Archive for the 'FDA' Category
July 29th, 2010 by admin
Milestone payments are becoming an increasingly familiar aspect of many biotech deals, as buyers try to mitigate the risks inherent with big purchases. Take Celgene’s $2.9 billion buyout of Abraxis; the biotech giant set aside $650 million in milestone payments if Abraxis’ key drug Abraxane hit certain goals. “These structures are a great way for buyer and seller to share the risk that’s related to drug development,” says analyst Brett Skolnik. Milestones also encourage buyer and seller to look beyond the merger, making it more likely the deal will be beneficial to both sides in the long term.
Continue reading ‘Milestones Mitigate Risk in Biotech Deals’
July 28th, 2010 by admin
A Utah doctor is being sent to jail for his connection to an illegal online pharmacy that sold more than eight million weight-loss pills manufactured in Mexico. Dr James A Brinton was sentenced to three years in a federal penitentiary after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute phentermine and conspiracy to commit international money laundering, according to the Desert News. The doctor was one of 18 people who were charged with crimes in connection to the Lighthouse Meds website.
Continue reading ‘Utah Doctor Sentenced to Three Years for Illegal Online Pharmacy’
July 27th, 2010 by admin
Oncologics, lipid regulators, respiratory agents, antidiabetics and anti-ulcerants are the five largest drug classes by sales. But annual sales are only half the story. Which drug classes are booming, and which have plateaued–or even dropped? IMS Health has released top-line industry data revealing the 15 largest drug classes, and we’ve crunched the numbers to take a closer look at the average sales growth of the 15 largest therapeutic classes over the last five years.
Continue reading ‘Fastest Growing Therapeutic Classes (by Sales)’
July 26th, 2010 by admin
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is looking to its pipeline to fill the gaps left by a number of high-profile drugs coming off patent. In October 2011, blockbuster Zyprexa will fall to generic competition; additionally, about three-quarters of Lilly’s current revenue comes from eight drugs that will lose patent protection between now and 2017. ”We have the challenge of replenishing our product portfolio from our pipeline,” says CEO John Lechleiter in a USA Today interview. “Fortunately, we have the most exciting pipeline today in our history.”
Continue reading ‘Pipeline to Soften Lilly Patent Losses’
July 22nd, 2010 by admin
Nigeria is fast-tracking mobile authentication services in its fight against drug counterfeiters. Manufacturers will bear the brunt of the cost, at least initially. The costal country of 150 million is at the forefront of African anti-counterfeiting efforts, thanks largely to a rampant supply of malaria drug fakes. In mid-May, the nonprofit Pedigree Network and computer giant HP launched an authentication trial in Nigeria and Ghana; Nigeria is also conducting tests with Merck using technology from Sproxil.
Continue reading ‘Nigeria Takes on Fake Drugs with New Technology’
July 20th, 2010 by admin
In the quest for a cancer vaccine, Merck KGaA is again stepping into the ring. Vaximm Holding AG, the company’s joint venture with a Switzerland’s BB Biotech Ventures III, will start testing a therapeutic cancer vaccine in patients next year. The vaccine, VXM01, harnesses the body’s immune system to fight cancer by using T-cells to close off the tumor’s blood supply. Roche’s Avastin also focuses on the tumor’s blood supply, but it focuses on eliminating a protein that creates the blood vessels to the tumor.
Continue reading ‘Merck KGaA’s Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Ready for Testing’
July 15th, 2010 by admin
Hold onto your hats: The global market for contract manufacturing is headed for speedy growth over the next few years. According to a new report from RNCOS, pharmaceutical contract manufacturing is poised to grow about 12 percent per year from 2010 to 2012. Cost is one of the reasons, of course.
Continue reading ‘Contract Manufacturing to see Double-Digit Growth’
July 13th, 2010 by admin
Gulf Coast native Kindra Arnesen is so anxious about the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill she is packing up her family and leaving town. “Stress? Dude my clothes are falling off me (because of weight loss). The level of stress here is tremendous. My husband has aged 10 years in two months,” Arnesen said on Friday as she loaded possessions into a van outside her trailer home in Venice.
Continue reading ‘Mental Health a Growing Concern after Gulf Spill’
July 12th, 2010 by admin
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) recalled more Tylenol and other over-the-counter drugs on Thursday after they were linked to a musty or moldy odor, expanding a recall the company started in January. J&J’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit said the latest recall involved 21 lots of medications, including Tylenol for children and adults, several forms of Benadryl allergy tablets and Motrin painkiller. But it did not say how many pieces were in each lot or give a total number of items involved. J&J spokeswoman Bonnie Jacobs said, “We do not have that information.”
Continue reading ‘J&J Recalls More Tylenol, over-the-counter drugs’
July 8th, 2010 by admin
Building on research work undertaken in Germany, City of Hope investigators near LA have used modified stem cells loaded with gene sequences to fight off HIV. And the scientists in the study say that the work points to a possible cure for the dread virus, which has killed millions of people around the world.
Continue reading ‘Antiviral Stem Cell Squad Dispatched to Fight Deadly HIV’
