Pharmaceuticals/Biotech
Fla. Compounding Pharmacy Recalls Sterile Drugs
April 22, 2013 8:41 am | News | CommentsA Florida-based compounding pharmacy is voluntarily recalling all lots of its sterile non-expired drug products sold nationwide over concerns the products are not sterile and may contain bacteria, Food and Drug Administration officials said Sunday.
Maine Clinical Drug Trials Called Lifesavers
April 19, 2013 11:15 am | by Glenn Adams, Associated Press | News | CommentsMore than half of those trials targeted six of the most debilitating chronic diseases — asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, mental illness and stroke — and led to safer and more effective treatments, according to the report presented by Gov. Paul LePage, the drug industry and business leaders.
UK: GSK Paid Off Competitors To Delay Drugs
April 19, 2013 8:43 am | News | CommentsThe Office of Fair Trading alleges GlaxoSmithKline concluded agreements which infringed competition law with Alpharma Limited, Generics (UK) Ltd and Norton Healthcare Ltd. over the supply of paroxetine, a cheaper version of Seroxat. The watchdog says GSK's conduct amounted to an abuse of its dominant position in the same market.
Amgen To Pay $25M To Resolve Kickback Case
April 17, 2013 8:24 am | News | CommentsThe Justice Department said Amgen paid kickbacks to Omnicare Inc. and PharMerica Corp., which sell drugs to long-term care providers like nursing homes and hospitals, and Kindred Healthcare Inc., which runs long-term acute care hospitals and nursing and rehabilitation centers.
Lawmakers: FDA Fell Short In Policing Pharmacy
April 17, 2013 8:16 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsRepublicans and Democrats took turns chastising the FDA for not being aggressive enough in going after compounding pharmacies like the New England Compounding Center, the specialty pharmacy which produced tainted pain injections that have sickened more than 700 people and killed 53 others.
Fearing Abuse, FDA Blocks Generic OxyContin
April 17, 2013 8:09 am | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration said late Tuesday it would not approve any generic versions of OxyContin based on the original formulation because it "poses an increased potential for certain types of abuse." The FDA decision is a key victory for Purdue Pharma LP, which spent years developing a tamper-resistant version of the blockbuster pain pill.
FDA Reviewing Heart Risks Of Glaxo Diabetes Pill
April 15, 2013 2:34 pm | by Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting in June to reassess the safety of GlaxoSmithKline's former blockbuster drug Avandia, which was severely restricted in 2010 due to concerns about its impact on the heart. Regulators announced the highly unusual move in a government notice published on Friday.
Royalty Pharma Raises Bid For Elan To Up To $7.2B
April 15, 2013 2:01 pm | News | CommentsRoyalty Pharma says Monday that it's raising its bid for Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. PLC to as much as $12 per share, or $7.2 billion. Royalty Pharma, a private company based in New York, offered in February to buy the company for $11 per share, or about $6.5 billion. Elan rejected that bid.
XenoPort Hits Supply Trouble For Drug Horizant
April 12, 2013 10:24 am | News | CommentsDrug developer XenoPort Inc. said Friday that there's a shortage of its restless leg syndrome treatment Horizant. The company said it's received word from patients unable to fill their Horizant prescriptions. XenoPort hopes that a new stock of Horizant will be in pharmacies in June, but the timing is uncertain.
FDA Cites Sanitary Issues At Specialty Pharmacies
April 12, 2013 10:19 am | News | CommentsThe Food and Drug Administration says it has uncovered troubling sterility problems at 30 specialty pharmacies that were inspected following a recent outbreak of meningitis caused by contaminated drugs. The agency said its inspectors targeted 31 compounding pharmacies that produce sterile drugs.
Eli Lilly Plans Cuts To U.S. Sales Force
April 12, 2013 8:50 am | News | CommentsLilly spokesman Scott MacGregor declined to disclose the specific number of cuts, which will happen by July 1, but did say it totals less than 1,000 full-time employees. Lilly, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, had about 17,150 U.S. employees at the end of last year and 38,350 total.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Plans Major Mass. Expansion
April 12, 2013 8:00 am | News | CommentsDrug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has announced a $250 million expansion of its central Massachusetts manufacturing complex that will eventually employ an additional 350 workers. The expansion announced Thursday will add space for developing biotechnology drugs, called biologics, and for manufacturing those products for clinical trials.
