News

York Pharma Plc, a British company that develops dermatological products for the hospital market, has gone into administration because of a shortage of cash.

The Swedish speciality pharmaceutical company, Biovitrum AB, said revenue before licensing income increased by 52% to SEK 675.1 million in the 2009 first half as the company expanded its pharmaceutical sales beyond the Nordic region.

Alizyme Plc, a UK company that mostly in-licensed medical products and out-sourced their clinical development with a view to eventually selling the products to another company at a profit, has gone into administration because of a lack of funds.

The European Medicines Agency has given positive opinions for five new medicines, including a biologic from Novartis to treat a rare auto-inflammatory disease and a new indication for Roche’s MabThera for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s decision to acquire Medarex Inc for $2.1 billion has lifted the shares of antibody companies in both the US and Europe including that of Genmab A/S which was founded in 1999 on the basis of Medarex technology.

Studies suggesting that use of the diabetes treatment, Lantus (insulin glargine), could be linked to cancer have been investigated by the European Medicines Agency which has concluded that the medicine is safe to prescribe.

The Roche Group said that sales of its pharmaceuticals and diagnostics in 2009 should grow ‘well ahead’ of the market for these products, continuing a trend seen in the first half of the year.

Galápagos NV said that it has reached a milestone in its collaboration with Eli Lilly to develop new medicines for osteoporosis triggering a payment of €2.5 million.  This brings total payments to it from the collaboration to €3.9 million.

New products contributed £377 million to total sales at GlaxoSmithKline in the 2009 second quarter, up by 42% from the first quarter. Included in this category were two vaccines, Rotarix for gastro-enteritis, and Cervarix for cervical cancer, which produced combined sales of £144 million.

Actelion Ltd, the Swiss specialist pharmaceutical company, has raised its forecast for both revenue and earnings before interest and tax in 2009 in light of a strong financial result in the first half of the year.