France’s second largest pharmaceutical company had strong results in 2016-2017.

French pharmaceutical company Servier reported its 2017 annual results recently. The company experienced year-on-year growth of 3.7%, with turnover for 2016/2017 at €4.152 billion. The increase was 7.1% excluding special items, with branded and generic drugs accounting for 70% and 30% of the consolidated turnover, respectively. 

The growth was achieved by minimizing costs and investing in R&D. Net operating profit at €435 million, was up 14.2%, even though R&D expenditures accounted for 25% of branded drug revenues—excluding upfront and milestone payments.

Cardiology remained a strong therapeutic area for Servier, with turnover in this sector accounting for 60% of total turnover. Ninety percent of drug products treat patients outside of France, with 93% of revenue for branded drugs, alone, coming from international sales and international sales accounting for 78% of total turnover. Growth of sales in local currency in Russia, Romania, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, Czech Republic, Vietnam, the Philippines and Ukraine was greater than 10%. The main countries outside the EU contributing to Servier’s revenues include Russia, China and Canada. In 2017, Servier acquired a new subsidiary in Peru and a generics company in Nigeria.

With respect to its pipeline, Servier has formed several partnerships to expand its position, including one in autoimmune diseases with ILTOO Pharma and one for autism in children with Neurochlore. It also signed four agreements in the area of oncology – with Pieris, WEHI, Transgene and Vernalis and invested in in-house R&D, resulting in 11 innovative anti-cancer projects in the clinical development stage and two marketed drugs: Pixuvri and Lonsurf.

Servier also launched WeHealth by Servier in November 2016 to provide a platform in which the company can create and develop in conjunction with start-ups solutions that are complementary to its therapeutic strategies and drugs. Two offerings have been introduced to date: Cardioskin and Cardiorenal. Deprexis, an Internet-based cognitive behavioral psychotherapy that was previously launched in Germany, is being introduced to patients around the world in partnerships with Gaia.

Altogether, Servier has 50 active alliances with biotechnology companies, start-ups, and laboratories around the world. The company’s goal for 2021 is to launch a new molecular entity every three years and become a reference stakeholder in oncology, while maintaining its leadership positions in cardiology and diabetes. It also aims to achieve a turnover of €5 billion and a net operating profit of 8% in 2021.