alibaba Health’s 18 times and in line with Ping An Healthcare and Technology, which runs the Good Doctor app, per Refinitiv data. Alibaba Health has more annual active users and turned a net profit in the six months ended September, while JD Health was loss-making in the first half of this year.
It’s a smart area for JD.com and its peers to tap into: China’s National Development and Reform Commission supports the buildout of internet healthcare in a country where overcrowded hospitals and long wait times are a problem. Given the sensitive nature of the sector, there will perhaps also be less regulatory surprises than there have been of late in e-commerce and payments. Big traditional companies in China have long served official goals, and it helps internet companies to play the part too.
The Interpol global police co-ordination agency warned on Wednesday that organised criminal networks could be targeting COVID-19 vaccines, and could look to sell fake shots.
Interpol, which is headquartered in France, said it had issued a global alert to law enforcement across its 194 member countries, warning them to prepare for organised crime networks targeting COVID-19 vaccines, both physically and online.
“As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organisations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains. Criminal networks will also be targeting unsuspecting members of the public via fake websites and false cures, which could pose a significant risk to their health, even their lives,” said Interpol secretary general Juergen Stock.
Mexico’s government was due to sign a contract on Wednesday with pharmaceutical company Pfizer for the delivery of its coronavirus vaccine, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Tuesday.
Pfizer has submitted the details about its vaccine to Mexico’s health regulator, Cofepris, and the country’s foreign minister last month said the government expects the vaccine to reach Mexico in December.
Lopez-Gatell said the contract with Pfizer, which developed its vaccine with German partner BioNTech SE, is expected to be signed by Health Minister Jorge Alcocer, and the Finance Ministry was making plans to ensure Mexico sets aside enough money to pay for the Pfizer and other vaccines.
Mexico’s contract with Pfizer will include ways to minimize the challenges associated with its vaccine, which requires that it be transported and stored at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 F).
“The contract that will be signed tomorrow includes provisions for its distribution to be as close to the point of use so that the period of deep freezing is shortened, the distance to be covered is shortened,” Lopez-Gatell said.
He said Mexico’s military will help with the vaccination process.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon shorten the length of self-quarantine recommended after potential exposure to the coronavirus to 10 days, or 7 days with a negative test, a federal spokesperson said on Tuesday.
CDC currently recommends a 14-day quarantine in order to curb the transmission of the virus.
With the first COVID-19 vaccines now nearing approval, the US government is preparing a crackdown on an anticipated spike in falsified and unauthorised medicines by fraudsters.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – is launching Operation Stolen Promise 2.0 in an attempt to identify and prevent the production, sale and distribution of illicit COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
Organised criminals may well try to cash in on pent-up demand for vaccines in particular, tapping into public fears of missing out on the first wave of immunisations when supplies will be limited.
At the same time, many US states are worried they may not have the ancillary supplies they need to administer the shots – like needles, syringes and alcohol pads – which could impede the roll-out, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
It’s quite possible that counterfeit versions of the first wave of vaccines – from the likes of Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech – are already being produced by counterfeiters. Use of online pharmacies has already risen since the start of the pandemic, thanks to lockdown restrictions, and that raises the risk of exposure to a fake product.
HSI says it has been actively working with many of the leading pharmaceutical companies that are currently developing vaccines and treatments to try to minimise illicit sales.
Operation Stolen Promise 2.0 will try to disrupt and dismantle fraud schemes, removing illicit websites and other online marketplaces and seizing counterfeit or illicit vaccines and treatments.
It is an extension of Operation Stolen Promise, which was launched in April as the pandemic was starting to gather momentum, and targeted financial aid fraud as well as counterfeit and unapproved products.
Since the first operation started, ICE has seized more than $26m in illicit proceeds; made 170 arrests; executed 148 search warrants and analysed more than 69,000 COVID-19 domain names.
Working with US Customs and Border Protection, more than 1,600 shipments of mislabelled, fraudulent, unauthorised or prohibited COVID-19 test kits and other related items have been seized.
