LONDON -- Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC (SHPGY) Friday welcomed the announcement by the U.K. National Institute of Clinical Excellence that treatments for Alzheimer's disease should be made available within the U.K..
Shire said its Reminyl dual action treatment, jointly developed with Janssen Pharmaceutica, was approved earlier Friday along with Novartis AG's (NVS) Exelon, and Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) Aricept, drugs also used in the treatment of Alzheimer's.
Earlier story from WSJI.
Pharma Shrs Poised To Weather UK Alzheimer's Drug Ruling
By SUSANNAH RODGERS Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
(This was originally published at 1657GMT Thursday)
LONDON -- With Britain's National Institute of Clinical Excellence preparing to rule Friday on three drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease, pharmaceutical industry followers are confident drug stocks can weather a rejection by the body.
NICE, a body which gives guidance on whether medicines should be available on Britain's state-funded healthcare system, will rule on whether three drugs - Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC's (SHPGY) Reminyl, Novartis AG's (NVS) Exelon, and Pfizer Inc.'s (PFE) Aricept - are sufficiently cost effective to be prescribed by the National Health Service. NICE will also rule on drugs for motor neuron disease.
Analysts are split on the likelihood of the drugs being given the all-clear, particularly as NICE has turned down several high profile drugs in the past, against the protestations of pharmaceutical companies. But as Alzheimer's disease is treated far more widely by physicians in the U.S. than in Europe, a 'no' verdict is unlikely to make much impact on overall European sales, nor on share prices.
"It's more important for the U.K. Alzheimer's community than it is for stocks," said James Culverwell, pharmaceutical analyst at Merrill Lynch. With treatment of Alzheimer's a U.S. phenomenon, no one has high expectations for European sales of Shire's Reminyl, he added.
Reminyl Seen Earning GBP350 Mln A Year
Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative brain disease affecting memory, thinking, behavior and emotion, is the most common form of dementia. Dementia affects one in twenty people over the age of 65, and isn't thought to be linked to social class, gender, ethnic group or geographical location. Although it's more common among elderly people, younger people can also be affected.
While there's no known cure for Alzheimer's, several drugs on the market can improve quality of life for sufferers, while numerous companies are researching further symptom-reducing drugs.
All three medicines under review by NICE are for use in the earlier stages of the disease and reduce the level of acetylcholine, a chemical involved in memory and behavior, in the brain.
Analysts believe Reminyl could reap peak sales of about GBP350 million and take a large chunk of U.K. sales. The drug, which is plant-based and derived from daffodil bulbs, has already been approved across Europe by regulatory authorities, and was launched in the U.K. last year.
Among other drugs in the pipeline, AstraZeneca PLC's (AZN) Seroquel, not initially developed for the disease, is being developed for the treatment of psychoses that result from Alzheimer's.
Drugs Industry Says NICE Keeps Drugs From Patients
NICE assesses drugs once they have been approved for sale by the U.K. Medicines Control Agency. If turned down by NICE, a medicine can still be sold, but is less likely to be prescribed by the NHS, through which most healthcare prescribing takes place in the U.K.
The U.K. drugs industry has long campaigned against NICE, arguing that the body delays the flow of drugs to patients. Drugs that fail at the NICE hurdle can be blighted elsewhere, they have said, since regulatory bodies as far afield as Japan look to NICE as an indicator.
NICE was set up in order to avoid the so-called postcode prescribing, under which patients in different areas of the U.K. receive differing levels of healthcare depending on the local health authority budget priorities. Local authorities are expected, although not legally required, to follow NICE guidelines.
Shire shares, still emerging from the hit taken from its recent takeover of Canada's BioChem Pharma Inc. (BCHE), closed up 46 pence, or 3.7%, at 1,276 pence. At 1640 GMT, shares of Novartis were down CHF20, or 0.7%, at CHF2685, and Pfizer were up 56 cents at $41.31. |
