Diovan

ARBs might prevent, treat Alzheimer's

Tracy Staton — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:08:54 -0400

Help for Alzheimer's may already be in thousands of medicine cabinets. Researchers found that patients taking blood pressure drugs called agiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs, were 35 percent to 40 percent less likely to develop the degenerative brain disease or other forms of dementia. Also, people who already had Alzheimer's and used the drugs were up to 45 percent less likely to develop delirium, to be admitted to nursing homes, or to die. Patients who'd had strokes benefited most.

Scientists theorize that the drugs might help prevent nerve cell injury that stems from blood-vessel damage, or to promote nerve recovery after blood-vessel damage. But just any old blood pressure or cardiovascular drug wouldn't do; the ARBs were more effective than other types of meds, the researchers found.

Just who makes these meds? Basically a roll call of Big Pharma: Novartis has Diovan, Merck has Cozaar, Boehringer Ingelheim has Micardis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis have Avapro, Kos has Teveten, and AstraZeneca has Atacand. Expect to see more research on this, considering the huge impact Alzheimer's is expected to have as the U.S. population ages.

- see the Washington Post story

Profits rise at Novartis, Merck, Lilly

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Good financial results from three Pharma biggies should cheer up those market-watchers who moaned their way through much of last week. Sure, a couple of the profit leaps came at least in part from one-time gains. But increases are always better than the alternative. Here's the news:

Novartis reported an estimate-beating 6.8 percent increase in profits. Healthy sales of both Diovan and Gleevec helped, and so did the company's cost-cutting program. So did the weak dollar. But the real stars of the story were generic meds, over-the-counter products, animal drugs, and contact lenses; double-digit growth here offset a decline in brand-name drug sales. Profits rose to $2.32 billion on an 8.6 percent increase in revenue to $9.91 billion.
Merck also benefited from the weaker dollar, but its dramatic near-doubling in net income to $3.3 billion was mostly attributed to a one-time $1.4 billion gain on its limited partnership with AstraZeneca. Still, Merck's earnings excluding that item--89 cents--beat analysts' expectations of 86 cents. Revenues didn't meet the street's goals, however; analysts had projected $6.11 billion, but the company reported $5.82 billion. The 0.9 percent growth in sales included a four percentage-point boost off foreign exchange rates.
Eli Lilly's sales grew a striking 14 percent, with 8 percentage points of that coming from actual increases in sales volume; foreign exchange rates and price increases accounted for 5 percentage points and 1 percentage point, respectively. A big-gaining drug was Cymbalta, an antidepressant that posted 37 percent growth. Like Merck, Lilly reported a big one-time tax gain, posting net income of $1.06 billion, or 97 cents per share, compared with $508.7 million or 47 cents per share same quarter last year. Restructuring and acquisition costs depressed earnings last year, though; excluding items, the earnings per share gain was actually 9 cents, to 92 cents from 83 cents.

- get the Financial Times news on Novartis
- see the WSJ report
- read the Associated Press' news on Merck
- see the release on Lilly
- check out the Merck and Lilly numbers in the WSJ

ALSO NOTED: Biovail, Watson settle Cardizem patent fight; More Novartis/Bayer rumors;

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:59:50 -0500

> In settlement of a patent dispute, Watson Pharmaceuticals agreed to delay its launch of a generic version of Biovail's Cardizem blood pressure drug, and to pay royalties on sales after that. Release

> Mylan's Indian subsidiary, Matrix Laboratories, got tentative clearance from the FDA to market a generic version of Viread, an anti-HIV drug marketed by Gilead Sciences. Under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the agency's tentative OK gives Matrix the right to sell the drug in certain countries, but not yet in the U.S. Release

> Rumor Mill: Novartis stock was up this morning on new rumors that the Swiss drugmaker might bid for Bayer; analysts pooh-poohed the idea, but that didn't stop investors from buying. Report

> Meanwhile, the FDA gave its blessing to Novartis' Diovan for treatment of high blood pressure in children and adolescents ages six to 16. Report

> Indian activists are calling for a boycott of Novartis drugs to persuade the company to drop its push for patent protection on Gleevec. Report

> China's FDA approved Aoxing Pharmaceuticals' Suboxone, an anti-opoid addiction drug manufactured by Reckitt Benckiser in the U.S. Report

> There's fresh evidence that antibodies remain one of the hottest commodities in biotechnology. Novartis has extended its antibody development deal with Germany's MorphoSys, agreeing to pay $60 million a year in R&D support along with technology access fees and up to $400 million in milestone payments. Report

> Experts are debating whether mass screening for Alzheimer's would be a good idea, or just a cause of needless anxiety (or false reassurance). Report

> Life in the biotech fast lane is good for investors, not so great for patients--or so says the Cleveland Plain Dealer after a seven-month investigation of the FDA's record on fast-track drugs. Report

> Blocking a single critical protein reversed the effects of aging on the skin of mice, suggesting that researchers may be on to a short-term therapy that could help older people heal from an injury. Report

And Finally... In one of the most closely watched research programs at a biotech company, Sirtris has unveiled three new chemicals that could play a big role in fighting the effects of aging and resisting diabetes. Report

SPOTLIGHT: FDA gives nod to Ranbaxy's generic Diovan

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 07:59:52 -0400

India's Ranbaxy Laboratories got a tentative FDA OK for a generic version of the Novartis drug Diovan, used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. Report

Rasilez approval spurs Novartis expansion

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Bolstered by the EU's blessing on its new hypertension treatment Rasilez, Novartis is planning a €183 million ($250 million) expansion of a plant near Basel, Switzerland. The expansion will boost production capacity of several high blood pressure meds, including top-seller Diovan and, of course, Rasilez.

Approved under the U.S. brand name Tekturna in March, Rasilez is a first-in-class treatment that targets renin, an enzyme that can trigger high blood pressure.

- check out the announcement on the approval
- and read this report

Related Articles:
FDA approves Novartis' Tekturna. Report
Novartis files for FDA approval of Rasilez. Report
Novartis maps $100M R&D complex in China. Report
Novartis to build $600M flu plant in N.C. Report

Novartis, Ranbaxy argue over Diovan patent

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Meanwhile, Novartis is suing the Indian generics giant Ranbaxy Laboratories over a copycat version of Diovan. Novartis says the blood pressure med--its top seller--is protected by a patent that doesn't expire until 2012. Ranbaxy, however, claims that the patent is invalid.

The generics firm had applied for FDA approval for its version of Diovan, originally stating that it would wait for the patent to expire to sell the drug. But Ranbaxy amended its application in late June to say that it intends to market its version of Diovan.

- see the complaint

Related Articles:
Indian court spurns Novartis on patent challenge. Report
Novartis patent challenge spurs protests in India. Report
Standards on biotech patents get tougher. Report