IMS ANTICIPATES LAUNCH OF SEVERAL BLOCKBUSTERS IN 2007

Novartis' first-in-class hypertension treatment Tekturna and sanofi-aventis' weight-loss drug Acomplia are among several expected 2007 U.S. drug launches that are estimated to reach global blockbuster status, according to IMS Health.

In addition to Tekturna (aliskiren) and Acomplia (rimonabant), other drugs expected to do well are:

• Wyeth's antidepressant Pristiq (desuenlafaxine);
• Wyeth/Solvay's schizophrenia treatment bifeprunox;
• GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) cervical cancer vaccine Cervarix; and
• Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) Risperdal follow-on Invega (paliperidone).

Novartis will launch Tekturna this month, while J&J launched the antipsychotic Invega in January. Acomplia has a July 27 user fee date, and GSK expects to submit an new drug application (NDA) to the FDA for Cervarix by April.

Wyeth expects to respond to the FDA's Jan. 22 approvable letter for Pristiq in the second quarter. The approval is pending, in part, agency inspection of Wyeth's Puerto Rico manufacturing facility where the antidepressant will be manufactured. The firm submitted an NDA to the FDA for bifeprunox in October 2006.

IMS also announced recently that U.S. prescription sales increased 8.3 percent last year to $274.9 billion, driven by the aging population and the introduction of the Medicare Part D drug benefit. The firm estimates that Part D contributed 1 to 2 percentage points of prescription drug sales growth.