Latest news with #Shingrix
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOM:500660) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic ...
Release Date: August 01, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BOM:500660) has maintained competitive performance, growing ahead of the market in several key areas. The company has shown strong growth in its specialty segment, particularly in adult vaccination with Shingrix and in respiratory treatments. There is a strategic focus on launching innovative oncology products, which are expected to contribute to growth in the coming quarters. The company has improved its EBITDA margin by 290 basis points, reflecting better expense management and productivity improvements. Cash conversion is healthy, with 100% of sales being converted to cash, supporting a 13% growth in EPS for the quarter. Negative Points Revenue growth was flat due to softer than expected tailwinds, particularly in antibiotics and the dermatology portfolio. The acute segment, including anti-infectives and dermatology, experienced muted growth, impacting overall performance. Supply chain disruptions, including a fire incident at a CMO, led to a 2% loss in growth, affecting brands like Calpol. The company faces challenges from trade generics and private labels, which could impact market share and growth. Margins on innovative products are lower than those on general medicines, potentially affecting profitability in the long term. Q & A Highlights Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Signs with NSA:FCMB. Q: Can you provide a breakdown of the top-line growth in the general medicines portfolio into volume growth, new product introductions, and price? A: (Unidentified_2) For the overall company, including vaccines, there was a 2.83% price hike. Volume growth was flat, and there were no new product introductions in general medicines this quarter. We also faced a supply constraint due to a fire incident at one of our CMOs, which impacted growth by about 2%. Q: Could you elaborate on the current addressable market and future aspirations for Jejula and Jimurli in oncology? A: (Unidentified_2) Ovarian cancer has a 5-year prevalence of over 120,000 patients, with 52,000 new cases annually. Jejula, a PARP inhibitor, is expected to be eligible for at least 5,000 patients. For endometrial cancer, Jimurli is currently indicated for second-line treatment, with about 1,000 eligible patients. We are also pursuing first-line indications and have ongoing clinical trials for other cancer types. Q: What is the reason for the muted growth in the respiratory and derma segments, and do you expect a pickup in July? A: (Unidentified_2) The derm's portfolio, particularly the topical steroids, saw significant volume declines due to a delayed monsoon season. Although we gained market share, the external growth was muted. We are seeing a recovery in recent weeks and expect growth to return in Q2. Q: What are the operational cost implications for the two new oncology drugs? A: (Unidentified_3) These are hospital-based, highly specialized products, so the incremental operating cost will be minimal. We will reallocate resources within our existing budget, and the team size is focused and small, given the limited number of oncologists in the country. Q: How is the company preparing for the launch of Jejula and Jimurli, and what is the expected market impact? A: (Unidentified_2) We have recruited a team of about 20 key account specialists and a separate access team. The launch is set for mid-August, and the cost of treatment is in line with standard care, ranging from 12 to 18 lakhs. The target market includes about 750 to 1,000 eligible patients for second-line endometrial cancer and 5,000 for ovarian cancer. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
30-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
GSK's Profit Outshines Estimates as Vaccines Keep Growing
GSK Plc reported better-than-expected profit in the second quarter, helped by vaccines including best-seller Shingrix for shingles. Earnings per share excluding some items rose to 46.5 pence, the UK drugmaker said Wednesday, higher than the 42.4 pence estimated by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. GSK maintained its outlook for the year, saying results are likely to be at the top end of the range issued earlier this year.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Huge Study Reveals 2 Vaccines That Appear to Reduce Dementia Risk
Some immunizations may be quietly protecting us from cognitive decline. How the medicine might do that is a mystery scientists are desperate to solve. A new study on two vaccines for older adults gives us a crucial clue. The retrospective cohort study included more than 130,000 people in the US. It reveals that the shingles vaccine (called Shingrix) and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine (Arexyv) are associated with a reduced risk of dementia compared to the annual flu vaccine. Related: Both Shingrix and Arexyv are recommended for older adults, and they contain the AS01 adjuvant, which helps stimulate the immune system after vaccination. The flu vaccine does not. Because the link to dementia was noticed soon after receiving the jab, it's unlikely that the vaccines' protection from direct viral exposure is behind the dementia link. Instead, the findings from the University of Oxford suggest "that the AS01 adjuvant itself plays a direct role in lowering dementia risk." Within 18 months of receiving just the Shingrix vaccine, participants showed an 18 percent reduction in dementia risk compared to those who received only the flu vaccine. Meanwhile, those who received the RSV vaccine showed a 29 percent reduction in dementia risk compared to