Novartis'
QAB149 -- I'm sure they'll change the name before it hits the market -- was able to improve lung function compared to placebo, but more importantly it also beat two drugs already on the market: Pfizer
Formoterol is also half of AstraZeneca's
Keep those combinations coming, Novartis. If you stick with the Qxx149 naming strategy, there are 673 left.
QAB149 is already under review with the Food and Drug Administration and the regulators in the European Union. QMF149 and QVA149, which could turn out to be more popular if they're more effective, are a little farther behind.
COPD certainly isn't as sexy as cancer, but that doesn't mean there isn't big money to be had treating COPD and asthma, which QAB149 is also being tested as a treatment for. AstraZeneca sold $2 billion worth of Symbicort last year.
If Novartis can keep rolling out the drugs, investors will continue to keep breathing in the dividends and capital appreciation.