With losses rising, Vertex rolls out its telaprevir app

Faced with a rising tide of red ink, Vertex (NASDAQ: VRTX) says it has begun rolling out its NDA for the potential blockbuster telaprevir and expects to wrap the app later this year. Banking on a treasure trove of positive Phase III results already in hand, Vertex is clearly hopeful about its chances with the closely watched hepatitis C drug. And it's laying the groundwork for another FDA campaign next year for its cystic fibrosis program. Vertex will need to start ginning revenue quickly,...

Lilly CEO: Pipeline to soften patent losses

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is looking to its pipeline to fill the gaps left by a number of high-profile drugs comping off patent. In October 2011, blockbuster Zyprexa will fall to generic competition; additionally, about three-quarters of Lilly's current revenue comes from eight drugs that will lose patent protection between now and 2017. "We have the challenge of replenishing our product portfolio from our pipeline," says CEO John Lechleiter (photo) in a USA Today interview....

Analysts fret over Pfizer’s litany of pipeline snafus

The clock is ticking on Pfizer's final, 18-month countdown on its $11.5 billion Lipitor franchise, but analysts are growing increasing fretful about the pharma giant's ability to find new drugs to fill the looming revenue chasm. On Wednesday Pfizer had to admit that it suspended a slate of osteoarthritis trials after its highly touted pain drug tanezumab--billed as the world's first likely biologic for pain--was linked to potentially perilous safety issues. And that came just two days...

‘New Merck’ spotlights late-stage strategy but shelves biosimilar

Merck brought out its top guns at this morning's R&D meeting to make a bullish case for its late-stage prospects in the wake of a $41 billion mega-merger with Schering-Plough. Regulators in the U.S. and Europe are reviewing applications from Merck on four NMEs, and the Big Pharma company plans to file for five more approvals later in the year. Meanwhile there are 20 programs in late-stage development. Up for approval this year is a new contraceptive, an extended-release version of the...