Galapagos NV and AbbVie Inc have raised the stakes in their bid to overtake Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc in cystic fibrosis with plans to start human trials in 2017 of a new triple combination therapy for the disease.
France-based Ipsen SA has reported a rise in sales for the global specialty care market and a decline in revenue from primary care. Overall first quarter sales were €362 million, up by 3.4%, of which specialty care sales represented nearly 80%.
Novo Nordisk A/S, the global producer of diabetes products, reported an 8% rise in net sales to DKK 27.2 billion (€3.65 billion) in the first quarter, but its operating profit declined by 11% to DKK 12.3 billion due to a one-time financial gain a year-earlier.
Sanofi SA is to team up with Recursion Pharmaceuticals LLC of the US to discover new uses for drugs in its clinical-stage portfolio that target rare diseases. The deal positions Sanofi to play a bigger role in treating rare diseases at a time when competition in the sector is increasing.
Sanofi SA saw sales of its diabetes, cardiovascular and off-patent medicines decline in the first quarter giving an overall financial result which was weaker than a year earlier, according to generally accepted accounting principles.
Shire has reported a double-digit increase in revenue in the first quarter, as well as a rise in borrowing, as it moves to complete the takeover of Baxalta Inc, its largest acquisition to date. The $32 billion cash plus share deal will be put to a shareholder vote on 27 May and is expected to close in June.
Vernalis Plc has conditionally raised £40 million with a share placement that will enable it to get a series of cough-cold drugs onto the US market and advance its plans to become a sustainably profitable specialty pharmaceutical company in the future.
AstraZeneca Plc has reached out to Craig Venter, who led the first commercial project to sequence the human genome, to collaborate on a database of genome sequences that could be used for drug research and development.
With generic competition for the statin Crestor looming, AstraZeneca Plc has taken steps to increase productivity and narrow its investment focus to three therapeutic areas. Going forward, oncology is a priority for the company followed by medicines for respiratory and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
Sanofi SA said it would solicit Medivation Inc’s shareholders directly after the US biotech’s board of directors unanimously rejected the French company’s unsolicited takeover bid of $52.50 per share as substantially undervaluing the company.