In separate decisions, regulatory authorities in the US and Europe have paved the way for the introduction of two new medicines for different blood cancers – substantially increasing the treatment options for patients with a number of rare cancers.
The Roche group posted a sales gain of 5% to CHF 22,974 million (€18,905 million) in the first half, driven by a 30% rise in US revenue from its breast cancer medicines. The gains were in constant currencies; measured in Swiss francs there was a decline of 1%.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc saw across-the-board declines in revenue and profit in the second quarter as competition increased in the US for its respiratory products and the consumer division was hit by supply interruptions for some medicines.
The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union has given a fresh interpretation to restrictions laid down by the court in 2011 on the patentability of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes.
Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB increased revenue by 27% in the second quarter on the back of demand for its rare disease therapy Orfadin for hereditary tyrosinaemia type 1. During the quarter, Sobi and its partner Biogen also received FDA approval for a new haemophilia A product.
AbbVie Inc has won the agreement of Shire Plc’s management to create a newly merged biopharmaceutical company that will be domiciled in the UK and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal was secured on 18 July for a combination of shares and cash valued at £52.48 per share. The total deal value is about £32 billion.
Novartis reported a modest increase in sales and earnings in the second quarter as it continued to work on the divestment of two of its businesses, create a joint venture for a third, and expand its presence in oncology.
A Phase 3 trial of a combination therapy for metastatic melanoma has been stopped early because an interim analysis showed an overall survival benefit for the treatment group compared with the control, according to the developer GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
Scientists at Heptares Therapeutics Ltd of the UK have described for the first time the structure of a domain of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs) complex – membrane proteins that are involved in a broad range of biological processes and diseases. The findings were published online in Nature.
A vaccine designed to protect children in poorer nations against infection from the Dengue virus has been shown to be effective in a Phase 3 trial which was carried out over two years in five countries in the Asia-Pacific region.