News

AstraZeneca Plc reported a 16% increase in product sales to $6 billion the third quarter and a rise of 13% in the first nine months to $17.3 billion after years of investment in new products lifted it off one of the industry’s biggest patent cliffs. Driving the result were higher sales of the lung cancer drugs Tagrisso and Imfinzi and strong performances by the antiplatelet medicine Brilinta and the respiratory drug Symbicort. Geographically, sales grew strongly in the emerging markets, led by China, followed by Japan and the US.

Biogen Inc and Eisai Co Ltd have announced plans to seek US regulatory approval for aducanumab, a candidate treatment for early Alzheimer’s disease, just months after two Phase 3 trials for the drug were stopped for futility. The decision to proceed with registration follows discussions with the Food and Drug Administration about a larger dataset from the Phase 3 studies which showed that the drug worked at a high dose.

Led by the plaque psoriasis treatment Cosentyx, sales at Novartis advanced by 10% to $12.2 billion in the third quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, and enabling an upward revision in the company’s guidance for the year as a whole. On a constant currency basis, sales were up by 13% for the quarter.

A new triple combination therapy for cystic fibrosis, targeting the most common genetic mutation behind the disease, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Trikafta (elexacaftor/ivacaftor/tezacaftor) is now available to patients 12 years and older who have at least one F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. This is said to represent about 90% of all patients with the disease.

Bavarian Nordic A/S has significantly expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of vaccines for rabies and tick-borne encephalitis from GlaxoSmithKline Plc giving it two licensed products that can be marketed alongside its recently approved vaccine for smallpox and monkeypox infection, Jynneos. The €796 million deal includes an upfront fee of €301 million, plus performance-based milestone payments.

The first vaccine for the active immunisation of individuals at risk of infection from the Ebola virus is being recommended for use in countries affected by the disease including the Democratic Republic of Congo where a public health emergency has been declared by the World Health Organization.

The European Medicine Agency’s chief scientific committee has issued a positive opinion for Evenity (romosozumab) for the treatment of severe postmenopausal osteoporosis after initially rejecting the drug on the basis of cardiovascular safety concerns.

Paris-based Sofinnova Partners has announced the close of an oversubscribed €333 million life science fund that will invest in early-stage healthcare companies – predominantly in Europe. This is the latest addition to the Sofinnova business which also includes funds for industrial biotech and seed investments in gene and cell therapy companies.

GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd, a UK biotech exploring the potential of gamma delta T cells as a basis for cell therapies, has created a new company that will investigate potential antibody therapeutics for cancer using the same technology.

The Roche group has nudged its sales forecast higher for 2019 following a strong performance of its multiple sclerosis, haemophilia and cancer drugs and four regulatory approvals in the first nine months of the year. The Switzerland-based company said it expects to raise its dividend again this year after paying CHF 8.70 per share in 2018.