News

Sanofi SA reported mixed results for 2011 with a modest rise in sales, a decline in operating income and a rise in net profit resulting from a lower tax liability.

H. Lundbeck A/S reported an 8% increase in revenue for 2011. But restructuring and other costs increased at a faster pace leaving a profit from operations up by a smaller 1%. A higher tax bill meant that net income fell by 7% to DKK 2,282 million.

Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc said that enrolment of patients into four studies of a new agent against Gram-negative bacteria, GSK052, has been stopped pending investigation of a microbiologial finding in a small number of patients.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported an underlying sales growth of 4% in 2011 and improved pharmaceutical productivity, as the effects of a multi-year restructuring programme and a new R&D strategy started to deliver results.

Innate Pharma SA reported revenue and other income of €11.7 million in 2011, reflecting the impact of its licensing agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for rights to an anti-cancer monoclonal antibody in early clinical development.

Venture-capital backed Pieris AG has received a €1 million German government grant to support the development of a cancer compound that targets the c-Met signalling pathway. The funds will be used for biomarker discovery.

Cytos Biotechnology Ltd has received approval from a court in the canton of Zurich to restructure a convertible bond valued at about $44.8 million. This follows a move to cut its workforce last August from 82 to10 and to reduce the size of its executive.

Wilex AG is set to receive up to €2.6 million from the German government to support the preclinical and clinical development of a small molecule cancer compound that targets the P13K signalling pathway.

Novo Nordisk A/S expects revenue to grow by 7-11% this year even as some of its products face generic competition, and government healthcare reforms put downward pressure on prices. The company now claims a 24% share of the diabetes market.

Agennix AG of Germany has stopped further enrollment and treatment in a Phase 2/3 trial of talactoferrin, a genetically-engineered form of the human protein, lactoferrin, on safety grounds. The drug was being studied in sepsis.