News

Crucell calls shareholder meeting to discuss J&J offer

Country
Netherlands

Crucell NV has scheduled an informal meeting of shareholders for 10 December 2010 to discuss Johnson & Johnson’s offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares in the company that it does not already own, in a bid valued at about  €1.75 billion.

Roche confirms earnings forecast

Country
Switzerland

Following a 2% rise in group sales in the first nine months of 2010, the Roche Group has confirmed that it expects core earnings per share at constant exchange rates to show double-digit growth for the full year.

FDA issues warning on the use of bisphosphonates

Country
United States

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the possible risk of atypical thigh bone fracture in patients who take bisphosphonates which are used to prevent and treat osteoporosis. Manufactures are being asked to alter their labels.

Lundbeck to develop therapeutic antibodies for CNS

Country
Denmark

In a groundbreaking agreement, H. Lundbeck A/S has entered into a collaboration with Genmab A/S to develop human antibody therapeutics for disorders of the central nervous system. This will be Lundbeck’s first entry into antibody therapeutics.

Abiraterone survival data called significant

Country
United Kingdom

Data from a large Phase 3 trial of a new hormone therapy, abiraterone, for men with prostate cancer has been called significant by a prostate cancer expert at Cancer Research UK. The data showed the drug gave a nearly four-month survival advantage.

Novartis in antibody-drug conjugate deal

Country
Switzerland

Novartis has become the latest pharmaceutical company to invest in antibody-drug conjugates, a technology that is said to hold considerable promise for the treatment of cancer.

German cancer centre and Roche in diagnostics deal

Country
Germany

The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and Roche Molecular Systems Inc have entered into a three-year collaboration to find out if they can predict a woman’s risk for developing cervical cancer.

Merck Serono to appeal against cladribine opinion

Country
Switzerland

Merck Serono has announced plans to appeal against the European Medicines Agency’s decision not to recommend approval of its candidate multiple sclerosis drug, Movectro (cladribine). The negative opinion was issue on 23 September 2010.

Roche reports interim results for T-DM1

Country
Switzerland

Roche Holding AG and its US partner, ImmunoGen Inc, said that interim results from a Phase 2 study of their antibody-drug conjugate, trastuzumab-DM1, showed a better response rate in women with metastatic breast cancer, than with a comparator.

Abbott withdraws sibutramine from US market

Country
United States

At the request of the US Food and Drug Administration, Abbott Laboratories Inc has agreed to withdraw its obesity drug, Meridia (sibutramine), from the US market because of clinical trial data indicating an increased cardiovascular risk.