Archive for the 'Companies' Category
January 7th, 2011 by admin
Coupons work. That’s what drugmakers have discovered from the co-pay assistance they’ve been offering to shore up demand for aging branded drugs (Pfizer’s statin Lipitor), create demand for new ones (such as Amgen’s bone drug Xgeva and Novartis’ multiple sclerosis pill Gilenya), and insulate patients from big price increases (Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ narcolepsy treatment Xyrem). As the New York Times reports, sales volume for some of these treatments has doubled, and pharma companies have as much as quadrupled the sticker price for others.
Continue reading ‘Co-pay Help Boosts Drugs, Scares Payers’
December 27th, 2010 by admin
The emerging-markets gold rush continues. Drugmakers continued their race into those fast-growing, tantalizing new markets. India, China, Brazil, Russia, Mexico–all so alluring in a world in which countries that could once be counted on for steady increases are no longer delivering.
Continue reading ‘Big Pharma Still Big on Emerging Markets’
December 6th, 2010 by admin
By Phase III, researchers are supposed to have a pretty good handle on just how promising an experimental therapy can be. There’s proof-of-concept data in the can and some clear indications of just how big a market a new drug can go on to capture.
Continue reading ‘The Top 10 Phase III Failures of 2010′
November 30th, 2010 by admin
The FDA has some of its biggest decisions of the year looming in the next few months. The first new lupus drug in half a century, a blood-thinner with mega-blockbuster potential, controversial weight drugs and more are all up for regulatory decisions that can move markets and either throw a bucket of cold water or high octane gasoline on stock prices.
Continue reading ‘FDA’s Top Q4 Blockbuster Drug Decisions’
November 3rd, 2010 by admin
Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG wants to file its meningitis vaccine Menveo for use in small infants in the United States and Europe after a late-stage study with children of this age group was successful. In the phase III study, a high percentage of the 4,500 infants as young as 2 months showed the immune response when given Menveo, Novartis said. The vaccine was well tolerated, with a safety profile similar to routine infant vaccines.
Continue reading ‘Novartis to File Meningitis Vaccine for Infants’
October 29th, 2010 by admin
Allergan has done it. The FDA finally approved its wrinkle-fighter Botox as a treatment for migraines. The new indication could add $1 billion to its current annual sales of $1.3 billion, analysts say. “This is the most meaningful market expansion that the product has had since it was approved for cosmetic use,” Piper Jaffray’s David Amsellem tells Bloomberg.
Continue reading ‘New Migraine Use for Botox Could be Worth $1B’
October 27th, 2010 by admin
The first clinical trials on a new investigational drug being developed to treat infections caused by Hepatitis C virus have been successfully completed. Completion of the initial phase (phase 1a) of trials of INX-189, discovered and first prepared by researchers at Cardiff University’s Welsh School of Pharmacy in 2008, means the chances of it becoming an approved medicine have significantly improved.
Continue reading ‘Potent New Hepatitis C Drug?’
October 26th, 2010 by admin
Sanofi-Aventis is going to Harvard this fall for some post-grad work in drug development. The Big Pharma company–which has been trumpeting its intention to partner up with academics and biotech companies rather than rely entirely on its own in-house research–and the Ivy League institution announced a research pact this morning, with a special focus on biomedical R&D projects involving cancer, diabetes and inflammation.
Continue reading ‘Sanofi Partners with Harvard for Biomedical R&D’
October 22nd, 2010 by admin
The Big 3 drug wholesalers in the U.S.–AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health–are enjoying a financial boost this year thanks to the growing use of generic drugs. That’s a bus they hope to ride into 2011 and beyond, when they can expect drug distribution’s next big business-shaker: healthcare reform.
Continue reading ‘Drug Wholesalers Enjoy a Financial Boost This Year’
October 12th, 2010 by admin
Next year is shaping up to be slightly better for global pharma growth. But once again, it’s emerging markets leading the charge. According to IMS Health’s annual forecast, double-digit expansion in developing countries next year will make up for less-exciting growth in the U.S. and Europe.
Continue reading ‘China to Fuel Bigger Pharma Growth in 2011′
