Clavis Pharma ASA expects to report top-line results before the end of 2012 from a pivotal trial of its personalized therapy for patients with pancreatic cancer – one of the most difficult-to-treat cancers.
Shire Plc has started a programme to buy back up to £500 million of its shares from the market in an apparent bid to woo investors following weak revenue growth in the third quarter. It has nevertheless confirmed its forecast for strong earnings growth in 2012.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug to treat chronic myelogenous leukaemia – the second therapy to be approved for CML in about two months. The drug, Synribo (omacetaxine mepesuccinate), comes from Teva.
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.