Author: Claire Bowie

Could Swiss giant Novartis soon be the proud new owner of much of Ireland’s Elan? It could be just another rumour but the UK’s Sunday Times cites a “well placed source” as saying parts of Elan, including its multiple sclerosis products and Alzheimer’s disease pipeline, could be heading Novartis’ way – though it concedes a decision could be some way off.

Centocor Ortho Biotech, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, has been awarded a whopping $1.67 billion in a patent infringement suit against Abbott Laboratories.

The head of Sanofi-Aventis, Chris Viehbacher, has played down suggestions that a major merger is on the cards and instead plans to increase its geographical spread by snapping up more generic drug firms.

Analysts have swooped in on the Franco-German firm after its blockbuster diabetes drug Lantus (insulin glargine) was linked to cancer in the journal Diabetologia. Though the association is not conclusive, cautious analysts have drastically lowered their forecasts for the drug; Societe Generale is expecting zero growth for 2009 while Morgan Stanley has cut its revenue predictions by more than half according to industry reports. Sanofi-Aventis’ guidance for Lantus sales in 2012 is 5 billion euros.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has launched a one-month consultation period to review patient access and flexible pricing schemes as part of a product’s appraisal for use on the National Health Service.