DENMARK — Lundbeck, the Danish central nervous system (CNS) specialist, has initiated a CEO succession plan as current CEO and President Deborah Dunsire has chosen to retire from the company.
Since her appointment in 2018, Dunsire has successfully strengthened Lundbeck’s position in the market.
To ensure a smooth transition, Charl van Zyl, the Head of Neurology Solutions at UCB, has been selected to succeed Dunsire, with his appointment scheduled no later than October 1.
Dunsire’s imminent departure comes after nearly five years of dedicated service to Lundbeck. Under her leadership, the company achieved a significant milestone by reaching a record-high quarterly revenue during the first three months of 2023, marking a remarkable 19% year-over-year growth.
Reflecting on this accomplishment, Dunsire stated, “Lundbeck is therefore well positioned for the future, with a strong executive team in place, so this is the right timing to make this change.”
Moving forward, Lundbeck is poised for further revenue growth. One of its key products, Rexulti, has recently obtained FDA approval for the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer’s disease.
SVB Securities estimates that this indication could contribute over US$500 million to Rexulti’s sales over the next five years.
Even without this new approval, Rexulti is already positioned as Lundbeck’s primary growth driver and is on track to become the company’s top brand.
In the first quarter, Rexulti achieved sales of DKK 1.06 billion (US$155.7 million), representing a 28% year-over-year growth, closely trailing Trintellix/Brintellix, which recorded sales of DKK 1.08 billion (US$158.7 million), a 9% increase.
Additionally, Lundbeck is conducting two phase 3 trials for Rexulti as an add-on therapy to sertraline for post-traumatic stress disorder, with top-line data expected by the end of the year.
Furthermore, the company obtained FDA approval in April for Abilify Asimtufii, a two-month long-acting version of the Otsuka-partnered Abilify franchise used in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic conditions.
Vyepti, Lundbeck’s migraine infusion therapy, demonstrated strong growth in the first quarter, doubling its sales to DKK 351 million (US$51.6 million) despite the launch of oral CGRP inhibitors in the market.
However, analysts at SVB noted that Lundbeck’s key products face patent cliffs starting in the second half of the decade.
Trintellix/Brintellix, currently the company’s largest product, is scheduled to lose patent protection by the end of 2026.
The SVB team also mentioned that Lundbeck’s late-stage pipeline appears relatively thin, with limited major readouts that could significantly impact the company’s stock.
Although the CEO transition news initially resulted in a negative market response, with Lundbeck’s shares trading down nearly 4% in late afternoon European time, the company’s focus now turns to Charl van Zyl, who will be responsible for expanding Lundbeck’s pipeline and devising a longer-term plan.
Van Zyl, who joined UCB in 2017, has a successful track record, having overseen the integration of two acquisitions— Ra Pharma and Zogenix —and driving growth in UCB’s epilepsy business while building up the company’s rare disease assets.
Deborah Dunsire’s retirement marks the departure of one of the few women CEOs in large biopharma companies.
Alongside GSK’s Emma Walmsley, Blueprint Medicines’ CEO Kate Haviland (since April 2022), Alnylam’s CEO Yvonne Greenstreet (since January 2022), and Vertex’s Chief Executive Reshma Kewalramani (since 2020), Dunsire has made significant contributions to the industry during her tenure at Lundbeck.
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