Vectura Group has extended a deal with Sandoz for its generic lung drug VR315 -- a rival for GlaxoSmithKline’s top-selling Advair -- to the rest of the world outside the United States. Bucking sharp falls in the wider market, shares in Vectura were flat by 0745 GMT as investors welcomed the latest vote of confidence in its experimental product. The British inhaled drug specialist already has a five-year-old partnership deal for the medicine in Europe with Sandoz, the generic division of Novartis . The new licence agreement covers the development and marketing of VR315 in other territories. It excludes the United States, where Sandoz handed rights back to Vectura last year. Vectura announced earlier this week that it had found a new U.S. partner for the product.
