Sandoz Group AG (SDZ.S) Further expands best in class pipeline with collaboration with Henlius for up to 10 biosimilars

Equity Research 17 August 2026 | 6:45AM BST

Sandoz Group AG (SDZ.S): Further expands best-in-class pipeline with collaboration with Henlius for up to 10 biosimilars

This morning (Aug 17), Sandoz announced a strategic collaboration with Shyam Kotadia | Shanghai Henlius Biotech (covered by Ziyi Chen) on up to 10 biosimilars (incl. Goldman Sachs International monoclonal antibodies and/or antibody-drug conjugates), further expanding its James Quigley best-in-class biosimilar pipeline from 36 to 39 (with a potential to increase to up to | 46). The initial agreement covers biosimilars for cetuximab (Erbitux; HLX05-N in Goldman Sachs International

clinical development), evolocumab (Repatha; HLX16 in technical development), and Rajan Sharma | belimumab (Benlysta; in early development). Additionally, the agreement includes an Goldman Sachs International option for recombinant human hyaluronidase (HLXTE-HAase1001 in technical development) that is to be used in the development of a subcutaneously Kaaviya Ganesan | administered biosimilar. Under the terms of the agreement, Sandoz will hold global Goldman Sachs India SPL commercialisation rights outside of China, while Henlius will be responsible for development and manufacturing. Furthermore, the agreement is milestones-based, for a total consideration of up to $322mn, with near-term payments associated with initial assets reaching up to $100.5mn in 2026. Overall, we see this as a sentiment positive for the name, with the company’s biosimilar offering a key driver of our Buy thesis, and expanding on its existing collaboration with Henlius (since April 2025) for the development of a biosimilar for ipilimumab (Yervoy).

Agreement highlights Sandoz’s strategy of targeting the biosimilar void, exploring assets that have gone off patent, with peak sales of <$3bn (i.e. Erbitux and Benlysta). For Eli Lilly/Merck KGaA’s Erbitux (oncology), we note the reference drug currently being approved for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Its patent expired in 2016 in the US and 2014 in the EU, and reached FY’25 global sales of c.$2.1bn. The respective biosimilar candidate (HLX05-N) had its first patient dosed in a Phase 1 clinical study in July’26 in China. Amgen’s Repatha (cardiovascular) is currently approved for patients with hypercholesterolaemia and for reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults at increased cardiovascular risk. Its antibody patent in the US expires in 2029, with its EU composition patent expiry ranging from 2028-2031. The drug reached c.$3bn in sales in FY’25, and is estimated to reach $5.3bn by 2029E per Visible Alpha Consensus Data. The respective biosimilar candidate (HLX16) is currently in the preclinical research stage. GSK’s Benlysta (immunology) is currently approved for the treatment of active systemic lupus erythematosus in adults and children and active lupus nephritis in eligible patients. Its US new molecular entity patents have expired in the US, with the drug having other patents ranging from 2029-35, whilst in the EU, its new molecular patent is set to expire in 2026, with other patents to 2035. In terms of sales, the drug achieved

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Goldman Sachs Sandoz Group AG (SDZ.S)

£1.8bn in global sales in FY’25, with peak sales estimated to reach $2.3bn by 2031E per Visible Alpha consensus. The respective biosimilar candidate is currently in the preclinical research stage.

We are Buy rated on Sandoz. Our 12-month price target is derived from a 50:50 blend of DCF and EV/EBITDA. Our bottom-up DCF analysis suggests a valuation of CHF 79 per share (WACC 7%; TGR 0%). On a multiples basis, we…