Industry Update

摘要

This month's article covers the time frame 16 February-15 March 2011, a period which saw the conclusion of the hard-fought-for takeover of Genzyme by Sanofi-aventis and the purchase of ProStrakan by Kyowa Hakko Kirin. There was good news for GlaxoSmithKline, Human Genome Sciences and sufferers of systemic lupus erythematosus with the US approval of Benlysta~R, the first new treatment for this serious and difficult-to-treat condition for more than SO years. There was bad news for SkyePharma when AstraZeneca decided to discontinue production of Pulmicort~R (budesonide) hydrofluoroalkane pressurized metered dose inhaler, developed by SkyePharma, due to unsolved, complex manufacturing issues. Finally, progress towards an EU-wide single patent took a massive leap forward when proposals were approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, only to be knocked back when the European Court of Justice ruled that plans to create an EU-wide patent court structure were not compatible with EU law. As ever, the material for this article has been sourced mainly from company websites and press releases.