Pharmaceuticals/Biotech
Tight-Tolerance Springs And Stamping At MD&M East
May 21, 2013 2:23 pm | Products | CommentsConnecticut Spring & Stamping will showcase its selection of precise medical product components, such as springs and progressive stampings, at MD&M East from June 18-20, 2013. The company says its tight-tolerance springs and metal stampings are ideal for handheld surgical devices, endoscopic clip appliers, suturing devices, stable removers and more.
France: Drug Company On Trial, Suspected In Deaths
May 21, 2013 12:28 pm | News | CommentsA French drug company and its founder are on trial on charges of misleading the public about a diabetes drug marketed as a weight loss method and suspected in hundreds of deaths. But after years of delays in one of France's biggest recent health scandals, the proceedings could still be pushed back further.
Royalty Pharma Increases Bid For Elan
May 20, 2013 1:40 pm | News | CommentsRoyalty Pharma is raising its offer to buy Elan on the condition that shareholders reject the Irish drugmaker's push to refocus its business through a string of recently announced deals. Royalty says it will pay $12.50 in cash for each share of Elan Corp. PLC. That adds up to a total value of about $7.5 billion.
Actavis Buying Warner Chilcott In $8.5B Deal
May 20, 2013 7:39 am | News | CommentsActavis is buying Warner Chilcott in an all-stock transaction valued at about $8.5 billion which would create the third-biggest specialty pharmaceutical company in the U.S. The new company is expected to be called Actavis PLC and will be incorporated in Ireland, where Warner Chilcott is currently incorporated.
Senate Pushes Bill To Regulate Compound Pharmacies
May 15, 2013 2:02 pm | News | CommentsThe effort responds to last year's outbreak tied to contaminated compounded drugs that sickened more than 740 Americans and killed 55 others. The wave of fungal infections was identified in September and linked to a large Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, which regulators said was operating more like a manufacturer.
Vietnam Changes Law To Get Around EU Execution Ban
May 15, 2013 8:37 am | by Chris Brummitt, Associated Press | News | CommentsVietnam has issued a new law allowing domestically produced chemicals to be used in lethal injections, a change that should enable it to resume the currently stalled executions of more than 530 people on death row. The holdup was a result of an EU ban on its factories exporting chemicals used in lethal injections.
Drug Manufacturer Agrees To $500M Penalty
May 13, 2013 1:33 pm | by Eric Tucker, Associated Press | News | CommentsA subsidiary of an Indian pharmaceutical company has agreed to pay $500 million in fines and civil penalties as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Ranbaxy USA Inc. has admitted to making and selling adulterated generic drugs at two manufacturing sites in India.
FDA Denies Request To Block Generic Painkiller
May 13, 2013 12:02 pm | News | CommentsIn a surprise move Friday, federal health regulators denied a request by Endo Health Solutions to block generic versions of its painkiller Opana ER, which the company argued are more easily abused than its branded product. Endo's Opana ER is a long-acting narcotic drug used to treat moderate and severe pain.
AmerisourceBergen Sells Packaging Unit For $308M
May 13, 2013 10:52 am | News | CommentsAmerisourceBergen has sold its pharmaceutical packaging business, AndersonBrecon, to an investment group led by health care investor Frazier Healthcare. AmerisourceBergen Corp., a prescription drug distributor, said last month that it had agreed to sell the unit.
Huge Drug Cost Disparities Seen In Health Overhaul
May 13, 2013 8:39 am | by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press | News | CommentsSuch "specialty drugs" can cost thousands of dollars a month, and in California, patients would pay up to 30 percent of the cost. For one widely used cancer drug, Gleevec, the patient could pay more than $2,000 for a month's supply, says the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
NYC Wins $70M From 44 Pharmaceutical Companies
May 10, 2013 2:29 pm | News | CommentsCity lawyers alleged the companies fraudulently reported inflated drug prices called Average Wholesale Prices, or AWPs. They say the inflations were sometimes thousands of percentage points over the true AWPs. By law, AWP forms the basis for most Medicaid drug reimbursement to doctors and pharmacists.
Cocaine Vaccine Passes Key Testing Hurdle
May 10, 2013 12:14 pm | by Weill Cornell Medical College | News | CommentsResearchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have successfully tested their novel anti-cocaine vaccine in primates, bringing them closer to launching human clinical trials. Their study, published online by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, used a radiological technique to demonstrate that the anti-cocaine vaccine prevented the drug from reaching the brain and producing a dopamine-induced high.
