| CATEGORY: NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS SECTOR: PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECHNOLOGY |
Update: GSK to sell Shire's Vyvanse in USA |
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By John Harrington
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Tue 31 Mar 2009
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LONDON (SHARECAST) - Shire Pharmaceuticals is to enlist the aid of fellow drugs giant GlaxoSmithkline’s US sales force to market Shire’s Vyvanse capsules in the USA.
The two companies have signed a co-promotion agreement lasting three years, based on profit-sharing above an agreed-upon baseline figure.
Shire said the arrangement will more than double the reach and frequency of the current sales effort for Vyvanse by adding more than 600 sales representatives from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to the promotion team. The GSK representatives regularly call on specialists and primary care physicians.
Vyvanse is Shire’s treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults, with 12% of the prescription ADHD market in the USA. The company currently has 600 representatives selling Vyvanse, primarily to pædiatricians and psychiatrists.
According to broker Charles Stanley, peak Vyvanse sales are forecast to reach $1.3bn by 2014 and early analyst estimates indicate that this deal, if successful, could add an additional $500m to that figure, representing a circa 10% boost to EPS in that year.
The broker also suggested that this agreement, Shire's first collaboration with a 'pharma sector major,' could be a prelude to a full bid for the company.
‘By collaborating with GSK, which has two of the most accomplished CNS and Primary Care sales teams in the industry, Vyvanse will be introduced to over 70,000 new physicians,’ said Michael Cola, president of Shire’s Specialty Pharmaceuticals business.
‘Our professional sales representatives are well positioned to provide physicians with information on the treatment of adult ADHD with Vyvanse and we look forward to helping meet the needs of adult patients with ADHD,’ said Deirdre Connelly, president of GlaxoSmithKline North American Phamraceuticals.
The agreement comes into effect from May 2009.
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