South African pharma giant set to win big

Aspen climbed after Africa’s largest drugmaker said it expects revenue from its own generic diabetes and obesity drugs as early as next year, tapping into what its leader terms “the largest opportunity currently in the global pharmaceutical industry.”

Making the most in-demand shots globally and owning the intellectual property for them comes not only as there are global supply shortages but also questions of affordability, CEO Stephen Saad said by phone on Monday.

“For us, the real opportunity is to have something of quality that’s affordable that people, particularly across emerging markets, can pay for out their own pocket — or at least insurance companies will pay — without making them go broke,” he said. 

Aspen has worked to build its ability to make its own version of these drugs, and Saad now has “a much higher degree of confidence in getting into some markets early” than he had six months ago, he said. 

Shares of the Durban, South Africa-based company surged as much as 13%, the most in two years. Aspen already has deals with Eli Lilly as a local selling agent and with Novo Nordisk as a third-party manufacturer of their blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss treatments.

Hundreds of South Africans marched to the South African headquarters of Novo in November, calling for greater access to its human insulin and lower prices.

They also protested against the Danish company’s decision to phase out easy-to-use pens to deliver diabetes medication. These often compete for production with the new diabetes and obesity drugs.

Aspen earlier reported a 3.2% increase in first-half net income to R2.39 billion as it sold more erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, painkillers and anti-epileptic medication in Latin America.