Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA booked a profit after tax of €2 million in the 2009 first half, after a year-earlier loss of € 0.8 million, as demand for Lialda/Mezavant (mesalazine), its treatment for ulcerative colitis, grew.
A US company that is investigating therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi) has reached agreement with investors to raise $8.3 million in a public offering on Nasdaq. The company, RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp, went public in March 2008.
Sanofi-Aventis said that it is on course to realise savings of €2 billion by 2013 while promoting a research culture that is flexible and entrepreneurial. The company is predicting that earnings per share will increase by about 10% in 2009.
AstraZeneca Plc achieved higher sales and pre-tax profit in the 2009 second quarter, and at the same time moved three late-stage products into registration. The UK-based multinational has also raised its earnings-per-share guidance for the year.
Addex Pharmaceuticals Ltd has taken steps to expand its discovery platform while keeping costs in check in the first half of 2009. It also expects Phase 2b data from its lead product for GERD in the fourth quarter.
York Pharma Plc, a British company that develops dermatological products for the hospital market, has gone into administration because of a shortage of cash.
The Swedish speciality pharmaceutical company, Biovitrum AB, said revenue before licensing income increased by 52% to SEK 675.1 million in the 2009 first half as the company expanded its pharmaceutical sales beyond the Nordic region.
Alizyme Plc, a UK company that mostly in-licensed medical products and out-sourced their clinical development with a view to eventually selling the products to another company at a profit, has gone into administration because of a lack of funds.
The European Medicines Agency has given positive opinions for five new medicines, including a biologic from Novartis to treat a rare auto-inflammatory disease and a new indication for Roche’s MabThera for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Bristol-Myers Squibb’s decision to acquire Medarex Inc for $2.1 billion has lifted the shares of antibody companies in both the US and Europe including that of Genmab A/S which was founded in 1999 on the basis of Medarex technology.