Health Care: Astellas Pharma, M3 Inc, Anhui Anke Biotechnology (Group) and more

In today’s briefing:

Astellas Pharma (4503) Buyback – Short-Term Pressure Catalyst
M3: Covid Related Trials and Vaccination Programs Drive Earnings; Core Business Growth Slowing Down
Anke Biotechnology (300009CH) Vs Changchun High & New Tech (000661CH)-Growth Hormone VBP and Outlook

Astellas Pharma (4503) Buyback – Short-Term Pressure Catalyst

Large Japanese low-multiple pharma company Astellas Pharma (4503 JP) yesterday announced earnings and this morning announced a buyback.
The buyback is small-ish, but the details are definitely worth knowing.
A play against peers for the period and afterwards may have some merit. If you have an execution axe, definitely worth a look.

M3 Inc (2413 JP) reported 3QFY03/2022 results on Wednesday. Revenue grew 16.0% YoY to JPY56.5bn (vs consensus JPY54.3bn) while OP grew 22.4% YoY to JPY22.6bn (vs consensus JPY20.6bn).
The company for the first time provided information on its US&EU businesses. Pharma marketing & research generates a majority of revenues followed by clinical trials in these regions.
M3 also has acquired MirVracha, a website providing marketing support services to pharmaceutical companies in Russia. MirVracha has approx. 400k members, around 60% of all physicians in the country.

The recent plunge in share price of Anhui Anke Biotechnology and Changchun High & New Tech (000661 CH) (CCHT) was mainly due to the volume-based purchase (VBP) on recombinant human growth hormone.
The best result is both CCHT and Anke quit this VBP.However,if CCHT quits but Anke wins the bidding and applies low-price strategy,CCHT couldn’t keep its price system and market share.
Overall, growth hormone is a market with increasing competition and shrinking market size as fewer babies are born in China. So, developing more new indications would be the way out.

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