The publicly-traded Swedish speciality pharmaceutical company, Biovitrum AB, has announced plans to merge with closely-held Swedish Orphan International AB to create a new company with SEK 2 billion (€191 million) in revenues and an orphan drug franchise.
Probiodrug AG, a German company that has discovered a novel target with a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and additional inflammatory conditions, has raised €36 million in a Series B financing.
PDC Biotech GmbH, a privately-held Austrian company that is developing peptide antagonists to treat uterine contractions, has raised €4 million in a Series A financing led by MIG Verwaltungs AG and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Shire Plc, the British speciality pharmaceutical company, posted a decline in revenue because of generic competition in the third quarter.
Sanofi-Aventis has raised its earnings guidance for 2009 in light of expected income in the fourth quarter from sales of its pandemic flu vaccine. Earnings per share are now expected to rise by 11% this year, instead of the previously-forecast 10% rise.
Proximagen Neuroscience Plc, a King’s College London spin-out that recently raised £50 million on Britain’s junior stock market, has expanded its portfolio of CNS drug candidates with the acquisition of Cambridge Biotechnology Ltd.
Unexpectedly strong US sales of an off-patent beta-blocker, together with sales of a new pandemic flu vaccine, drove up revenue at AstraZeneca Plc by 10% in the third quarter. For 2009, the company sees sales growth in the mid-to-high single digits.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc reported a 3% increase in turnover at constant exchange rates in the 2009 third quarter as it shifted its marketing efforts towards the developing world, Japan and consumer healthcare.
Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc, a contract research organisation based in Wilmington, North Carolina, is to invest $100 million in Celtic Therapeutics Holdings LP, itself an investor in mid-stage drug candidates.
MorphoSys AG expects that outlays for product development and technology in 2009 will amount to between €18 million to €20 million, more than double the level a year earlier. Revenue at the German antibody company is forecast at €80 to €85 million.