News

GlaxoSmithKline Plc will focus on building its pharmaceutical pipeline this year while executing a merger of its consumer healthcare business with that of Pfizer Inc. This was the message delivered by Emma Walmsley, the chief executive, following the release of first-quarter results on 1 May which showed a 6% rise in turnover to £7.7 billion and an operating profit of £1.43 billion, up by 15% from a year earlier. The operating margin was 18.6%.

The European Medicines Agency has given a positive opinion to an implant for the treatment opioid addiction which is intended to treat the disorder by giving users a steady but low supply of an opioid drug. Called Sixmo, the implant consists of four small rods that are placed in a patient’s arm by a physician using a local anaesthetic.

Recent acquisitions and strong sales for vaccines and rare disease medicines lifted Sanofi SA in the first quarter after a lacklustre performance in 2018. The French company reported net sales of €8.4 billion for the quarter, up by 6.2% from a year earlier and net income of €1.14 billion, up by 11.9%. This followed a restructuring of its portfolio to focus on specialty medicines and away from insulins. With an operating profit of €1.4 billion, the company delivered an operating margin of 17%.

AstraZeneca Plc delivered higher product sales and an increase in operating profit in the first quarter, continuing a turnaround that took hold in 2018. Product sales rose across the company’s three therapy areas, while operating expenses remained subdued. As a result, the operating margin rose to 20% from 13.4% a year earlier.

A Phase 3 trial investigating a new small molecule drug for advanced fibrosis failed to meet its primary endpoint, sending the developer Gilead Sciences Inc back to the drawing board. The drug, selonsertib, was being investigated in patients with stage 3 fibrosis due to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a progressive liver disease characterised by the accumulation of fat and inflammation in the liver.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new patent to Emmanuelle Charpentier and colleagues for their work on the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9. The patent, granted to Dr Charpentier, the Regents of the University of California and the University of Vienna, focuses on systems and methods for using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology in a single guide format, including uses to target and edit or modulate genes, according to ERS Genomics Ltd, an Ireland-based company created to provide access to the technology.

Cambridge Innovation Capital Plc is leading an investment group that includes Genentech to provide seed capital to promising life science and healthcare companies in the UK and elsewhere. The seed capital will be issued by a new business accelerator called Start Codon located in Cambridge, UK.

Novartis’ new simplified structure was on display in the first quarter as the company finalised plans to spin-off its Alcon eye care division and reported financial results for its two core business units: innovative medicines and the Sandoz generics business.

A new player in the gamma delta T cell therapy arena has brought a cancer therapy to the clinic – this time for acute myeloid leukaemia. Glasgow, UK-based TC BioPharm Ltd has started a Phase 1 study of an allogeneic cell therapy consisting of activated and expanded gamma delta T cells.

The first non-drug treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – a device that stimulates the trigeminal nerve – has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Called the Monarch external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) system, it is intended to be used in the home under the supervision of a caregiver. The prescription-only device is indicated for patients from seven to 12 years of age who have been diagnosed with ADHD but are not taking a drug treatment.