Generic challenger threatens Crestor
pharmafile | November 2, 2007 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
AstraZeneca could face a major blow to its revenues if a generic challenger to Crestor is launched.
The cholesterol lowering product is one of the company's biggest earners, but is under threat from Canadian generics firm Cobalt, which has begun a legal challenge to the drug's US patent.
Crestor was launched in 2003, and is already one of AstraZeneca's biggest earners, expected to pull in around $2.5 billion this year, and its patent protection was presumed to be safe until 2016.
A successful challenge would be a major blow to the company, which is already facing a number of other patent challenges, including to its two biggest products, Nexium and Seroquel.
Legal proceeding on these products are due to begin in the next few months, while AstraZeneca has also seen the European patent on asthma drug Symbicort overturned.
The concerns have arisen as the company declared its third quarter figures, which show net profits down 14%, caused by restructuring costs and losses at newly-acquired MedImmune.
AstraZeneca's third quarter sales were up 10%, with strong growth from Seroquel (17%), Arimidex (15%) and Symbicort (32%).
Chief executive David Brennan said: "We continue to make progress on our key priorities: the business is on track to meet its earnings target for the full year, the entire organisation is driving for increased productivity and the pipeline has been further strengthened."
The company also announced that the integration of its two recently acquired biotech companies, UK-based Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) and MedImmune, would take place. The CAT name will now disappear, creating an enlarged MedImmune, which will act as a semi-autonomous biologicals arm of AstraZeneca.
