Drug groups to reap swine-flu billions: that’s a header in the dailies today.
Some 740 people have died from the H1N1 virus following the latest estimates. Analysts expect to see a boost in sales from GlaxoSmithKline, Roche and Sanofi-Aventis when the companies report first-half earnings lifted by government contracts for flu vaccines and antiviral medicines.
The fresh sales – on top of strong results from Novartis of Switzerland and Baxter of the US, which both also produce vaccines –
GlaxoSmithKline of the UK confirmed it had sold 150m doses of a pandemic flu vaccine – equivalent to its normal sales of seasonal flu vaccine – to countries including the UK, the US, France and Belgium, and was gearing up to boost production.
GSK also produces Relenza, an antiviral medicine that reduces the length and severity of the infection, and is preparing to increase manufacturing towards 60m annual doses. The UK placed an order for 10m treatments this year.
One beneficiary of the fears about the pandemic has been Roche of Switzerland, which sells Tamiflu, the leading antiviral drug, and has seen a sharp rise in orders from private companies as well as governments.
This story is well-known.
Less known however is that big drug companies do no develop these drugs themselves anymore. They produce. The development is done by small boutiques receiving a royalty on the sold volume. One such outlet is the Dutch company: Crucell.
Some 740 people have died from the H1N1 virus following the latest estimates. Analysts expect to see a boost in sales from GlaxoSmithKline, Roche and Sanofi-Aventis when the companies report first-half earnings lifted by government contracts for flu vaccines and antiviral medicines.
The fresh sales – on top of strong results from Novartis of Switzerland and Baxter of the US, which both also produce vaccines –
GlaxoSmithKline of the UK confirmed it had sold 150m doses of a pandemic flu vaccine – equivalent to its normal sales of seasonal flu vaccine – to countries including the UK, the US, France and Belgium, and was gearing up to boost production.
GSK also produces Relenza, an antiviral medicine that reduces the length and severity of the infection, and is preparing to increase manufacturing towards 60m annual doses. The UK placed an order for 10m treatments this year.
One beneficiary of the fears about the pandemic has been Roche of Switzerland, which sells Tamiflu, the leading antiviral drug, and has seen a sharp rise in orders from private companies as well as governments.
This story is well-known.
Less known however is that big drug companies do no develop these drugs themselves anymore. They produce. The development is done by small boutiques receiving a royalty on the sold volume. One such outlet is the Dutch company: Crucell.
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