2 New Indictments In Cancer-Data-To-China Plot
April 11, 2013 1:49 pm | News | CommentsOnline court records say 42-year-old Hua Jun Zhao was indicted Tuesday on charges of computer fraud and lying to a federal agent. A previous charge of economic espionage was superseded by the indictment, meaning it no longer applies unless he's indicted on that charge as well.
Drug Makers Ink Deal For Earlier Generic Skin Drugs
April 11, 2013 12:11 pm | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsGeneric drugmaker Actavis Inc. and brand-name drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said Wednesday they have reached agreements allowing Actavis to sell copycat versions of two medicines for skin conditions years before their patents expire.
U.S. Approves Return Of Drug For Morning Sickness
April 8, 2013 8:32 pm | by Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer | News | CommentsA treatment pulled off the market 30 years ago has won Food and Drug Administration approval again as the only drug specifically designated to treat morning sickness. That long-ago safety scare, prompted by hundreds of lawsuits claiming birth defects, proved to be a false alarm.
Valeant Pharma Boosts Offer For Obagi To $418M
April 3, 2013 2:03 pm | News | CommentsObagi Medical Products Inc. said Wednesday that Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals boosted its offer to buy the dermatology products maker, topping a bid made a day ago by a German rival. Obagi said it struck a deal with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. that calls for it to pay $24 per share, or a total of about $418.3 million, for the company.
Pfizer Inks Deal With Nanotechnology Drugmaker
April 3, 2013 1:53 pm | News | CommentsBIND Therapeutics said Wednesday that Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay it $160 million per drug as part of a collaboration to develop targeted medicines using nanotechnology which use particles measured in billionths of a meter. BIND is developing an experimental group of targeted, programmable medicines called Accurins to treat cancer, heart disease and inflammatory disorders.
Merz Pharma Makes $383.5 M Offer For Obagi
April 3, 2013 8:12 am | News | CommentsLate last month, Valeant struck a deal with Obagi to pay $19.75 per share, or a total of about $343.7 million, for the company. Merz said Tuesday that it had been in private talks with Obagi before that deal was announced and wasn't aware that it was considering signing a deal with another company so quickly.
Lawsuit: Eli Lilly Thieves Had Security Report
April 2, 2013 1:42 pm | News | CommentsA federal lawsuit alleges that thieves who broke into an Eli Lilly and Co. warehouse in Connecticut three years ago and stole more than $60 million worth of drugs obtained a copy of a report that revealed weaknesses in the building's security system.
Lilly To Spend $260M On Indianapolis Expansion
April 2, 2013 12:03 pm | News | CommentsThe drugmaker also plans to spend about $80 million on some other projects, including a product inspection center. A company spokesman said the city's metropolitan development commission must approve tax abatements before construction can start.
India's Rejection Of Drug Patent Could Reverberate
April 1, 2013 7:40 pm | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsIndia, Indonesia and some other developing countries have been bucking that trend. They've been shooting down Western patents and licensing local pharmaceutical companies to make cheap generic versions of medicines that most of their residents otherwise could not afford.
Drug Maker Novartis Loses India Cancer Patent Battle
April 1, 2013 9:03 am | by Nirmala George, Associated Press | News | CommentsIndia's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.
Covidien Awarded $176.5M In Patent Lawsuit
March 29, 2013 2:45 pm | News | CommentsIrish drug and medical device maker Covidien said Friday that a federal court in Connecticut has awarded it $176.5 million after ruling that a Johnson & Johnson unit infringed on three of its ultrasonic surgical products patents. The lawsuit against J&J's Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. was related to Ethicon's Harmonic line of ultrasonic surgical products.
Sanofi Building New Factory In Vietnam
March 29, 2013 2:10 pm | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe move is part of a fast-growing trend among major international pharmaceutical companies to put factories and research centers in emerging markets that the industry increasingly is targeting for growth. Paris-based Sanofi said it plans to spend about $75 million to build the factory in Ho Chi Minh City.
Merck: FDA Reviewing Tablet To Eliminate Allergy
March 28, 2013 8:00 am | by Linda A. Johnson, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe treatment, a tablet that quickly dissolves under the tongue, could become the first alternative available in the U.S. to getting a long series of uncomfortable allergy shots. Both methods work by gradually desensitizing the patient's immune system to the substance triggering the allergic reaction.
