I want to puke every time I hear about Januvia becoming a multi-billion dollar blockbuster. The FDA gave Merk a gift when it hit NVS with an approvable letter while giving Merk the green light. I believe at last count Galvus has been approved in approximately 40 countries without running the additional trials that FDA requested.
Fortunately for NVS (but unfortunate for humanity as a whole)the American diet has spread to emerging markets and now China is seeing increasing diabetes rates. I guess this is an unfortunate side effect of the demographic tail wind we keep hearing about. Bottom line is NVS realized that Galvus could still be a blockbuster based on Europe and the rest of world. They decided not to fight the FDA when they were apparently picking favorites. I fear the FDA could do the same thing in the COPD market.
Sorry about the venting, Januvia vs. Galvus is a sore point with me.