The new chief executive of Sanofi-Aventis plans to expand further into consumer health, generics and biological medicines in his efforts to transform the French pharmaceuticals group.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Chris Viehbacher said that he would shift Sanofi-Aventis from “an EU/US-centric pharma company to a global healthcare company” through acquisitions and internal restructuring.The new chief executive's vision was diversification in the companys business model. Viehbacher said pharma had focused on developing small molecule drugs for a western population, and now needed to become truly global in outlook, and look beyond the small sliver of the world's population currently targeted.
This morning sanofi-aventis has released to the press its financial results for 2008. The results, conservative (as expected) but “above guidance”.2008 Results Sales rose 3.7% for year, and 3.8% for the fourth quarter of 2008, thanks to the double digit growth of Lovenox, Plavix, Lantus, Aprovel and Taxotere. The company forecasts its earnings per share for 2009 to grow by at least 7%, barring major problems, such as the launch of a generic rival to Lovenox.
2 comments:
News on New Product Front:
The FDA is expected to take a decision regarding an experimental drug(Multaq- Dronedarone) from Sanofi-Aventis which is aimed at treating irregular heart rythms, a condition that could pose serious threat to our health.
A panel of cardiology expert will meet March 18 to assess the drug dronedarone. Dronedarone is tested for atrial fibrillation, a condition that affects an estimated 2.2 million Americans. The condition may lead to circulation problems and dangerous blood clots.
Current treatments include blood thinning drugs or open heart surgery for the most severe cases.
Results from the ATHENA trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a significant decrease in the risk of cardiovascular death by 24 percent in patients treated with the drug.
The executive, Chris Viehbacher, said he wanted to complement Sanofi's own research with licensing agreements and smaller acquisitions. Sanofi-Aventis, the largest drug maker in France, needs new products to overcome generic competition to drugs that make up a fifth of its revenue. Its rival Pfizer answered a similar challenge last month by offering $68 billion for Wyeth.
"I've been there, done that on big pharma transactions - I'm not keen to revisit that experience," said Viehbacher, who ran GlaxoSmithKline's North American unit for eight years. Sanofi will be "disciplined" on acquisitions, he said.
Source:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/11/business/sanofi.php
Post a Comment