LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said onThursday its new inhaled lung drug, Anoro, had been approved inEurope as a treatment for chronic lung disease, boosting itsrespiratory franchise.
A final green light had been expected for the product, whichwas developed with Theravance, following arecommendation from European experts in February.
Respiratory drugs are a major business for GSK. Advair orSeretide, its market-leading lung drug, makes up a fifth of itssales, but it is already facing competition from genericversions in Europe.
Industry analysts expect Anoro to generate worldwide annualsales of about $2.65 billion by 2019, according to ThomsonReuters data. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Jane Baird)