Ipsen’s strategy has created impressive momentum over the last two years. How would you describe 2022?

I would sum up the year in three words: acceleration, growth and momentum. In terms of acceleration, we reaffirmed our focus on Specialty Care, divesting our Consumer HealthCare (CHC) business and refilling the pipeline. In less than six months we completed two acquisitions: Epizyme and its portfolio and pipeline joined Ipsen in August 2022. Then in early 2023, we announced our plans to acquire Albireo, closing the deal in early March. With the acquisition and integration of Epizyme,[1] we are preparing to relaunch Tazverik®, which we are quite excited about, as it gives us entry into the hematology area. With its lead medicine Bylvay®, Albireo is focused on innovative treatments for rare liver disease, further developing our Rare Disease franchise.

As for growth, our six growth platforms more than offset the gradual decline of Somatuline®. Cabometyx®, for example, grew 23.9%, supported by the growing contribution from the first-line renal carcinoma combination with nivolumab and increased momentum in second-line monotherapy. Dysport jumped up to €594 million in sales, a 29.4% increase from 2021, while Onivyde saw sales grow by 14.1%. And Decapeptyl® delivered a 12.4% increase in sales last year, despite the impact of the pandemic in China.

Those successes have given us new momentum. In concrete terms, we have gained the confidence of the market and seen our share price more than double from around €40 a share in March 2020 to over €100 now in March 2023. We have also witnessed a 14.4% growth in total sales over this past year,[2] with particularly strong results in Oncology and Neuroscience.

How has the strategy boosted Ipsen’s product pipeline and our contribution to patient care?

Since we defined and communicated our strategy in December 2020, I – along with our management team and shareholders – have been amazed to see how quickly all our people have adapted and executed it.

2022 was a particularly important year for us with a number of major milestones. The sale of our consumer healthcare division, for example, was a significant strategic shift. It freed us up to concentrate on our role as a pure player in specialty medicines. The impact is clear: where we used to do 1-2 deals per year, we’ve licensed in or acquired more than 20 new assets in the last two years alone.

We also progressed our pipeline with some exciting new developments. Onivyde®, for example, demonstrated improved survival rates for patients with pancreatic cancer,[1] a disease on which there has been little clinical progress in recent years. In May, we also got approval for Cabometyx® for the treatment of radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer.[2]

Our internal product pipeline has also resulted in promising clinical trial results. For example, our work with longer-acting neurotoxins (LANTs) is showing promise: as of the end of 2022, we are in fact the only company with both neurotoxins in the market and recombinant toxins in pre-clinical and Phase I trials. We moved into Phase II toward the end of 2022 and aim to carry LANTs into the therapeutic space in 2023.

How has this progress helped strengthen Ipsen’s leadership position?

Our strategy has been instrumental in making us a leader in our field. Our global presence, resources and expertise are compelling arguments for biopharmaceutical companies seeking to advance their innovations. That’s why we’re able to make deals like the recent Albireo acquisition. We’re leveraging the full force of Ipsen’s infrastructure, innovation and passion to develop new therapies and valuable partnerships.

A pharmaceutical company is ultimately defined by the medicines it brings to market. We stake our reputation – and our financial results – on the creation of a sustainable, positive impact on patients and society. Our strategy has brought us to that crossroads where value creation for patients and society converges with strong growth, a solid pipeline, and a bright future.

I am extremely proud of all we have achieved. I am grateful for the energy demonstrated by all our teams and for the faith our investors have shown in us. In a market where many companies have seen their metrics go down, we are growing. That is due to teamwork, and it shows that we are very much on the right track.

What can you tell me about Generation Ipsen, which launched in 2022?

We have a responsibility to satisfy a large number of different stakeholders, but we also have a clear responsibility to society as a whole – that’s the fourth part of our strategy. Generation Ipsen, which is the name of our ESG framework, focuses on driving positive action across four pillars: Environment, Patients, People and Governance.

Thanks to our adherence to these drivers, we have begun to make some great strides. For example, we have significantly reduced our footprint in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, with 90% of our energy today coming from renewable sources. We are also in the process of rolling out our electric vehicle fleet policy.

As part of our Community Days, our employees continue to be heavily involved in societal projects, from helping clean up forests to painting hospitals. In 2022, participation rates in our Community Days worldwide grew to 44%. I am very proud that 48% of our Global Leadership Team, which is composed of our top 160 leaders, is female, up from 33% in 2019. Of course, diversity and inclusion is about a lot more than gender balance in upper management, so we’re focused on developing systems to cultivate and support a truly diverse and inclusive culture across the company. And in terms of governance, our ISO anti-corruption certification was renewed in 2022, demonstrating the importance we give to conducting business ethically.

Looking ahead to 2023 and beyond – how will Ipsen continue to build momentum and shape the healthcare environment?

We plan to take the momentum our teams have already created with this strategy and accelerate the pace, using all the resources at our disposal. These include a current firepower of €1.5 billion, and €2.5 billion by 2024. We will also draw on the fact that we have very little debt, so we can continue leveraging acquisitions and licensing deals while innovating and moving forward with the treatments we have on board. We will continue to pull together, and concentrate on how we can best serve patients and the wider world. We intend to double down on our already fruitful strategy, taking it even further.