News

Genmab to reduce headcount

Country
Denmark

Genmab A/S has announced further plans to reduce its headcount and generate savings for the ongoing development of its therapeutic antibody programmes. This follows the launch of a new strategy in September under new management.

Lundbeck invests more in desmoteplase

Country
Denmark

H. Lundbeck A/S has signalled its confidence in the experimental stroke treatment, desmoteplase, by increasing the size of two ongoing Phase 3 trials of the drug and committing money to the development of possible second-generation compounds.

UK launches a new type of life-science cluster

Country
United Kingdom

The UK government has launched two new life science clusters that will bring experts from industry, the academic community and the National Health Service together to do early-stage drug development.

EMA recommends nasal spray vaccine

Country
United Kingdom

AstraZeneca Plc’s new nasal spray vaccine designed to prevent seasonal flu has been given a positive opinion by the European Medicine Agency’s main scientific committee, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

FDA approves Herceptin for stomach cancer

Country
Switzerland

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Herceptin (trastuzumab) in combination with chemotherapy for HER2-positive metastatic stomach and gastroesophageal junction cancers, the drug’s manufacturer, Roche, announced.

FDA issues warning for prostate cancer drugs

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has asked manufacturers of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, which are used to treat men with prostate cancer, to carry warnings on their labels about the potential risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Cerenis Therapeutics raises additional €10 million

Country
France

Cerenis Therapeutics SA has raised an additional €10 million in the second closing of a Series C round to support its portfolio of therapies to treat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This brings total funds raised in the C round to €50 million.

US regulatory warning for Invirase

Country
United States

New safety information has been added to the label for the HIV therapy, Invirase (saquinavir), describing potentially life-threatening side effects on the heart when used with Novir (ritonavir), the US Food and Drug Administration announced.

GSK’s sales decline in Q3

Country
United Kingdom

GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported a sales decline of 2% in the third quarter of 2010 to £6.8 billion. However, excluding events such as the suspension of Avandia (rosiglitazone) in Europe and restrictions in the US, sales rose by an underlying 6%.

Novartis’s net income rose 10% in third quarter

Novartis International AG has reported a 10% rise in net income to $2.3 billion in the 2010 third quarter on net sales of $12.6 billion. Recently launched products accounted for 20% of third-quarter sales, up from 15% a year earlier.