Ipsen SA reported its best annual results so far in 2017 with consolidated revenue rising by 20.4% to €2.0 billion and operating profit gaining 30.4% to €397.2 million. The French company’s market value rose by 45.5% for the year to €8.3 billion, reflecting the strong performance.
Evotec AG is to gain rights to a group of infectious disease assets from Sanofi SA in a transaction that will see the German company become a research hub for the development of medicines for diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.
Spain-based Minoryx Therapeutics s.l. has spun out a platform technology into a new company, enabling it to focus on its lead programme MIN-102 for the treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, a genetic disorder affecting the nervous system.
With two products on the market and four wholly-owned compounds in late-stage development, Denmark’s Zealand Pharma A/S has positioned itself to grow as an independent biopharma company.
Lundbeck A/S continued to bear the fruits of a rolling restructuring programme as earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) as a percentage of revenue in 2017 grew to 25.6%, up from 14.7% a year earlier. This was just above the company’s target of 25%.
Novartis has expanded an alliance with Science 37 Inc of the US to launch up to 10 clinical trials over the next three years that will be conducted at a participant’s home or a physician’s officer rather than at a formal clinical trial site. Science 37 is a mobile technology and clinical trial company.
With new evidence showing that the biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease start earlier than expected, the European Medicines Agency has revised its guideline for companies developing drugs for the disease.
Citing the urgent need for new drugs to treat neurological diseases, the US Food and Drug Administration has shaken up its review teams to encourage experts to work across disciplines and identify new opportunities for treatment.
Verona Pharma Plc has reported positive top-line data from a Phase 2a trial of its inhaled drug for patients with cystic fibrosis, a rare inherited disease that causes impaired lung function and premature death. The data showed an improvement in lung function that was statistically significant.
Novartis has announced a collaboration with Pear Therapeutics Inc to develop digital therapeutics for patients with schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis using mobile and desktop software. The new products would deliver clinically-proven treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy.