The focus of AstraZeneca's
Revenue was 5% higher year over year, but about half of that was due to one-time gains. Novartis
On the new-drug front, things aren't quite as rosy. Onglyza, AstraZeneca's diabetes drug that it sells with Bristol-Myers Squibb
AstraZeneca's pipeline took a hit this week, when the company withdrew marketing applications for its lung-cancer drug Zactima, after updated analysis suggested that the drug didn't help improve survival.
That leaves the potential for the next blockbuster on the shoulders of blood thinner Brilinta. The marketing application was recently submitted in the EU, and AstraZeneca expects to file a New Drug Application with the Food and Drug Administration this quarter. Brilinta fared better than sanofi-aventis'
It's kind of hard to get excited about AstraZeneca knowing it'll face increasing generic competition with a pipeline that's rather lackluster. It's probably worth keeping an eye on, but it doesn't look cheap enough to buy at this point. Let other investors enjoy the one-time gains while you and I think a little more long-term.