For our July Member Spotlight we talked to Sandoz, a global leader in the generics and biosimilars markets with one of the broadest portfolios in the industry, reaching approximately 500 million patients every year in more than 100 markets.
Tell us about Sandoz.
At Sandoz, our Purpose is to pioneer access for patients. Our Vision is to be the world’s leading and most valued biosimilars and generics company. Our medicines provide more than 800 million treatments to over 700 million patients every year, generating more than $18 billion in direct savings in the US and Europe, improving healthcare by freeing up resources and resulting in a total social impact of our key medicines estimated at approximately $400 billion per year worldwide.
We are the global leader in off-patent medicines, based on our strong scientific heritage. The Sandoz brand dates back to 1886 and we can look back on a wide range of pioneering scientific breakthroughs, including the introduction of Calcium Sandoz in 1929, the discovery of LSD in 1938, the first oral penicillin in 1951, the first recombinant interferon alfa in 1980, and the world’s first biosimilar medicine in 2006.
Why is Nebraska an important location for Sandoz?
In fact, Nebraska was part of that history when Sandoz merged with Dorsey Labs in 1969. In 2014 the over-the-counter unit was sold to GSK which is now Haleon and still has a site in Lincoln. Timeline of Novartis plant in Lincoln (journalstar.com)
What products and services do you offer?
We’re building on our heritage, to continue delivering on our Purpose as a standalone company. As a newly independent company, we are excited about our future. Moving to standalone status made sense for so many reasons: we can increase our strategic focus, operate with greater agility, set clearer business objectives, enhance shareholder returns, and strengthen our culture and the way we operate in the generics business.
Our biosimilar pipeline targets reference medicines with sales of approximately $200 billion, particularly in oncology and auto-immune diseases. We prioritize exclusive or first-to-market opportunities that leverage our strong commercial footprint and will offer genuine patient choice. We plan several major biosimilar launches over the next few years.
Meanwhile, we continue to invest in our standard generic base business, ranging from antibiotics to oncology, while growing our presence in more complex areas, across multiple technological platforms.
How large is Sandoz’s footprint?
Sandoz is present in more than 100 countries and has global sales of nearly $10 billion.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing your industry today and how does Sandoz play a role in helping overcome those challenges?
Sandoz is prepared to protect patients by taking key precautions to bolster the generics market and working toward sustainable solutions that help prevent drug shortages. To maintain reliable supplies of affordable, high quality generic medicines, policymakers must incentivize investment in the development of generics and competition in the generics marketplace.
The core of Sandoz business lies in producing and distributing high-quality medicines following the loss of their respective patent protection, helping secure patient access to affordable, high-quality medicines. Sandoz medicines are manufactured to align with the highest standards in the industry, and we work to continuously raise the bar for the quality of our products and systems and work closely with customers to ensure supply reliability.
As a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals, Sandoz’ mission is to be the trusted partner in supply reliability and sustainability – this includes actively collaborating with policymakers and other key healthcare stakeholders to safeguard the supply of generic medicines across the US.