Company News

Evotec AG has agreed to pay about €12 million for Kinaxo Biotechnologies GmbH, a Munich-based drug discovery company, which supports the development of targeted drugs.

Sanofi-Aventis SA lost more than €2 billion of sales due to generic competition in 2010. This, plus healthcare reform and government austerity, contributed to a 0.8% decline in group sales, at constant exchange rates, in 2010.

Elan Corporation Plc was able to increase sales and strengthen its balance sheet in 2010 as the result of strong demand for its antibody treatment for multiple sclerosis, Tysabri (natalizumab).

Crucell NV, the Dutch developer of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines that Johnson & Johnson is seeking to acquire, has reported a 2010 operating loss on write-downs relating to a manufacturing problem.

AstraZeneca Plc said it is stopping a Phase 3 trial of zibotentan, an endothelin-A receptor antagonist, as a monotherapy against non-metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer. However a trial of the drug, with chemotherapy, will continue.

Cellnovo Ltd of the UK, the developer of a diabetes pump management system, has raised £30 million in a Series B financing round from a group of international investors led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners of Paris, France.

Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a three-year research agreement with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to explore a new strategy for regenerating beta cells in people with Type 1 diabetes.

Merck & Co Inc has ended its multi-year drug-target discovery alliances with Galápagos NV of Belgium citing changes in its corporate strategy. It will pay Galápagos €12 million for work completed in 2010.

Phase 3 trial results of a new antibiotic for infections from C. difficile have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The antibiotic, fidaxomicin, showed lower recurrence rates and better cure rates compared with vancomycin.

Following a decline in 2010 net profit of 67%, GlaxoSmithKline Plc acted to support shareholder confidence by raising its dividend by 7% for the year and to launching a new long-term share repurchase programme that could see it buy back between £1 and 2 billion worth of its shares in 2011.