BTG on track for full year

Healthcare firm BTG said trading has continued in line with company expectations as it reiterated that revenues for the full year are expected to be in the range £160m to £165m.

The specialist pharma firm said the forecast excludes any BeneFIX royalty revenues, a product which prevents bleeding during surgery.

Last week BTG confirmed the approval of Voraxaze to treat patients with toxic levels of the chemotherapy methotrexate due to impaired renal function. BTG bought Voraxaze though its £218m merger with Protherics in 2008.

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"It will be marketed directly in the US by BTG through our existing acute care sales force; we anticipate peak US sales of around $15m per annum. BTG licensed the Japanese rights to glucarpidase to Ohara Pharmaceutical in December 2011," the group explained.

Meanwhile BTG started direct sales of and medical support for the LC Bead in the US this month following expiry of the distribution contract with AngioDynamics at the end of December 2011.

CEO Louise Makin commented, "We have continued to make good progress commercially and in our pipeline since reporting in November a strong set of results for the first half of the year. Our second US sales force is now selling the LC Bead and has started well."

BTG said it was pleased to receive US approval for Voraxaze, the first regulatory application it has made in the US.

Makin added, "We look forward to a busy 2012, with data from the three Phase III trials of Varisolve, from our partner AstraZeneca's Phase IIb study of AZD9773 (CytoFab) in severe sepsis and the submission of US and EU regulatory applications by Sanofi for Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis."