Pharma group BTG (BTG) is still plugging away at getting its new varicose veins treatment, Varithena, off the ground in the US; a slow-burning process which involves convincing physicians to prescribe the product, while health insurers dither over reimbursing the cost. This has been an issue for some time at BTG, one which forced bosses to admit in an October trading update that full-year revenues would be "in the lower half" of the £410m-£440m guidance range. Now, BTG has revealed that Varithena hasn't been issued a J-code by US regulators - something which would allow health insurers to understand what costs need to be covered, and thus settle reimbursement claims more efficiently.
BTG's half-year numbers reveal the top-line grew by a fifth thanks to helpful currency gains and strong growth across the interventional vascular division. 'Contribution' - defined as gross profit less selling, general and administrative costs - also rose 18 per cent to £94.4m. Operating profits reflected this strong sales growth, up 11 per cent at £62.9m, albeit offset by investment in research and development work.