Ipsen's news isn't all bad these days. After its big plans for a new hemophilia drug hit a big snag earlier this week, the drugmaker is announcing plans to keep a French plant it had slated for sale. The reason: Increasing sales of the primary-care drugs made there.
The plant's 580 workers can thank emerging markets for their reprieve. Demand in these faster-growing markets has bloomed, the company told Reuters. "There's been a change in the economic environment," a spokesman told the news service. "There's been more international volume from countries like China, Russia."
Ipsen's strategy has been in a state of flux. Facing declining demand for its primary care products, the company decided to stake its future on specialty meds. One of those specialty drugs, unfortunately, is the late-stage hemophilia treatment that ran into trouble two days ago, when FDA put a hold on two studies.
But Ipsen also chose to increase focus on emerging markets. Hence, the growth in those countries offset generic competition and government spending cuts in both Europe and U.S. So maybe Ipsen has a bigger role to play in primary care than it thought.
- check out the Ipsen release
- read the Reuters news