How GSK and AstraZeneca might stop advancing treatments if drug spend is reduced February 19, 2015 Big pharmaceutical companies thrive off the invention of new drugs, but their success relies on those drugs being purchased at the end of the line. If the maximum amount spent by the NHS on new medicines was seriously lowered, as a report released today suggested, it would not only limit access to some [...]
AstraZeneca loses its US patent rights for asthma drug Pulmicort Respules February 16, 2015 AstraZeneca is considering an appeal against a US court ruling that found its patent for asthma treatment Pulmicort Respules is invalid in America. The British pharmaceutical giant said it “strongly disagrees” with the decision and is considering its options. In a statement yesterday, Paul Hudson, president of AstraZeneca US, said: “AstraZeneca has full confidence [...]
AstraZeneca in $7.9m payment to settle US case February 11, 2015 AstraZeneca yesterday settled a five-year legal battle between its US division and the US Department of Justice over claims it provided kickbacks to Medco Health Solutions, for $7.9m ($5.2m). The firm had been accused of giving kickbacks to Medco to ensure it kept sole and exclusive status for its Nexium heartburn medication on lists of [...]
AstraZeneca hit by generics as revenues drop February 5, 2015 ASTRAZENECA ended an interesting year in a downbeat manner as fourth quarter results revealed the company sustained a loss during the three months ending 31 December. Last year saw the UK’s second largest pharmaceutical company successfully fend off a £69bn takeover bid by US drugs giant Pfizer and get approval for a record six new [...]
AstraZeneca puts new gene editing technology to the test with drug research programme January 29, 2015 Earlier today, British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca announced plans to use a new gene-editing technology to develop drugs for a variety of diseases. Called Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (Crispr), it allows the targeted editing of specific genes. When a gene is known to be involved in causing a particular disease, it will [...]
Pfizer will be let loose on AstraZeneca again tomorrow – but is another takeover bid likely? November 25, 2014 From tomorrow, Pfizer will once more be able to make a take-over bid for AstraZeneca, after a “final rejection” in May meant it could not approach the UK pharmaceutical firm for six months. The offer was worth £55 per share, valuing AstraZeneca at approximately £69bn. But it was not accepted, on the ground that [...]
AstraZeneca sets out plans to reach annual revenue of over $45bn by 2023 November 18, 2014 Having beaten off Pfizer's advances, AstraZeneca is doing a good job proving it can thrive on its own. The pharmaceutical giant said today that it expects to deliver annual revenues of $45bn by 2023, with a focus on long-term growth and innovation. Through its investment in research and development, it is accelerating programs and [...]
AstraZeneca share price drops despite revenue growth after Pfizer rejection November 6, 2014 Has AstraZeneca's confidence about its ability to keep growing without a larger parent like Pfizer at the helm paid off? The pharmaceutical giant posted figures this morning showing revenues had grown five per cent to $6.54bn (£4.09bn) during its third quarter. This beat analyst expectations of $6.41bn growth for the period, marking the British [...]
AstraZeneca completes $2.1bn takeover of Almirall franchise November 3, 2014 UK drug giant AstraZeneca yesterday completed its acquisition of rights for Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall’s respiratory franchise. The $2.1bn (£1.3bn) deal gives AstraZeneca ownership of the development and commercialisation of the business which includes drugs like Eklira, Duaklir Genuair and treatments for illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. AstraZeneca said the deal [...]
Pfizer share price rises on third quarter earnings – but no hint of new AstraZeneca bid October 28, 2014 Shares in pharmaceutical giant Pfizer rose 1.8 per cent in New York pre-market trading after it posted expectation-beating third-quarter results. Although earnings for its third quarter fell to 57 cents a share, down from 58 cents a share a year earlier, the figure beat analyst expectations of 55 cents a share. Revenues also fell, to [...]