Author: Peter Mansell

An unexpected survival benefit in a head-to-head comparison of GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) asthma blockbuster Seretide/Advair (salmeterol/fluticasone propionate) and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Spiriva (tiotropium bromide) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has taken some of the sting out of the non-approvable letter received by GSK from the US FDA last August for the higher-dose version of the Advair Diskus inhaler in COPD.

A recapitalisation of US-based contract research organisation (CRO) Quintiles Transnational, which sees a leading player in the company’s September 2003 privatisation cash in its stake, is “a strong reinforcement of Quintiles’ brand and growth strategy”, claims Quintiles chairman and chief executive officer Dennis Gillings.