17. Boehringer Ingelheim $8.3B ▲up 6.9%
Global revenue: $17.7B (15th); up 4.5%
Top brands: Spiriva HandiHaler ($3.3B); Combivent Respimat ($892M); Tradjenta ($571M)
Promotional spend: $859M (6th); 10.3% of rev.
R&D spend:* $3.8B (11th); up 15.8%; 21.5% of rev.
Planned launches: Synjardy (diab.); nintedanib (onc.)
Patent expirations: Aggrenox (2017); Mirapex (2018); Spiriva (2018)
It was a rough year for Boehringer. After the company lost patent protection on its blockbuster hypertension drug Micardis, overall drug sales slumped in the first half of 2014, prompting the family-owned firm to implement companywide cost cutting and layoffs. Additionally, Spiriva lost its patent in India. Still, bright spots remain—like Synjardy, a combination diabetes drug it is developing with Lilly. Synjardy combines empagliflozin, an SGLT-2 inhibitor, with metformin, a time-tested generic often used in combination with insulin. The drug gained a recommendation from European regulators in March and is expected to earn FDA approval later this year.
* Global R&D spend is based on the year ending December 31, 2013, the latest data available at press time.
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From the May 01, 2015 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
