October 15, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
GlaxoSmithKline will be seeking binding bids for older drugs worth more than $3 billion and could sell the products according to geographical region, reported Reuters this week.
A few of the drug bidders are rumored to be KKR, Lupin and Lundbeck, although representatives from the companies have declined to comment thus far.
Some of the medicines on the block are thought to have combined 2014 sales of $1.6 billion, although sales are declining as a result of competition. Generic drugs are taking away from sales, giving consumers a more affordable option.
For months, Lupin has said that it would like to enhance its U.S. branded generics business and confirmed to Reuters on Tuesday that it was looking for deals. However, the company would not comment on specific targets.
Finding Success with Tafinlar
Aside from its move to seek binding bids, GlaxoSmithKline has been focused on helping its investigational drugs see success. Tafinlar, also known as dabrafenib, is designed for the treatment of mutant metastatic melanoma. On Sept. 29, GlaxoSmithKline updated the results of the drug from a planned analysis of a phase III BREAK-3 study.
The analysis of the study’s primary endpoint, progression free survival, was reported in 2012. The September results that were presented stem from the secondary endpoint, with a final analysis of the overall survival endpoint predicted to come by 2016.
Researchers found in the study that 45 percent of patients who were treated with dabrafenib were alive at two years, compared to only 32 percent of patients who were treated with the drug dacarbazine.
“We are encouraged by the 45 percent survival rate withdabrafenib at two years,” said Paolo Paoletti, president of oncology at GlaxoSmithKline. “Treatments for melanoma have come a long way in recent years and we’re now seeing the benefits precision medicines can bring to the right patients.”
Tafinlar works by targeting the mutated BRAF protein in patients with melanoma. The most common adverse side effects reported within the study were joint pain, headache, fever and hair loss. In the European Union, the drug is a licensed monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.
