The use of combination therapies in the treatment of cancer patients is set to increase in the future, according to a new report.

Analysis found that oncological treatments are evolving to include biologic medication, which, in combination with cytotoxic drugs, is rapidly becoming the top pharmaceutical therapy.

GBI Research’s report found the effective capabilities of biologics in controlling and treating complications has led to their widespread use and popularity amongst patients and prescribers.

The cytotoxic therapies markets has eight major indications and brands include Taxotere (docetaxel), Alimta (pemetrexed) and Xeloda (capecitabine) – all of which have exceeded sales of $1 billion.

However, these drugs are set to be exposed to generic competition in coming years which will reduce the cost of combinational treatments.

The popularity of such treatments is also expected to convince pharmaceutical companies to apply for label extensions on their existing biologics portfolio for multiple oncology complications.

This, the report said, will support the continued development of cytotoxic drugs in the future, despite significant safety hurdles that have previously led to weak pipelines.

The cytotoxic therapies market accounted for $6.5 billion in revenue ten years ago. It grew at an annual rate of 5.8% to reach $10.1 billion in 2010. The report now expects generic competition to reduce revenues in the market by 2017 to $7.6 billion – despite predicted uptake.

An increase in sales at the ‘new Genzyme’ helped Sanofi’s business EPS grow by 7.2% as revenue topped €8.5bn in the first three months of 2012.

Sales of growth platforms, which include Genzyme, were €5.38bn and accounted for 63.2% of total sales, up from 59.2% in Q1 2011, despite global generic competition on Plavix and Aprovel.

Christopher Viehbacher, Sanofi CEO, said the “strong performance” in the first quarter was “driven by Genzyme, our growth platforms, and cost savings”.

However, Sanofi still expects profits to be down by around 12% to 15% on last year’s figures as a result of generic exposure of major brands.

Overall sales were up 7% compared to the same period last year after revenue in emerging markets increased by nearly a tenth (9.9%), and its pharmaceuticals division was boosted by increased sales in its diabetes and oncology businesses.

First quarter sales in pharmaceuticals reached €7.3bn, an increase of 8.8%, driven by the performance of diabetes drug Lantus which saw sales rise 17.2% to €1.1bn. But generic competition on Plavix, Lovenox and Taxotere hit sales, despite increased demand for Apidra, Eloxatin and Jevtana.

The ‘new Genzyme’ recorded sales of €400m in Q1 – up by 13.7%. Sales of Fabrazyme were up by half to €47m, with Cerezyme up by 5.8% to €149m and sales of Myozyme/Lumizyme also increasing by 17% to €112m.

Sanofi’s own generics business generated an increase of sales after the recent launch of the authorised generic Lovenox saw revenue grow by 6.5% to €439m.

Vaccine sales were down slightly (0.2%) to €617m after the delayed timing of supply of flu vaccines in the Southern Hemisphere. However, the news was better for Sanofi’s consumer health division as it achieved record sales of €805m.

Sales increased more than 10% at Sanofi in the third quarter to €8.7 billion, despite the loss of €471 million due to generic competition compared to the same period a year ago.

Total sales grew 10.1% along with an 11% increase in growth platforms after strong performances in its diabetes, vaccines and consumer health divisions.

Christopher A. Viehbacher, Sanofi CEO, says the return to growth in sales and earnings is an “important milestone as the company progressively puts the patent cliff behind it”.

Growth platforms and Genzyme accounted for 68.5% of total sales after the recently acquired business recorded sales up 6.9% to €768 million.

Pharmaceutical net sales were up a tenth to €6.9 billion and helped year-to-date net sales rise 5.5% to €20 billion, despite generic competition to Lovenox, Ambien CR and Taxotere in the US and Plavix (pictured) and Taxotere in the EU plus the impact of US healthcare reform and EU austerity measures.

Its diabetes division was driven by a strong US and Emerging Markets performance which resulted in a 12.4% increase in sales after Lantus recorded growth of 14.6% and 23.4%, in respective markets. Growth in Sanofi’s vaccine division also increased 16.7% after a solid demand for seasonal flu medication in the US.