State Pharmacy Boards Back More FDA Oversight
May 10, 2013 7:38 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsState pharmacy officials on Thursday threw their support behind a proposal giving the Food and Drug Administration authority over large compounding pharmacies, in an effort to head off more outbreaks tied to contaminated medications.
IMS: U.S. Medicine Spending Shows Rare Dip In 2012
May 9, 2013 1:43 pm | News | CommentsA new report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics states the total spent was down 3.5 percent to $325.8 billion last year. That's partly because patients benefited from a surge of new, inexpensive generic versions of widely used drugs for chronic conditions, such as Lipitor for high cholesterol.
Lawsuit: Merck Discriminates Against Women
May 9, 2013 1:25 pm | News | CommentsA Merck & Co. sales representative is suing the drugmaker for at least $100 million, saying Merck doesn't give women equal opportunities for advancement and punishes employees for taking maternity leave. Kelli Smith, who has worked at Merck since 2004, says in the lawsuit that the company's sales plans create incentives to discriminate against women.
FDA Inspection Triggers Recall By Florida Pharmacy
May 9, 2013 7:50 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration warned doctors and pharmacists Wednesday to avoid drugs made by a Florida specialty pharmacy called The Compounding Shop, due to potential safety problems uncovered by health inspectors. The St. Petersburg, Fla.-based pharmacy has agreed to recall all of its sterile drugs.
Merck Plays Up Consumer Products In New Campaign
May 6, 2013 1:45 pm | News | CommentsThe new campaign is the first major campaign to promote its consumer products, which include Coppertone sunscreen, Dr. Scholl's shoes and shoe inserts, and Claritin over-the-counter allergy medication. Called the "Active Family Project," the campaign features a website, Facebook page and other social and digital media aimed at moms to help promote healthy lifestyles.
Pfizer To Sell Viagra Online
May 6, 2013 8:41 am | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsMen who are bashful about needing help in the bedroom no longer have to go to the drugstore to buy that little blue pill. In a first for the drug industry, Pfizer Inc. told The Associated Press that the drugmaker will begin selling its popular erectile dysfunction pill Viagra directly to patients on its website.
Teva To Close Pennsylvania Plant By 2017
May 3, 2013 7:53 am | News | CommentsTeva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. says it will close an eastern Pennsylvania plant that employs nearly 500 people. Teva told shareholders Thursday that its plant in Sellersville, Bucks County, will cease operations in 2017. The plant has 472 employees.
Actavis, Purdue Settle Generic OxyContin Lawsuits
April 29, 2013 12:11 pm | News | CommentsActavis said it will be allowed to sell a specific number of bottles of its generic OxyContin on Jan. 1, providing the Food and Drug Administration approves the drug. If the FDA does not approve the generic by Sept. 1, Actavis can sell a generic version made by Purdue.
U.S. Sues Novartis, Cites Doc Kickbacks
April 29, 2013 7:51 am | by Larry Neumeister, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. government sued Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. again on Friday, saying it paid kickbacks for a decade to doctors to steer patients toward its drugs, sometimes disguising fishing trips off the Florida coast and trips to Hooters restaurants as speaking engagements for the doctors.
Bayer To Pay $1.1B For Conceptus
April 29, 2013 7:43 am | News | CommentsGermany drug company Bayer AG says it has agreed to buy California-based Conceptus for around $1.1 billion to expand the kinds of birth control it offers. Bayer said Monday it would launch a public offer to pay $31.00 per share for all the stock in Conceptus, Inc., which is based in Mountain View.
Senate Bill Targets Large Compounding Pharmacies
April 26, 2013 11:25 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsThe wave of deadly fungal infections was identified in September and linked to a large Massachusetts compounding pharmacy, which regulators said was operating more like a manufacturer. The new proposal would subject such large compounding operations to direct federal oversight by the Food and Drug Administration.
Pfizer Aims To Cut Generics Impact With New Drugs
April 26, 2013 7:57 am | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsPfizer Inc. CEO Ian Read said Thursday that continuing expirations of drug patents through 2015 will restrain revenue growth, but the world's largest drugmaker is trying to offset that with launches of several medicines and research to create new ones.
Shareholders Criticize J&J Management For Lapses
April 26, 2013 7:50 am | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsCEO Alex Gorsky responded that J&J is making progress in improving quality standards and efficiency and returning to stores "a reliable supply" of recalled consumer health products such as Tylenol and Motrin. Some have been out of stores for a few years, cutting into revenue.
