Business & Industry News Channel
GlaxoSmithKline and Genmab A/S announced the submission of a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for Arzerra™ (ofatumumab) for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). If approved, ofatumumab would be indicated for the treatment of patients with CLL who have previously failed, or are inappropriate for, standard therapies. 
In 2008, Roche continued its strong sales performance. Total sales grew by 6% in local currencies (-1% in Swiss francs; 10% in US dollars) to 45.6 billion Swiss francs, with the Pharmaceuticals Division representing 79% of Group sales and the Diagnostics Division contributing 21%. The sales increase in the underlying business more than compensated for the anticipated decline in Tamiflu pandemic sales of 1.6 billion Swiss francs. Roche today announced interim results from a phase III study (ATLAS) in patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study was stopped early because of the significance of the interim data. The results showed that Tarceva (erlotinib) plus Avastin (bevacizumab) given as first line maintenance treatment following initial therapy with Avastin plus chemotherapy extends the time patients live without their disease getting worse (progression free survival) compared to maintenance therapy with Avastin plus placebo. 
Pharmaceuticals led the strong performance supported by contributions from Vaccines and Diagnostics and Consumer Health. Net sales rose 9% (+5% in local currencies, or lc) to USD 41.5 billion. Higher sales volumes provided six percentage points of growth, while positive currency translation added four percentage points. Price changes had a negative effect of one point, while acquisitions had no impact. 
AstraZeneca has delivered a robust performance in an increasingly challenging market environment. Good headway is being made in further improving the efficiency of the organization, and the expansion in the scope of our restructuring efforts is another important step towards sustaining long-term competitiveness.
Bristol-Myers Squibb posted fourth quarter 2008 net sales from continuing operations of $5.2 billion, an increase of 4%, or 8% excluding foreign exchange impact, compared to the same period in 2007. Pharmaceutical net sales totaled $4.5 billion and sales from Mead Johnson Nutrition Company totaled $707 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, representing increases of 4% and 6%, respectively, compared to 2007.
Novartis has announced the launch of Extavia®, a new version of the standard-of-care for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), providing patients and physicians with an alternative option to help manage this devastating disease. Extavia, a new branded version of interferon beta-1b, is available initially in Germany and Denmark with other European launches to follow during 2009.