Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (LGND) today announced that its partner GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plc has announced global revenue for Promacta™/Revolade™ for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014 of $92 million, up 31% from the second quarter of 2013. United States, European Union and the Emerging Markets all reported double-digit growth over the prior quarter, with United States up 17% and Emerging Markets up 50% versus first quarter 2014.
“Promacta continues to illustrate its value and importance in addressing major unmet medical needs,” said John Higgins, President and CEO of Ligand Pharmaceuticals. “GSK has maintained a global view of brand management and an ongoing commitment to maximizing the reach of Promacta/Revolade to patients in need. These impressive quarterly results clearly underscore GSK’s commitment to the product and represent the highest quarterly sales in the history of the drug and largest quarter-over-quarter growth in dollars.”
Recent Events Relating to Promacta/Revolade
In addition to quarterly global revenue for Q2 2014, GSK has also recently announced a number of other milestones or data events relating to Promacta/Revolade, including:
Receipt of both Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Priority Review status for a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the treatment of cytopenias in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who have had insufficient response to immunosuppressive therapy. SAA is a rare disorder in which the bone marrow fails to make enough new blood cells. There are no approved therapies available for SAA patients who are unresponsive to initial immunosuppressive therapy (IST).
Results of the Phase 3 PETIT2 study evaluating the efficacy of eltrombopag versus placebo in pediatric patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (cITP). The study met its primary endpoint, and GSK announced that it is moving forward with planned global regulatory submissions for a pediatric indication in cITP in 2014.
Initiation of the global Phase 3 SUPPORT trial to evaluate the platelet supportive care effects of eltrombopag in combination with azacitidine (the current standard of care) versus placebo in combination with azacitidine in intermediate-1, intermediate-2 or high-risk patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The study will assess the proportion of patients who do not require a platelet transfusion during the first four cycles of treatment.
GSK and Novartis AG announced that Novartis is acquiring GSK’s oncology portfolio, including Promacta/Revolade, for an aggregate cash consideration of $16 billion, a sales multiple of approximately 10 times 2013 revenue. The deal leverages Novartis’ commercial capabilities in oncology, and Novartis projects significant growth over the coming years for the brands, including Promacta. The transaction is expected to be complete by the first half of 2015, subject to approvals. |
