Ahead of an investor event in London, Actelion said its first priority was expanding its leadership in the market for treating heart and lung disease pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), helped by strong data for its new drug macitentan.

Actelion has been banking on macitentan as a successor to is blockbuster Tracleer, which currently accounts for around 90 percent of group sales and goes off patent in 2015.

It said on Tuesday it will focus its research and development activities towards specialty markets, with its pipeline in immunomodulation and antibiotics a second field of focus, allowing it to cut costs.

The new strategy should allow it to produce stable core earnings in 2013 in local currencies, followed by a return to growth in 2014 and accelerating to double digit growth in 2015.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley and Emma Thomasson)

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