the flu vaccine. Participants who received both the Shingrix and the Arexyv vaccine showed a 37 percent reduction in risk. This combined effect was not statistically greater than one vaccine on its own. In other words, protection from two viruses didn't significantly increase the protection against dementia. The findings suggest that some vaccines "protect against dementia through mechanisms unrelated to (or at least in addition to) the prevention of their [target virus]", write the study authors, led by psychiatrist Maxime Taquet from the University of Oxford. If that's true, then certain vaccines may protect against dementia by triggering important pathways in the immune system. The conclusions align with an emerging hypothesis: that dementia is not actually a brain disease but a disorder of the immune system within the brain. Perhaps vaccines can help get that system up and running again, even if a threatening virus never comes along. In recent years, studies have shown that exposure to several common viruses, like those behind cold sores, shingles, mono, pneumonia, and COVID-19, can lead to a higher risk of cognitive decline down the road. Moreover, vaccines seem to reduce that risk by a significant amount. But why that is has remained a mystery. In 2024, for instance, a study from the United Kingdom found that Shingrix delayed dementia onset by 17 percent compared to older, less effective shingles vaccines. At the time, this was interpreted as indicating that the more effective a shingles vaccine is at reducing viral exposure, the more the brain is protected against cognitive decline. This older version of the shingles vaccine (called Zostavax), however, doesn't include the AS01 immune-booster, and that may have influenced the results. In the US, it is generally recommended that adults over the age 50 receive two doses of the shingles vaccine to protect themselves against the varicella-zoster virus. This is the same virus that causes chicken pox, and it can lie latent in the brain for years before re-emerging in adults. It is also recommended that adults over age 75 receive the RSV vaccine. Both of these vaccines can protect from dangerous infections, but it seems that may not be all they do. "It is likely that both the AS01 shingles and RSV vaccines provide some protection against dementia," conclude Taquet and his colleagues. "The mechanisms underpinning this protection remain to be determined." Vaccines have saved a staggering 154 million lives around the world in the last half century from deadly viruses. If we're lucky, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The study was published in npj Vaccines. Related News One Dietary Supplement Shown to Reduce Aggression by Up to 28% Do Women Need More Sleep Than Men? Here's The Science. Virus Traces Discovered in The Brain Lining of People With Schizophrenia Solve the daily Crossword
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US FDA approves pre-filled version of GSK's shingles vaccine
July 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a pre-filled syringe version of GSK's (GSK.L), opens new tab blockbuster shingles vaccine Shingrix, providing patients a more convenient option to receive the shot, the company said on Thursday. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash anywhere on the body and can sometimes lead to serious complications such as long-term nerve pain and vision loss. The infection is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a type of herpes virus that remains in patients' bodies after they have had chickenpox and reactivates years later. The previous version of GSK's vaccine required a healthcare professional to mix the powdered form of the virus proteins with a liquid that boosts the immune response, before administration. The new form of Shingrix, which does not require the mixing, was approved based on data that showed both versions were equally effective.
Medscape
14-07-2025
- Health
- Medscape
How a Shingles Shot May Guard Against Dementia
New evidence suggests that AS01-based vaccines, beyond their established role in preventing shingles and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), may also reduce the risk for dementia. The supportive data, published on June 25 in the journal npj Vaccines, underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date immunizations, particularly among older adults. 1. Dementia risk dropped after AS01 vaccines. Patients who received the shingles (Shingrix) or RSV (Arexvy) vaccines — both containing the AS01 adjuvant — had a significantly lower risk for dementia over 18 months compared to those who received the flu vaccine, with an 18% lower dementia diagnosis rate for shingles vaccine and a 29% lower rate for RSV vaccine. 2. Even greater protection when both vaccines were used. Receiving both AS01 vaccines was linked to a 37% reduced dementia risk, suggesting a possible additive effect. 3. It's the adjuvant, not the vaccine itself. The consistent protective signal observed in both shingles and RSV vaccine populations points to the AS01 adjuvant as the probable key factor. 4. What's in AS01? A powerful immune combo. The adjuvant includes MPL and QS-21, known to affect brain inflammation and Alzheimer's-related alterations. MPL stimulates immune cells, while QS-21 enhances the immune response. 5. More research needed, but promising. Experts stress that these are observational data and short-term, but the research adds weight to the growing case for broader vaccine benefits, including possible brain protection. Bottom line: While it's too early to change clinical practice, these findings hint that adjuvanted vaccines like Shingrix and Arexvy may do more than prevent infections; they might help guard against dementia, too.
