Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Half of the volume of Sanofi sales now comes from emerging markets, Viehbacher noted. That equates to 30 percent of sales because of lower prices.

While the growing middle class in those countries can't afford U.S. drug prices, Viehbacher said his company can still make profit margins about the same as in Europe, where government price controls keep levels below U.S. prices.

“Your entire cost basis is lower because you manufacture locally, you hire locally. We can produce as low-cost as any Indian generic company.”

The above is a succinct description of the future of the pharmaceutical industry. MNTA investors might not like him but, from a big-picture standpoint, Viehbacher is doing all the right things.

p.s. Sanofi’s ticker symbol hasn’t changed—it’s still SNY. Reuters newswires often get these symbols wrong.