Valeo (VPH.C) begins shipments of anticoagulant across Canada

Valeo Pharma (VPH.C) announced they have begun shipments across Canada of Redesca and Redesca HP, their low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) biosimilar.

Valeo has licensed Redesca from Shenzhen Techdow Pharmaceuticals, the world’s largest heparin manufacturer. Heparin is an anticoagulant, meaning it helps stop blood clots. LMWHs can be more expensive than unfractionated heparin (UFH), but LMWHs generally last longer and are more predictable.

Valeo says that there was $200 million worth of LMWH sales in 2018, meaning this is a big market. The global anticoagulant market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2018-2025.

“Making Redesca™ widely available in Canada is a key element of our commercialization plans and we are pleased to have done so ahead of target. We continue to work on expanding both public and private reimbursement coverage across all provinces,” stated Steve Saviuk, Valeo’s Chief Executive Officer. “Redesca™ is the first of three transformative products that Valeo is launching this year and it will be accretive to second quarter revenues with increasing sales growth in the quarters to come.”

If you’ve been following public health news out of the US recently, you probably heard that the CDC paused the https://e4njohordzs.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/tnw8sVO3j-2.pngistration of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. The reason was that 6 people developed blood clots, but as people pointed out COVID-19 has caused thousands of blood clots.

That’s why LMWH has been a key piece in fighting COVID-19, even though it has not received as much fanfare as other treatments. Thrombosis (the medical term for blood clots) is much more common than most people realise, and people are generally ill-informed about the problem. Many things that are part of people’s regular intake, such as birth control or cigarettes, can increase people’s odds of getting blood clots.

As cases of the coronavirus climb across Canada, there could be a rise in demand for LMWH, and so it is fortunate that Valeo has been able to get Redesca out across the country.

Commenting on the Redesca commercial launch, Frederic Fasano, Valeo’s President and CEO said; “Redesca™ is now available for patients, both at retail pharmacies and hospitals. The combination of a strong and proven safety profile, a complete product line, a robust supply chain on top of material savings to payers, contributes to the compelling Redesca™ value proposition for patients, clinicians and healthcare systems. We look forward to realizing Redesca™’s full potential over the coming quarters”.