News

GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to contribute adjuvant to an international project to create a vaccine against infections from the coronavirus which originated in China and is rapidly spreading  elsewhere. The World Health Organization has declared the spread of the virus to be a public health emergency. GSK will be working with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a group set up in 2017 to develop vaccines to stop future epidemics.

Sales of non-insulin treatments for diabetes helped sustain growth at Novo Nordisk A/S where turnover for 2019 amounted to DKK 122 billion (€16.3 billion), up by 9% on a reported basis from a year earlier and by 6% in constant exchange rates. Operating profit advanced by 11% to DKK 52.3 billion giving an operating margin of 43%.

GlaxoSmithKline plc plans to complete its previously announced restructuring – separating into a dedicated biopharma company and a new publicly-listed consumer healthcare business – over the next two years. The new biopharma business will focus on science related to the immune system, taking advantage of the company’s existing expertise in vaccines and immuno-oncology.

An antisense oligonucleotide directed against a non-coding microRNA in cardiac tissue has shown an ability to reverse heart failure in preclinical studies involving a variety of animal models including a clinically relevant pig model of heart failure. The results of the study were reported in Nature Communications on 31 January 2020. The lead author is Ariana Foinquinos of Hannover Medical School in Germany.

Roche finished 2019 with increases in both sales and operating profit despite competition from biosimilar versions of two of its core products. Group sales were CHF 61.5 billion ($63.8 billion), up by 8% even as the cancer drugs Herceptin and Rituxan retreated following the loss of exclusivity. Roche reported an operating profit of CHF 17.5 billion on the basis of International Financial Reporting Standards, up by 19%. Net income was CHF 14 billion, up by 30%.

Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis, has completed the acquisition of the Japanese business of Aspen Global Inc, expanding its presence in Japan, the third largest market for generics in the world. Aspen’s portfolio consists of about 20 products with a focus on ana+esthetics and specialty medicines. The acquisition gives Sandoz a dedicated sales, marketing and medical organisation enabling it to deal directly with hospitals.

Novartis continued to focus on proprietary drug development in 2019 while giving its Sandoz generics unit more autonomy within the company. Acquisitions and divestments continued to shape the business. During the year, Novartis spun out its Alcon eye division with its portfolio of ophthalmic surgical products, and spent $3.4 billion upfront to acquire a treatment for dry eye disease from Takeda Pharmaceutical Col Ltd.

Quench Bio Inc, a start-up biotech incubated by venture capitalists, has been launched in Cambridge, Mass, US to develop small molecule drugs for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The launch was announced on 27 January concurrent with $50 million in Series A financing.

Switzerland-based GeNeuro SA has raised €17.5 million in a private share placement, enabling it to complete a new clinical trial of its experimental treatment for multiple sclerosis temelimab. The trial will be conducted at the Karolinska Institutet and the Academic Specialist Center in Stockholm, Sweden and is expected to report results in the second half of 2021.

A combination of the anti-platelet medicine Brilinta (ticagrelor) with aspirin can reduce the risk of stroke and death in patients with minor acute ischaemic stroke or at high risk of a transient ischaemic attack, according to AstraZeneca Plc. Data from a Phase 3 trial involving more than 11,000 patients showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the risk of stroke for those who received Brilinta and aspirin compared with aspirin alone.