Multinational pharmas transfer steady-selling brands to DKSH

Transfers commercial rights to cardiovascular brands including Atacand, Diovan and Exforge

Pipeline reprioritization and organizational streamlining drive broader outsourcing

Major multinational pharmaceutical companies are increasingly outsourcing the sales and marketing of their long-established steady sellers that continue to maintain stable prescription demand even after patent expiry.

In addition to signing simple transfers of product sales rights, the companies are also restructuring the organizations and personnel associated with those brands. The companies are increasingly concentrating their in-house capabilities on next-generation growth areas such as oncology, rare diseases and cell and gene therapies, while entrusting mature brands to specialized external partners.

According to industry sources on the 30th, Novartis Korea is carrying out an organizational restructuring as it transfers the domestic commercial rights to the hypertension treatments Diovan (valsartan) and Exforge (valsartan/amlodipine) to DKSH Korea.

Hypertension treatments Exforge, Diovan

Some employees responsible for the products have reportedly been included in an early retirement program (ERP), and discussions are underway for others to transfer to DKSH Korea.

The transaction is therefore leading not only to a change in the operator of the established brands but also to the redeployment of related organizations and personnel.

Since exiting the respiratory business in 2022, Novartis Korea has been continuing the adjustment of its domestic portfolio, transferring its ophthalmology division to Santen Pharmaceutical last year. The latest organizational changes are seen as an extension of its effort to reshape the business around its growth areas.

In 2024, AstraZeneca Korea transferred the hypertension treatments Atacand (candesartan) and Atacand Plus to DKSH.

In the same year, Kyowa Kirin Korea transferred its prescription drug business, including the sales, academic support, distribution and marketing authorization for Romiplate (romiplostim), Nesp (darbepoetin alfa), Neulasta (pegfilgrastim), Regpara (cinacalcet) and Orkedia (evocalcet).

With several flagship brands of multinational drugmakers transferred to DKSH over the past 2 years, the industry views the trend as a broader change in commercial strategy rather than a series of straightforward distribution agreements.

Focuses on new drugs after ERP… outsources mature brands

Products recently transferred to DKSH are all steady sellers that have all been on the market for a considerable period or that have lost patent protection.

Atacand, Diovan and Exforge are established original brands in Korea’s hypertension market, while Nesp, Neulasta and Regpara also continue to generate steady prescriptions in their respective therapeutic areas. According to market research institution UBIST, combined sales of Diovan and Exforge reached KRW 110 billion last year, while Atacand and Atacand Plus generated KRW 34 billion.

While it is difficult to expect rapid growth with these products, they are regarded as items that can secure stable sales. On the other hand, multinational pharmaceutical companies are reorganizing their organizations to focus their commercial capabilities on high-growth innovative drugs in areas such as oncology, rare diseases, cell and gene therapy, and obesity.

Kyowa Kirin Korea transferred its prescription drug business in certain Asia-Pacific markets, including Korea, to DKSH in 2024 as part of a regional restructuring accompanied by an ERP.

AstraZeneca Korea also implemented an ERP while divesting certain chronic disease products, and Novartis Korea is now adjusting its related organization alongside the transfer of Diovan and Exforge.

Industry observers say voluntary retirement programs at multinational pharmaceutical companies should be seen not merely as workforce reductions, but as part of a process to reset the priorities of commercial organizations. Companies are retaining in-house responsibility for high-growth new drugs while using specialist partners to manage brands that have entered the mature stage of their life cycle.

DKSH accelerates expansion of prescription drug business

The shift reflects not only the strategies of multinational pharmaceutical companies but also DKSH’s efforts to expand its own business.

Founded in Switzerland in 1865, DKSH currently operates in 35 markets. Its consolidated group revenue reached CHF 11.07 billion last year, with its Healthcare business unit contributing CHF 5.82 billion, or approximately 52.6% of the total.

DKSH historically focused heavily on pharmaceutical distribution and supply chain management, but has recently been rapidly expanding its prescription drug commercialization business through its in-house sales and academic support organizations.

For multinational pharmaceutical companies, using a specialist partner capable of handling sales, academic support, and distribution may be more efficient in terms of both cost and organizational management than maintaining a dedicated organization for each product.

Some industry observers have suggested that DKSH may also have offered competitive contract terms as part of its business expansion, although specific details of the agreements have not been disclosed.

Role expands beyond sales and distribution to reimbursement

Severe aplastic anemia drug Romiplate

DKSH’s role is also expanding beyond sales and distribution to encompass academic support, market access and post-approval commercialization.

Romiplate is a representative example. After taking over Kyowa Kirin Korea’s prescription drug business, DKSH also worked on expanding reimbursement for the product.

Reimbursement for Romiplate was recently expanded to cover its use in combination with immunosuppressive therapy as first-line treatment for patients with severe aplastic anemia who had not previously received treatment.

The case shows that DKSH’s responsibilities after a business transfer extend beyond maintaining sales of existing products to broader commercialization activities. However, rather than interpreting the reimbursement expansion as the achievement of any one company, the significance lies in the widening scope of responsibilities being entrusted to external partners.

DKSH’s global headquarters is also expanding its role as an Asia commercialization partner for biotechnology companies that may find it difficult to establish their own local commercial organizations.

The company entered into a strategic partnership with US-based BridgeBio Pharma to support the approval and commercialization of Attruby (acoramidis), a treatment for transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy, in Korea, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. In Korea, DKSH will be responsible for marketing authorization, market access and launch support.

DKSH has also signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Xcell Therapeutics for India, where it will handle local sales of chemically defined media for cell and gene therapy.