Actelion’s global CEO and co-founder, Dr. Jean-Paul Clozel, discusses diversifying the company’s portfolio, prioritizing internal research over inorganic acquisitions, and retaining a spirit of independence and innovation during a period of rapid growth.
2015 was a fantastic year for the company, the best yet, passing the USD two billion sales mark. This year, the half year performance has also been very good, despite the expiry of the patent for the blockbuster Tracleer, with Opsumit and Uptravi having registered a good uptake. How have you managed your portfolio transformation, transitioning your pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) business from being dependent on a single product, to moving out and building up a more diverse specialty care pipeline with a compound that is reflected across a range of therapeutic areas?
It is very difficult to continually innovate in the field of PAH at the same pace - hence our shift towards other therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, CNS, immunology and anti-infectives
