Sanofi-Aventis continues its diversification march. The company got the FDA’s permission to sell its blockbuster allergy treatment Allegra without a prescription. Sanofi has been hoping for that OK to bolster its U.S. consumer healthcare business that was created last year with the $1.9 billion purchase of Chattem.
Continue reading ‘OTC Allegra Nod Fortifies Sanofi’s U.S. Consumer Ops’
Once again, we have Johnson & Johnson recall news. And once again, it’s a product sold by J&J operating unit McNeil Consumer Healthcare. The company says wood and other particles have been found in Softchews Rolaids, so it’s expanding the November Rolaids recall to include all lots of the Softchews products.
Continue reading ‘J&J Recalls Rolaids on Wood-Particle Contamination’
According to recent research the color, shape, taste and even name of a tablet or pill can have an effect on how patients feel about their medication. Choose an appropriate combination and the placebo effect gives the pill a boost, improves outcomes and might even reduce side effects. Now, researchers at the University of Bombay, New Mumbai, India, have surveyed users of over-the-counter (OTC) medication to find out just how much the color of a tablet influences patient choice.
Continue reading ‘Color and Shape of Pills Affects How Patients Feel About Medication’
More drugs are hitting the recall list these days. As CNN Money reports, the number of recalls hit 1,742 last year–that’s an increase of 309 percent over 2008. “We’ve seen a trend where the last four years are among the top five for the most number of drug recalls since we began tallying recalls in 1988,” says Bowman Cox, managing editor of the Gold Sheet, a trade pub that analyzes FDA data. “That’s a meaningful development.”
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’
Drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants and prescription medications are more and more what people are choosing according to the United Nations Drug Report for 2010. The number using such drugs will eventually exceed those using opiates and cocaine. Drug use in developed countries has remained relatively stable says the document. But in developing countries it is increasing.
Continue reading ‘Synthetic Drug Users at Thirty to Forty Million’
What three trends are most important to pharma these days? Generics, emerging markets and personalized medicine, according to the Harvard Business Review. Branded generics are the wave of Big Pharma’s future, HBR says. These branded versions of off-patent meds sell at higher prices than regular generics do, but are cheaper than the branded meds themselves. They give a measure of assurance to patients worried about counterfeit meds–and to those concerned that unbranded generics won’t work as well as their branded counterparts. They also offer drugmakers a niche in emerging countries.
Continue reading ‘Pharma Trifecta: Generics, New Markets and Personalization’
The Johnson & Johnson children’s drug recall has spawned a congressional investigation, of the company’s performance on one side and of federal regulators on the other, the Washington Post reports. Spearheading the inquiry are Reps. Edolphus Towns and Darrell Issa, who head up the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform.
Continue reading ‘J&J Children’s Drug Recall – Congressional Investigation’
While the much-talked-about patent cliff won’t hit until 2011, 2010 will still see patent expirations of some of the industry’s blockbuster drugs. Teva, Apotex, Mylan and a slew of other generic drugmakers will have a chance to put a dent in the sales of a number of brand meds this year – including Flomax and Aricept.
Experts from GA2LEN, the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network, and EAACI, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, warn that the older antihistamines in over-the-counter allergy medications — the most common form of self-medication in allergic rhinitis — may be hazardous to our health.
Continue reading ‘Dangers of Older Allergy Drugs Often Underestimated and Overlooked’
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