News

AstraZeneca Plc has taken steps to bolster its respiratory portfolio with a licensing deal for a preclinical drug candidate that is being developed for patients with moderate to severe asthma.

MorphoSys AG plans to substantially increase spending on research and development this year as more of its proprietary antibody therapeutics advance in the clinic. Speaking to analysts on 3 May the chief executive, Simon Moroney, predicted steady progress in developing the portfolio, financed by liquidity that stood at €349.9 million on 31 March.

An enzyme replacement therapy, Brineura (cerliponase alfa), has been approved in the US for children with a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects the nervous system. The disorder, tripeptidyl peptidase-1 (TPP1) deficiency, is a form of Batten disease.

AstraZeneca Plc has received an accelerated approval in the US for its checkpoint antibody Imfinzi (durvalumab), which is expected to be the cornerstone of a prospective portfolio of immune oncology products targeting a variety of cancers.

Shire Plc reported a doubling of product sales to $3.4 billion in the first quarter, a result that was shaped by the acquisition of Baxalta Inc in June of 2016. The Baxalta businesses contributed $1.6 billion of the total sales figure. On a pro forma basis, the rise in product sales was 9%.

Novartis has secured US approval for a new kinase inhibitor, Rydapt (midostaurin), to treat patients with FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) in combination with chemotherapy. The approval also covers a diagnostic designed to detect the mutation.

A lipid lowering agent called Lojuxta, which has been approved for treating a rare inherited cholesterol disorder has shown a better effect on patients in clinical practice than it ever did in the trials leading up to its approval.

ReNeuron Plc has decided to put priority on bringing its cell therapy for stroke into Phase 3 and expand an early-stage programme in ophthalmology as part of a portfolio review that took into account recent clinical data and a manufacturing breakthrough.

Sanofi SA offset a decline in sales of its insulin products with gains from specialty medicines and vaccines, giving total group sales for the 2017 first quarter of €8.6 billion, up by 11.1% from a year earlier. The result was also helped by favourable exchange rates.

A research and development first was achieved by Roche in the 2017 first quarter when its treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration – opening up a new market for the Swiss multinational.