News

The European Medicines Agency’s main scientific committee has recommended that Boehringer Ingelheim’s new combination pill for hypertension, Twynsta, be approved for marketing.

At a time of intense competition in the antibody field, venture capital-backed NovImmune SA of Switzerland has secured an exclusive licensing deal with Genentech Inc for a pre-clinical compound targeting two forms of the Interleukin-17 (IL-17) family of cytokines.

A potential treatment for heart disease that uses a natural process to drain fatty material from clogged arteries is being backed by a €40 million investment from the French government and venture capitalists.

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.