European Commission Approves Novartis Eye-Disease Drug Beovu -- Update
February 17 2020 - 11:58AM
Dow Jones News
By Carlo Martuscelli
The European Commission gave a green light to Novartis AG's
eye-disease drug Beovu on Monday, opening a path to reach patients
in the bloc's health-care systems.
The treatment is for a chronic disease that affects the elderly
called wet age-related macular degeneration, and it was approved in
the US in October. The Swiss drug maker reported $35 million in
Beovu sales for the fourth quarter. Novartis is targeting
blockbuster status for the drug, which means eventually reaching
over $1 billion in annual revenue.
Paul Spittle, head of global marketing for Novartis, told Dow
Jones Newswires that he expects European sales of Beovu to begin in
the second quarter.
"We expect to quickly enter key markets," Mr. Spittle said.
Following European Commission authorization, Novartis has to
negotiate pricing deals for the drug with individual health
authorities in each European member states.
The approval is based on the Hawk and Harrier Phase 3 clinical
trials. In the studies, Beovu demonstrated non-inferior visual
improvements in patients with the eye disease compared with
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' rival treatment aflibercept, also known
as Eylea. The medicine is currently the main treatment for wet AMD
in Europe.
All wet AMD drugs require injections into the eye, however
Novartis said that, after an initial phase where doses are higher
or more frequent, Beovu's less-frequent dosing presented a
differentiating factor to rivals.
"From a retina specialist perspective, the feedback has been
really positive," Mr. Spittle said. "We believe we can quickly take
market share," he added.
Write to Carlo Martuscelli at carlo.martuscelli@wsj.com;
@carlomartu
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 17, 2020 11:43 ET (16:43 GMT)
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