Elan Corporation Plc expects to pay $203.5 million as part of a settlement with the US relating to its sales and promotions of the epilepsy drug, Zonegran (zonisamide), a charge that largely accounted for the company’s second quarter loss of $213.1 million.
The Roche chief executive, Severin Schwan, has confirmed the company expects to see mid-single-digit sales growth in 2010, even taking into account the possible loss of an indication for its lead cancer product, Avastin (bevacizumab).
The European Medicines Agency said it expects to complete its review of the safety of rosiglitazone-containing medicines, including Avandia, by September 2010. The review is looking at the risk of cardiovascular problems with the drugs.
After nearly three years into a major restructuring programme, GlaxoSmithKline has reported flat sales and a loss for the 2010 second quarter. But the company is raising its dividend by 7% to 15 pence per share and it expects to deliver a broadly stable operating profit margin for 2010.
Actelion AG of Switzerland has paid €10 million for an option to acquire privately-owned Trophos SA of France which is developing drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. Trophos’s drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is in Phase 3.
An antiretroviral-based microbicide that includes the drug, tenofovir, has been shown in a Phase 2b trial to moderately protect women against sexually-transmitted HIV. The trial results were released at an international AIDS conference in Vienna.
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At the request of the FDA, Pfizer Inc has suspended its clinical programme for tanezumab in chronic lower back pain and diabetic peripheral neuropathy. But studies will continue in areas of unmet medical need such as cancer pain.
Evotec AG is expanding its drug discovery platform with the acquisition of the privately-owned German biotechnology company, DeveloGen, which has projects underway to treat both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Novartis AG said that recently launched products accounted for 21% of its second quarter sales and will more than offset the anticipated loss of sales from products going off patent in the next few years.
A majority of members of a joint US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted on 14 July 2010 to recommend that GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug, Avandia (rosiglitazone), be kept on the market but they expressed concerns about cardiovascular risk.