News

Alys Pharmaceuticals Inc, a new company with a preclinical pipeline of candidate drugs for immune-related disorders, was launched on 12 February with $100 million of capital. The company was co-founded by the venture capital group Medicxi and a group of six scientists specialising in immuno-dermatology. The scientific founders are based at institutions in the US, Germany and France and include Craig Mello, professor at the UMass Chan Medical School, US, and winner of a Nobel Prize in 2006 for the discovery of RNA interference.

Novo Nordisk A/S lifted its share of the global diabetes market to 33.8% in 2023 from 31.9% a year earlier driven by demand for its glucagon-like-peptide-1 medicines for type 2 diabetes. These drugs, Ozempic, Victoza and Rybelsus, help manage blood sugar by triggering the pancreas to release more insulin. Novo generated revenue of DKK123 billion ($17.81 billion) from the three medicines in 2023, representing 53% of group sales.

Novo Nordisk A/S has announced plans to increase capacity for the supply of its medicines for diabetes and obesity in a staged transaction under which a subsidiary of its controlling shareholder, Novo Holdings A/S, will take over Catalent Inc, one the world’s largest contract manufacturing organisations (CMO). Announced on 5 February, the deal is expected to complete towards the end of 2024.

AstraZeneca Plc delivered a third consecutive year of revenue growth in 2023 as medicines across three of its therapy areas delivered a double-digit increase and the company launched new products. Speaking to journalists on 8 February, Pascal Soriot, the chief executive, predicted more  growth in 2014 and at least 15 new product launches by 2030. “We are seeing growth across all geographies,” he said, adding that this is being driven by new technologies.

Germany-based TVM Capital Life Science has co-led a $16 million Series A financing for Vektor Medical Inc, a US medical technology company that has developed a device for the non-invasive analysis of arrhythmias, a condition characterised by irregular or abnormal heartbeats. The co-investor was Solas BioVentures of the US.

The US Food and Drug Administration is to give a priority review to Arexvy, a vaccine for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease, in the new indication for adults from the ages of 50 to 59 years. Developed by GSK Plc, the vaccine is currently approved for adults 60 years and above. If authorised, Arexvy would be the first vaccine to help protect the new age group against lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV.

Novartis is to acquire MorphoSys AG for €2.7 billion in cash in order to gain access to pelabresib, a late-stage drug for the treatment of myelofibrosis, a blood cancer caused by genetic abnormalities in bone marrow stem cells. The deal, announced on 5 February, unites two companies with a long history of collaboration in the development of antibody therapeutics.

Sanofi SA plans to generate more than €10 billion in sales from the launch of new pharmaceuticals by 2030 as part of a restructuring outlined by Paul Hudson, the chief executive in 2023. Updating the plans on 1 February, Mr Hudson said that Sanofi is on track to complete development of 12 new medicines, of which two are indicated for multiple sclerosis and one for atopic dermatitis. At the same time, the company is moving ahead with plans to spin out its consumer healthcare business in order to focus exclusively on biopharmaceutical and vaccine development.

The Roche Group reported sales of CHF 58.7 billion ($68.6 billion) in 2023, a decline of 7% from a year earlier in Swiss francs. At constant exchange rates however, the results showed a small 1% rise. The decline reflected the absence of sales for Covid-19 products in the most recent period – a reflection of the global recovery from the pandemic. During 2023, Roche also faced biosimilar competition for three of its legacy products – the cancer medicines Herceptin, Avastin and Rituxan. Rituxan is also approved for autoimmune diseases. 

Novartis completed the spin-out of its Sandoz generics and biosimilars business in 2023, ending the year with sales of $45.4 billion from continuing operations which consist entirely of proprietary medicines. On 31 January, Vas Narasimhan, the chief executive, restated the company’s goal of focusing on four therapeutic areas in the future. He also singled out four countries where the company will concentrate its marketing efforts. They are the US, China, Germany and Japan.