Downturn defiance

 has revealed a 24 per cent increase in revenue in their preliminary results for the year ending 31 March.

The Wiltshire-based inhaled product development company claims revenues of £31.2m, compared to the £25.2m made by this time last year.

The company believes the increase can be partly attributed to progress made in its generics division.

Vectura announced earlier this year that it received a £2.2m royalty payment from Sandoz, the generic drug unit of Novartis.

The payment was related to Vectura’s VR315, a combination product designed for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The product, which is still under development, is considered a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair.

In its preliminary results, Vectura also announced a 31 per cent increase in gross profits to £27.3m, an increase from £20.8m this time last year.

Vectura has continued to fund research and development.

The company claims a 9 per cent increase to £32.3m, compared to the £29.7m set aside for R&D this time last year.