German Court revokes GlaxoSmithKline Viani/Advair patent; Company identifies new malaria leads

21 May 2010

UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline yesterday confirmed that the Federal Patents Court in Munich, Germany, had revoked a patent on its top-selling asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drug Advair/Seratide (salmeterol and fluticasone), which uses the trade name Viani in Germany.

The news saw the company's shares dip 0.7% to £11.69 in morning trading yesterday, closing the day down 1% at £11.66, after having been the only blue chip stock to advance the day earlier in a falling London market. Coincidentally, that upward activity was fueled by a report from MF Global's analyst Justin Smith, who argued that investors have over-reacted to threats of generic competition for Advair, which last year generated sales of $7.8 billion for GSK, or some 18% of group turnover.

Advair sales will carry on growing, says analyst

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