Your support helps us tell the story
Most polls show this election remains close. In a race this close, reporters are needed on the ground to talk to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to this story.
The Independent is trusted every month by 27 million Americans from across the political spectrum. Unlike many other quality news organizations, we don’t lock you away from our reporting or analysis with a paywall. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Please help us continue to bring these important stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
CloseRead more
Pharmaceutical company GSK suffered a sharp decline in sales of its blockbuster Alexby vaccine in the third quarter, and overall sales growth slowed.
Sales of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) jab, which was a huge success after its launch last year and was previously a key driver of vaccine sales, have been hit by a decline in the number of doses administered, with sales down 72% year-on-year. This fell to £188 million. In the US.
Britain’s second-largest pharmaceutical company still recorded 2% sales growth across its businesses, driven by strong performance from its HIV and cancer drugs, with sales in the latter category increasing compared to the same period last year. It has almost doubled.
However, the RSV injection Alexby has been hit by more restrictive recent recommendations from U.S. health officials regarding its administration to older, higher-risk patients.
A resurgence in COVID-19 infection rates and the subsequent prioritization of vaccination against the virus over other vaccines also put downward pressure on Alexby’s sales.
GSK said that despite the decline in sales, Alexby still had about two-thirds share of the retail market, where most doses are administered.
Chief executive Dame Emma Walmsley said the strong performance in cancer and HIV treatment demonstrated “the resilience we have built into GSK’s portfolio and performance”.
New vaccine approvals and data should return to growth once current headwinds are overcome.
Derren Nathan, Hargreaves Lansdowne
He added: “With 11 Phase 3 clinical trials reporting positive results so far this year, our pipeline continues to strengthen and we are currently on track for five major new product approvals next year. We are planning to release it for this occasion.”
New releases include the cancer treatment drug Brenrep and the asthma treatment depemokimab.
Nevertheless, the company’s stock price fell after the company cut its annual vaccine sales forecast to a “low single-digit” decline. This was also due to a small decline in sales of the shingles treatment drug Shingrix.
Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Deren Nathan said: “Just as it seemed like COVID-19 was a thing of the past, the push to increase vaccination rates will help prevent clinical “Priorities have changed.”
“However, GSK is also showing strength in other areas of its portfolio, with its emerging oncology franchise up more than 100% year-to-date, with specialty medicines seeing 19% growth.
“The sector’s improved margins have had a positive impact on revenue, and our full-year target remains unchanged. Once we overcome the current headwinds, new vaccine approvals and data should restore growth.”
This is a landmark US$2.2bn (£1.68bn) move by GSK to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits in the US over its heartburn drug Zantac, which was discontinued in early October. This was after they had reached a settlement.
