Novartis reported a 7% decline net sales in the third quarter of 2012 as the loss of exclusivity on the antihypertensive, Diovan, began to have an effect on revenue. But sales of products launched since 2007 continued to perform strongly.
Sanofi SA reported net sales of €9 billion in the 2012 third quarter, up by 3.3% on a reported basis, but down 3.1% at constant exchange rates. The expiry of a patent on a chemotherapy drug was a drag on revenue. But new products were 70% of sales.
AstraZeneca Plc’s new chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said that increasing sales of Brilinta and newly in-licensed diabetes products are among several objectives going forward as the UK multinational seeks to reverse recent declines in both profit and revenue.
In a move to strengthen its rare disease franchise, Shire Plc has entered into a research deal with Fondazione Telethon, an Italian biomedical charity, to investigate a number of lysosomal storage disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
Elan Corporation Plc reported a net loss of $216.2 million from continuing operations in the third quarter as the result of restructuring charges and impairment costs. A year-earlier, the Dublin Ireland-based company reported a third-quarter profit of $3.5 million.
The European Medicines Agency has started an infringement procedure against Roche for alleged deficiencies in its medicine-safety reporting system. It is the first time the agency has started a procedure of this kind against a company.
Eli Lilly and Company said that three Phase 3 studies of dulaglutide, its glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) treatment for Type 2 diabetes, met their primary endpoints and showed superiority in reducing blood sugar levels compared with exenatide and two other drugs.
The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has issued a positive opinion for a new diagnostic for patients who are being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease – the first of its kind.
The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded the approved indication for an artificial heart valve manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences Corp to include patients with aortic valve stenosis who are eligible for surgery but at a high risk of complications.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved ocriplasmin (Jetrea), the first pharmaceutical product for treating for symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion, which occurs when the vitreous gel of the eye fails to detach from the retina.