The Pharming Group NV has secured €10 million in new working capital from a group of institutional investors in order to enable it to complete a pivotal Phase 3 US study of its recombinant protein therapy, Ruconest, for hereditary angioedema (HAE).
Vernalis Plc of the UK saw a 77% increase in income from pharmaceutical collaborations in the first half of 2012, indicating broadening support for its structure-based approach to drug design and discovery. Overall, revenue was up by 36% to £5.9 million.
The financial results of Shire Plc released on 1 August 2012 indicate that the US based and Dublin headquartered company will be able to withstand genetic encroachment on its franchise for treating children with ADHD (attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder).
Following strong sales of its three core products, UCB SA has upgraded its revenue forecast for 2012 and now expects sales will be in excess of €3.2 billion, aligning it more closely with 2011 when revenue was €3,246 million. UCB had been anticipating revenue of around €3.1 billion.
A new spin-out of Merck Serono SA is being created to exploit molecules targeting two receptors in the G-protein-coupled receptor family of proteins with the goal of developing a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. François Conquet is to be the CEO.
An advisory committee of the US Food and Drug Administration has backed a new ophthamic medicine, ocriplasmin, from ThromboGenics NV of Belgium saying it should be granted approval to treat an eye disease known as symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion.
Sanofi reported second quarter revenue of €9.1 billion, a gain of 3.9% or €346 million from the year earlier figure. Remarkably, the French pharmaceutical company was able to keep its operating costs at very close to those a year earlier.
Roche reported a respectable gain in sales in the first half year, but burgeoning research and development costs put its operating result under pressure. Nevertheless the company retained its full-year forecast of a high single digit increase in core earnings per share.
Apogenix GmbH said that a final analysis of data from its Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial of a new drug for glioblastoma, APG101, confirmed the agent’s therapeutic effect as well as its safety and tolerability. The trial recruited 84 patients in 25 centres in Europe.
Competition from generics, coupled with a poor economic environment, squeezed AstraZeneca Plc in the second quarter as operating profit dropped sharply on both a reported and a core basis, after adjustments for one-off items such as restructuring.