Sandoz Biosimilars Strategy: Capturing Market Opportunities for Affordable Healthcare
Sandoz’s Strategic Momentum in Biosimilars and Generics
Sandoz’s biosimilars strategy, as highlighted during the company’s presentation at the 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on January 13, 2026, outlines its progress as a standalone entity since 2023 and ambitious plans to capitalize on a projected “golden decade” of market opportunities. CEO Richard Saynor emphasized the company’s unique position as a pure-play biosimilar and generic firm, with 2024 net sales of USD 10.4 billion driven by double-digit biosimilar growth, and a pipeline targeting over USD 600 billion in loss of exclusivity (LoE) events through 2035. Key arguments highlighted Sandoz’s execution on commitments, including multiple 2025 biosimilar launches and investments exceeding USD 1.1 billion in manufacturing, positioning it to enhance patient access to high-quality, lower-cost therapies in a market valued at over USD 250 billion annually.
Seizing LoE Windfalls in Biosimilars and Generics
Sandoz’s biosimilars strategy is to capture a substantial share of the USD 600 billion LoE opportunity over the next decade, split between USD 340 billion in generics and USD 322 billion in biosimilars, with the company targeting 65% and 60% coverage respectively through pipelines of over 400 generic assets and 27 biosimilars. This is supported by specific data, such as the generics pipeline addressing originator sales of USD 220 billion, focused on oral solids and injectables, and the biosimilar portfolio spanning 13 molecules in nearly 100 countries, with recent launches like ustekinumab (Wezlana) and denosumab (Wyost) demonstrating rapid uptake in Europe and the US.
Trends point to a “biosimilar void,” where over 50 biologics lose exclusivity in the next seven years without late-stage competitors, exacerbated by high development costs; Sandoz advocates for regulatory streamlining to reduce timelines by 2-3 years and costs by USD 50-100 million per asset, without compromising quality, efficacy, or safety. These insights reveal Sandoz’s edge in scale, with operations in over 100 countries and 1,300 products, enabling it to drive market expansion—evidenced by ongoing double-digit growth in established biosimilars like adalimumab, which now treats twice as many European patients as at initial launch—while addressing affordability in aging populations facing rising healthcare costs.
Building Operational Pillars for Biosimilar Dominance
Sandoz’s achievements since its 2023 spinoff provide critical background, including the completion of a USD 250 million investment in a vertically integrated European penicillin production network and the acquisition of Just-Evotec Biologics’ Toulouse site, enhancing in-house development and manufacturing for biosimilars. The company’s approach relies on a robust pipeline evaluation starting from a European lens, prioritizing immunology and oncology assets based on patent landscapes, scientific feasibility, and market expansion potential, as seen in the 2025 launches of six biosimilars, three in Q4 alone, such as bevacizumab (biosimilar to Avastin) with an innovative autoinjector for patient convenience.
Financially, this is bolstered by a strong balance sheet maintaining a net debt to core EBITDA ratio below 2x, supporting mid-term projections of mid-single-digit annual sales growth to 2028 at constant exchange rates and core EBITDA margins of 24-26%, driven by biosimilar mix and operational leverage. These elements collectively validate Sandoz’s claims of reliable execution, with over 20,000 employees and a global supply network ensuring high-quality delivery, as reiterated in the conference Q&A where leaders discussed leveraging partnerships for GLP-1 generics in markets like Canada and Brazil by 2031. For deeper insights into CEO Richard Saynor’s conference remarks, the full outline reveals targeted expansions.
Shaping Health Economics Through Biosimilar Access
The Sandoz strategies will accelerate reimbursement and pricing reforms for biosimilars amid the patent cliff, where biologics will dominate LoE events post-2030, shifting from small-molecule generics that prevailed in 2016-2020. By filling the biosimilar void through streamlined regulations—initiatives Sandoz has pioneered—health systems could realize USD 322 billion in savings, enhancing patient access in high-cost areas like oncology and immunology, while ongoing studies may increasingly validate biosimilar equivalence to support payer confidence and reduce price erosion in competitive launches, as observed in the US denosumab rollout.
Sandoz’s focus on GLP-1 opportunities and private-label partnerships, such as with Cencora in the US, could democratize therapies for diabetes and obesity, potentially lowering overall pharmaceutical spend, which affordable medicines already represent at 80% of volume but only 30% of cost. This positions Sandoz to realize long-term savings and health equity gains, ultimately making the next decade a pivotal era for affordable healthcare innovation.
