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Business & Development
Johnson & Johnson Exceeds Expectations; Reaches $99.8 Billion in Sales
At the end of the second quarter of 2023, the medical device giant’s sales grew to $25.53 billion from $24.02 billion last year, beating the $24.67 billion estimate predicted by analysts. In this report, Joaquín Duato, CEO of the company, mentioned:
We entered the second half of the year from a position of strength with numerous catalysts, including becoming a bio-sector company focused on pharmaceutical innovation and MedTech.
Ate the beginning of the second half of 2023, its investment in Research and Development was 3,829 million dollars. They are confident that their cancer drugs and the sale of their medical devices will remain on the rise by the end of the year.
16% less in profits for Roche in the first half of 2023
The Swiss laboratory Roche closed the first half of 2023 with a net attributable profit of 7,137 million francs (8,224.55.40 million dollars), equivalent to a decrease of 16.3% compared to the same period of 2022. In total, the company recorded sales of CHF 29.779 billion at the end of July 2023. According to Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Roche, such a decrease in profits is due to the low demand for COVID-19 products.
In the same report, they announced that some of their flagship drugs continue to grow strongly, such as Vabysmo, a treatment for serious eye conditions launched in 2022, which is currently sold in more than 70 countries, reporting sales of more than 1,000 million Swiss francs. They also welcome the US and EU approvals of their blood cancer drug Columvi.
Looking forward to the close of 2023, Thomas Schinecker said:
I am excited about our partnership with Alnylam to develop a potentially transformative medicine for patients living with hypertension, which affects 1.2 billion adults worldwide and is the leading cause of death from cardiovascular disease.
Global revenue for multiple myeloma drug Revlimid down 39%
Biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb reported second-quarter revenue of $11.2 billion, a 6% decrease from the same period in 2022, due to low sales of Revlimid, erosion of the Revlimid and Eliquis generics, and an increase in the number of patients receiving free drugs from Bristol Myers Squibb. However, Giovanni Caforio, chairman and chief executive officer of Bristol Myers Squibb, said its revenue was partially offset by increased demand for its online products and those in the new portfolio, which brought the company $8.6 billion and $862 million, respectively.
Teva Pharmaceutical to Pay $4.35 Billion to U.S. for Opioid Crisis
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, headquartered in Israel, will pay $4.35 billion to about 2,500 state and local governments as well as Native American tribes in the United States to stop thousands of lawsuits filed blaming the drugmaker for the opioid epidemic.
According to statements from the state of Nevada, whose government will receive $193 million, the drugmaker’s inappropriate marketing practices fueled opioid addiction. The drugmaker will be able to pay up to $3.7 billion in cash over the next 13 years and will be able to cover $1.2 billion in Naxalone, an opioid overdosereversing drug, Reuters reports. This resolution is part of a multimillion-dollar agreement where various pharmaceutical and pharmacy chains will pay a total of 17,300 million dollars.
For $1.075 billion, Novo Nordisk adquiere Inversago Pharma to develop obesity treatments
Canadian biotechnology company, Inversago Pharma, is a developer of therapies for the potential treatment of obesity, diabetes, and complications associated with metabolic disorders. Novo Nordisk’s acquisition of Inversago also includes the purchase of the INV-202 asset, which plays an important role in metabolism and appetite regulation. According to Martin Holst Lange, Executive Vice President of Development at Novo Nordisk
the acquisition of Inversago Pharma will further strengthen our clinical development pipeline in obesity and related disorders.
The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of 2023.
The Eli Lilly laboratory buys the startup Versanis for 1,721 million euros
In the boom of treatments to control weight and with the aim of strengthening its position in the market, Eli Lilly acquired for 1,721 million euros (with a maximum amount of up to 1,925 million dollars) the startup Versanis Bio, a company specialized in the development of drugs against obesity. According to Reuters, Lilly shares rose 3% after its linkage with Versais’ experimental asset called bimagrumab, the flagship drug currently under Phase 2b study in overweight and obese adults, was announced.
In the boom of treatments to control weight and with the aim of strengthening its position in the market, Eli Lilly acquired for 1,721 million euros (with a maximum amount of up to 1,925 million dollars) the startup Versanis Bio, a company specialized in the development of drugs against obesity. According to Reuters, Lilly shares rose 3% after its linkage with Versais’ experimental asset called bimagrumab, the flagship drug currently under Phase 2b study in overweight and obese adults, was announced.
Analysts expect the pharmaceutical industry focused on weight-loss drugs to reach $100 billion over the next decade, with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk being the top powerhouses.