The Sanofi Group now expects 2011 business net income to be between 2%-5% lower than last year’s total. “We continue to make strong progress in R&D with the submission of five new products and also in the tight control of our costs,” said Mr Viehbacher.

It was reported this week that Sanofi is set to overtake Pfizer as the world’s biggest pharmaceutical company by 2016.

Submissions have been recently filed for Lyxumia (lixisenatide) in the EU, Aubagio (teriflunomide) and Zaltrap (aflibercept) in the US; Visamerin/Mulsevo (semuloparin) in the US and EU; plus Kynamro (mipomersen) in the EU.

The company released its Q3 performance on the day it announced it was cutting jobs in its US R&D and sales divisions.

Sanofi is expected to overthrow Pfizer’s nine-year reign as the world’s biggest drug maker, according to new research.

The French pharmaceutical company is expected to retain the top spot until at least 2016, with Pfizer falling to third place behind Novartis due to the loss of Lipitor’s US patent protection, according to EvaluatePharma (see figure one).

The report says that Sanofi’s numerous acquisitions over the last decade have contributed largely to the company’s success, gaining $20 billion after it bought out Genzyme.

Sanofi’s mergers over the last decade have contributed a great deal to its current position, starting with its $30 billion deal with Synthélabo in 1999.

It is expected that the company will retain its top position until at least 2016, mainly thanks to sales of enzyme replacement therapies through its acquisition of Genzyme.

Also, the company’s addition of Cerezyme and Myozyme blockbuster drugs will help fill the gap left by Lovenox, Taxotere, and Plavix, which loses US patent protection in 2012.

Pfizer’s $68 billion buyout of Wyeth in 2009 helped fill the gap left by Lipitor, but it will be difficult to replace the drug’s global sales figure of $13.4 billion seen in 2008, which set the record as the biggest selling medicine.

Following its loss of US patent protection in November 2011, Lipitor sales are estimated to shrink to $2 billion by 2016.

However, pipeline products such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pills tofacitinib and Eliquis are expected to boost Pfizer’s drug sales after 2016, which will help retain the company’s position in the top-five pharmaceutical companies.

Merck’s four-year outlook is seen as bleak despite its takeover of Schering-Plough for $41 billion in 2009, with only 1% annual sales growth predicted, conceding to European companies GlaxoSmithKline and Roche to overtake the company.

EvaluatePharma predicts that Johnson & Johnson’s recent pipeline successes will benefit the company in the coming years, despite its drugs arm being substantially smaller than the five biggest pharma companies.

It is thought that Novartis will be Sanofi’s closest competition over the next few years, with strong sales growth from Gilenya and Tasigna due to Diovan’s loss of patent protection next year.

Figure 1:

A quarter of the NHS drugs spending of £4.1 billion last year went on just ten medicines, according to a new report.

IMS Health found that total prescribing costs in England, including primary care and community prescriptions, reached a record £12.86 billion in 2010, an increase of 4.8% from the previous year.

This total in English hospitals has increased by 7.7%.

The report, commissioned by the NHS, says that this growth is likely to be related to the introduction of new, more expensive treatments.

The top 10 drugs (Figure 1) were mainly biologics used to treat either autoimmune diseases or cancers.

The most expensive were two arthritis drugs, Abbott’s Humira (adalimumab), with an increase of 19% to £180.5 million, and Pfizer and Amgen’s Enbrel (etanercept), costing £179.6 million.

Novartis’ Lucentis (ranibizumab) treatment for eye disease cost £128.9 million, overtaking Roche’s breast cancer medicine Herceptin.

The report noted the difficulty in biologics, as they are unlikely to be copied and manufactured into generics, consequently costing for the NHS more for branded medication. Manufacturers are likely to make more innovative forms of existing drugs, which would also push prices up.

However, the primary care drugs bill, which takes up 66% of the £12.9 billion spending of medicines in the English NHS, is expected to decrease by £1 billion over the next four years due to a series of patent expiry dates.