A roundup of the latest news from Spanish pharma, including Almirall’s earnings forecast for 2023; stock price rise and layoffs at Grifols; PharmaMar’s first European approval for its lurbinectedin treatment of metastatic Small Cell Lung Cancer and Esteve’s launch of the first inhaled rescue treatment for Parkinson’s patients.
Spain’s Almirall expects core earnings to fall in 2023 (Reuters)
Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall forecast a drop in core earnings this year after a 15.8 percent decline in 2022 due to increased investment in research and development, as well as lower sales in the United States. It reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 198.3 million euros ($212.2 million) for 2022, down from 235.6 million euros in 2021. That was within its target range of 190-210 million euros for 2022.
Shares at Spain’s Grifols rise on cost-cutting plan (Reuters)
Spanish pharmaceutical firm Grifolsshares climbed 8 percent a day after the company announced plans to lay off around 2,300 employees, or 8.5 percent of its global workforce, to save EUR 400 million euros annually. Grifols, which uses blood plasma to make medicines, has struggled to recover from the impact of the pandemic when many countries halted blood collection.
PharmaMar approval of Zepzelca(lurbinectedin) for the treatment of metastatic Small Cell Lung Cancer in Switzerland (Company website)
PharmaMar has announced that it has received the Temporary Authorisation for the commercialization of Zepzelca® (lurbinectedin) by the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy without central nervous system (CNS) metastases.
Esteve brings to market the first inhaled rescue treatment to control episodes of Parkinson’s Disease (Company website)
The company has obtained pricing and financing for an inhaled treatment for OFF periods in Parkinson’s disease, which it launched on the Spanish market in mid-February 2023.
The treatment consists of an inhaled levodopa that makes it possible to start improving the symptoms of the motor fluctuations associated with OFF episodes within 10 minutes after its administration and for at least 60 minutes.
The pharmaceutical industry drives 20% of all industrial R&D carried out in Spain (La Vanguardia, in Spanish)
The pharmaceutical industry has intensified its investments in R&D to reach a record in 2021 with 1,267 million euros, which makes it the driver of 20 percent of all industrial R&D carried out in Spain. This was stated at the conference ‘The innovative biopharmaceutical industry, a lever for economic and social well-being. A comprehensive approach’, organized in Barcelona by Farmaindustria, Foment del Treball and the consultancy Kreab.
Minoryx Therapeutics announces X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy data (Labiotech)
Spanish biotech Minoryx Therapeutics has announced that data from its phase 2/3 ADVANCE clinical trial of lead candidate, leriglitazone, has been published in The Lancet Neurology. The trial, assessing the efficacy and safety of leriglitazone in male patients with adrenomyeloneuropathy, is the first and largest international study to enroll adult male X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy patients.
Spanish packaging firm Inden Pharma to expand footprint in India (Business Today)
Spanish packaging firm Inden Pharma is planning to expand its business to India after partnering with Austria-based ALPLApharma that specialises in plastic packaging for pharmaceuticals. In a bid to increase their presence in the global market for pharmaceutical packaging, the companies have inked a pact for the certified production of bottles, containers and closures in clean rooms.
