Amgen's Q2 sales suffer from weak demand and reform costs
30 July 2010

A $45 million hit from US healthcare reform costs and weak demand for the anaemia drug Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) forced Amgen's second-quarter sales down by 1% to $3.6 billion. The company expects...

US court invalidates Lilly's Gemzar method-of-use patent
30 July 2010

A US appeals court has upheld a previous ruling invalidating Lilly's method-of-use patent for its anticancer, Gemzar (gemcitabine HCl for injection). The ruling is expected to clear the path for the...

A phoenix rises from the ashes of GSK's Avandia?
30 July 2010

Concerns over the cardiovascular safety of GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes therapy Avandia (rosiglitazone) have generated bad press for the PPARγ agonists of late, but a recent study in Nature suggests...

UK to implement early access scheme for promising drugs
30 July 2010

A UK scheme for giving patients access to promising new medicines that have completed their clinical trial programmes but are not yet licensed for marketing is expected to be implemented later this...

UCB products give Actient a platform for growth in urology
30 July 2010

Actient Pharmaceuticals, a new speciality company formed last year in the US with funding from private equity firm GTCR, has established a platform for commercial growth by licensing and acquiring...

US FDA advisors add uncertainty to Pfizer's bid for longer sildenafil exclusivity
30 July 2010

After the 29 July meeting of the US FDA's cardio-renal advisory committee meeting, which discussed a paediatric indication for Pfizer's pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Revatio...

GSK takes up antibiotic option under Anacor alliance
30 July 2010

GlaxoSmithKline has exercised its option under a strategic alliance with US company Anacor Pharmaceuticals to take up an exclusive licence for the development and commercialisation of GSK2251052 (GSK...

Celgene raises guidance again as income jumps 50%
30 July 2010

Celgene has followed up last month's agreement to acquire Abraxis Bioscience for $2.9 billion with a strong set of results for the second quarter, prompting the company once again to raise its...

Centaur readies US plan to boost exports
30 July 2010

Centaur Pharmaceuticals of India expects exports to emerge as a significant contributor to revenues in the next few years, as it readies to tap the US market. Centaur's managing director, S D...

Olmesartan strong for Daiichi Sankyo as it builds up vaccines activities
30 July 2010

Daiichi Sankyo has reported a generally strong first quarter, in which global sales of its top product, the antihypertensive olmesartan, rose by 8% to ¥60.2 billion ($689.6 million; including in...

aRigen's business model may spur Asian R&D co-operation
30 July 2010

Technology-rich Japanese biotech firms are working on novel business models that may perhaps pave the way for regional co-operation among Asian firms to take discovery leads forward. Japan's aRigen...

Ampio finalises terms of DMI acquisition
30 July 2010

Ampio Pharmaceuticals has finalised the terms of its previously announced acquisition of DMI BioSciences in a stock purchase. The acquisition will provide US company Ampio all rights, royalties and...

FDA sees GMP lapses at a third J&J plant
30 July 2010

Details have emerged on how US FDA inspectors observed a number of good manufacturing practice (GMP) deficiencies at a third Johnson & Johnson plant. This time they relate to Johnson & Johnson Merck...

Remicade drives Mitsubishi Tanabe to solid growth
30 July 2010

Japanese prescription sales at Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (MTP) rose by 8% to ¥96.1 billion ($1.10 billion) in the first quarter ended 30 June, led again by Remicade (infliximab). Sales of the anti-TNF...

Wilex recommends against accepting dievini Hopp offer
29 July 2010

The €4.10 per share mandatory takeover offer for Wilex from its largest shareholder, dievini Hopp BioTech, undervalues the Munich-based biopharmaceutical company, said its executive management and...