Novo Nordisk scraps inflammatory disorders business
pharmafile | September 2, 2014 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Danish, IL20, Novo Nordisk, diabetes, inflammatory, thomsen
A restructuring of Novo Nordisk will see it completely drop its inflammatory disorders activities in favour of concentrating on its main business area, diabetes.
All of the company’s ongoing clinical activities within inflammatory disorders will be finalised within the next six months, after which patients will be followed in accordance with the protocol and further treatment will be the responsibility of their doctors.
“Significant unmet opportunities remain within diabetes, including prevention, obesity and diabetes complications,” says Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer of Novo Nordisk. “We have therefore decided to further increase our R&D efforts within diabetes.”
The company has reviewed its position in the area of inflammatory disorders after the discontinuation of its rheumatoid arthritis treatment anti-IL-20. Thomsen says that this delays its earliest possible entry into the market to the late 2020s.
The company says it expects to incur costs of around 400 million Danish kroner relating to impairment of intangible assets, and around DKK300 million relating to other exit costs such as project closures and severance payments, totalling a non-recurring cost of around DKK700 million.
Meanwhile, the loss of the inflammatory disorders division will also impact approximately 400 employees, but Novo Nordisk says that it is looking to offer other positions within the company to more than half of these.
The company says it expects to update its financial guidance for 2014 on 30 October, in connection with the release of the financial results for the first nine months of the year.
Novo Nordisk is the world’s top insulin producer, and has a strong position also in haemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.
George Underwood
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