Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis says it has stopped clinical trials for a new hepatitis drug after the death of a patient.
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The Basel-based company informed the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of “a small number” of pancreatitis cases and one death among patients taking the drug alisporivir and other medication to treat hepatitis C.
Novartis said in a statement on Thursday that it had been notified by the FDA that clinical trials of the drug would be put on hold. Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas.
The company’s net profit fell seven per cent in 2011 to $9.25 billion (SFr8.59 billion), despite sales increasing 16 per cent to $58.57 billion.
Like many other global drugmakers, Novartis is cutting costs as the industry faces its biggest wave of patent expiries.
It will announce its first quarter results for 2012 on Tuesday.
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Profits drop at Novartis
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Fourth-quarter sales rose eight per cent to $14.781 billion, helped by demand for some of its newest products, such as eye drug Lucentis and cancer medicine, Tasigna. However net profit was down by 47 per cent for the period to $2.32 billion, after the decision to end a clinical study into the wider uses of…
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Described at the time by the pharmaceutical giant as a pre-emptive move, the announcement of 1,080 Swiss job cuts, alongside news of multi-billion profit figures, caused consternation in Switzerland. “We’re facing an increasingly difficult environment which is likely to get even tougher over the next five years,” Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez said in October, commenting…
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Anticipating this so-called “patent cliff”, big pharma has already begun to slim down to maintain its comfortable margins. According to a report by the Geneva private bank Pictet, until 2013 growth in the global pharmaceutical sector will struggle to exceed four per cent. The main reason is the patent cliff: the impending expiry of a…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.