Biogen Inc has started the search for a new chief executive to replace Michel Vounatsos who will step down from his job once a successor is found. The US company announced the transition to new leadership on 3 May with the publication of its 2022 first quarter results.
Novo Nordisk A/S had a robust growth in operating profit in the first quarter, even taking into account the cost of integrating the recently acquired Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc, a developer of candidate RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Novo completed the purchase of Dicerna on 28 December 2021 and since then has been absorbing the costs. The deal grew out of a collaboration between the two companies where they have been exploring more than 30 liver cell targets for the treatment of disorders such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), Type 2 diabetes, obesity and rare diseases.
MorphoSys AG advanced its pipeline of wholly-owned cancer drugs in the first quarter while accelerating sales of Monjuvi, its marketed product for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Revenue for the quarter was €41.5 million, down by 12% from a year earlier. The 2021 figure benefited from a €16 million milestone payment from development partner GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc delivered a 32% increase in turnover to £9.8 billion in the first quarter of 2022 on the back of a double-digit rise in sales of oncology medicines and a rebound in demand for Shingrix, its vaccine for shingles. Shingrix’s sales were £698 million, or 42% of all vaccine sales in the quarter. Demand for the vaccine had flagged during the pandemic but started to recover in the new year.
Sanofi SA increased sales and operating profit in the 2022 first quarter while taking steps to replenish its portfolio through new partnerships. The partnership deals ranged from a classic collaboration with Seagen Inc to develop antibody-drug conjugates to a more adventurous risk-sharing partnership with Blackstone Life Sciences to accelerate development of a subcutaneous formulation of its multiple myeloma treatment Sarclisa.
Novartis increased its operating income by 18% to $2.9 billion in the first quarter even as sales showed only a 1% rise to $12.5 billion. The operating result benefited from a reduction in impairments and measures to improve productivity, the company said on 26 April.
AstraZeneca Plc achieved a double-digit increase in revenue in the 2022 first quarter on the back of strong demand for its oncology medicines and $1.7 billion in sales of drugs for rare diseases generated by Alexion Pharmaceuticals, its recent acquisition. AstraZeneca acquired Alexion in July 2021 for $39 billion. However operating profit declined on amortisations related to the Alexion purchase and payments arising from a patent dispute.
AstraZeneca Plc is to open a new research site in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, as it consolidates its July 2021 acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc, a developer of drugs for rare diseases. AstraZeneca paid $39 billion for the US company which has marketed products as well as more than 20 projects in development.
The Roche Group’s multiple sclerosis drug Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) generated sales of CHF 1.4 billion ($1.44 billion) in the first quarter of 2022 making it the company’s top-selling drug – ahead of the cancer treatments Perjeta and Tecentriq. Group sales for the quarter were CHF 16.4 billion, up by 10% in Swiss francs from a year earlier and by 11% in constant exchange rates. Roche does not report operating or net income figures on a quarterly basis. But the company did say it expects to increase its dividend for the year.
MitoRx Therapeutics Ltd, a new UK company focused on degenerative diseases, has completed a seed financing round in order to develop therapeutics that reverse mitochondrial dysfunction. Investors in the new company include the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, Wren Capital, Oxford Technology Management as well as angel investors. The size of the financing was not disclosed.