Novartis' Alcon's Travatan Obtains Label Expansion in the EU - Analyst Blog
Investors in the pharma/biotech sector eagerly wait for pipeline updates as they play an important role in deciding whether or not to invest in a particular company. These updates provide information on experimental drugs and at times give an insight on the commercial potential of the candidate once it is successfully developed and commercialized.
Novartis AG (NVS) recently announced that its ophthalmology arm Alcon was granted a label expansion by the European Commission for its glaucoma treatment, Travatan (40µg/mL travoprost) Eye Drops Solution.
Travatan is now approved in Europe to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients aged two months to less than 18 years, with ocular hypertension or pediatric glaucoma.
We note that Travatan was already approved in Europe to decrease elevated intraocular pressure in adult patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma.
The EU approval was based on positive results from a 12-week, multicenter, double-masked, randomized, parallel-group phase III study.
The primary efficacy endpoint was to measure the change in IOP from baseline at week 12 of the study. Results showed reductions in IOP as early as the second week of treatment, which was consistently maintained throughout the study period.
The approval of this new pediatric indication further complements Alcon's broad treatment portfolio in glaucoma and provides a new important prostaglandin-based therapy for young patients.
We note that Alcon offers a broad range of treatment options such as Simbrinza, Travatan, Duotrav, Azarga, Azopt and Izba for patients with glaucoma to lower elevated IOP.
We are impressed by Novartis' efforts to realign its portfolio in order to focus on its eye care and generics businesses. The proposed acquisition of the oncology products arm from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and divestment of its Vaccines business will broaden the company’s portfolio and streamline its business, besides contributing immensely to the top line.
Novartis currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked large-cap pharmas include Allergan (AGN) and AbbVie (ABBV), each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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