Denmark's Novo Nordisk Says EU Approves NovoNorm Diabetes Drug
Bloomberg News
August 17, 1998, 10:17 a.m. ET
Denmark's Novo Nordisk Says EU Approves NovoNorm Diabetes Drug
Copenhagen, Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Novo Nordisk A/S, the
world's largest producer of diabetes treatments, said the
European Union approved its diabetes drug NovoNorm.
NovoNorm is an oral diabetes drug designed to treat type-2
diabetes, also known as ''old-age diabetes''. On April 1, Novo
began to market the product in the U.S., where it's known as
Prandin.
''We're very happy about the approval by the European
Commission, and we're certain that NovoNorm, because of its meal-
related concept, will give type-2 diabetics some advantages
compared to other diabetes products,'' Lars Rebien Sorensen,
head of Novo Nordisk healthcare, said in a statement.
Novo said last week it expects 1998 Prandin sales of
between 300 million to 350 million kroner (from $44 million to
$51 million) in the United States. The product competes with
Rezulin, a product from Warner-Lambert Co. of the U.S. At the
time, Novo also said it expected European Union approval in the
third quarter, and planned to launch the product in a number of
European countries in the fourth quarter.
Novo shares rose 25 kroner to 920 in Copenhagen.
--David Bentow in the Copenhagen bureau (45) 33 32 21 21/ab |
