News

Novo A/S, the holding company for the Danish diabetes and enzymes empire, has invested €90.3 million in Evotec AG, the German research service and product development company.

Sanofi SA reported slightly higher sales in 2016, boosted by income from multiple sclerosis products from Genzyme. But the big event of the year was the completion of a swap with Boehringer Ingelheim enlarging Sanofi's consumer products portfolio.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK) said that core earnings per share could be flat or show a slight decline this year if a generic version of its respiratory medicine Advair is launched in the US. The UK company has been preparing for generic competition since the Advair patent expired in 2010.

H. Lundbeck A/S reported greatly improved results for 2016 as a result of a rolling restructuring that was initiated in the second half of 2015, leading the Danish neurology company to predict that it will improve profitability in the coming years to equal 25% of revenue before charges for interest and taxes. 

Prexton Therapeutics SA of Geneva, Switzerland has raised €29 million in a Series B financing round to support two Phase 2 studies of Foliglurax, an experimental compound for Parkinson’s disease that targets a positive allosteric modulator.

Ergomed Plc has reported positive results from a Phase 2 study of its insomnia drug Lorediplon, a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic drug that modulates the GABAa receptor.

Genmab A/S has upgraded its guidance for revenue and operating income in 2016 in light of higher than expected royalties on sales of Darzalex (daratumumab), a treatment for multiple myeloma, as well as milestone payments from its licensee Janssen Biotech Inc.

Novo Nordisk A/S has made further adjustments to its financial forecast amidst downward pressure on insulin prices in the US and a decline in market share for its glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medicine Victoza.

Biotec Pharmacon ASA, which uses Artic Ocean marine and plant life to develop sophisticated medicinal treatments and analytics, reported increases in revenue for the 2016 fourth quarter and full-year but also saw a widening of its loss.

AstraZeneca Plc says that 2017 should be a turning point for the company as the loss of revenue from legacy products is overtaken by new drug launches, and core research and development spending levels out.