Ebsworth's quick decision on Zavesca

Rather than develop a post-marketing pharmacovigilance system for its Zavesca Gaucher disease treatment and build a sales and marketing force from the ground up, Oxford Glycosciences plc has opted to put these launch responsibilities in the hands of Actelion SA in exchange for a majority share of the European revenues.

"We looked at the infrastructure costs of setting up a European sales team and all the component requirements," said David Ebsworth, the former head of pharmaceuticals at Bayer AG who in May became CEO of Oxford Glycosciences (LSE:OGS; OGSI, Oxford, U.K.). "Selling Zavesca ourselves in Europe just did not make commercial sense."...