Pharma Marketletter back issues from August 2005:
Zimbabwe's Datlabs allies with Ranbaxy.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Datlabs, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in Zimbabwe and domestic market leader in supplying drugs to the public and private sector, says it gains its strong new product pipeline from South African parent firm Adcock Ingram, as well as from alliances with large ...
Schering AG 1st-half profits leap 23%.
Aug 01, 2005 ... Schering AG, the world's largest producer of contraceptives and Germany's third biggest drugmaker, posted a strong set of results for the first half of 2005, with a 23% jump in net profits to 320.0 million euros ($385.7 million) and earnings per share rising 24% to 1.68 euros. ...
Crucell loss rises.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Netherlands-based biotechnology group Crucell NV has reported an 8% rise in first-half 2005 sales to 16.1 million euros (19.4 million), driven mainly by a strong increase in service fees, noted the firm's chief financial ...
Bangladesh's Beximco to raise L27M in UK.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... In an ambitious expansion scheme, leading Bangladeshi firm Beximco has unveiled plans to raise around L27.0 million ($47.2 million) through Global Depository Receipts on the UK stock market. The Beximco Pharmaceuticals division is to merge with sister company Beximco Infusions ...
Sanofi-Pasteur starts on US flu vacc plant.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Sanofi Pasteur, the biologicals unit of leading French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis, says that it has begun work on the construction of a new $150.0 million, 145,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania, USA, to produce influenza vaccine for the US market for both ...
Novartis in talks for R&D center in China.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The president of the Swiss major drugmaker Novartis, Daniel Vasella, has confirmed that the group is investigating a number of sites and is in talks with the Chinese authorities over the setting-up of a drugs R&D center. The latest discussions were held in Switzerland with China's deputy ...
Merck KGaA 2nd-qtr as expected.
Aug 01, 2005 ... German drugmaker Merck KGaA saw second-quarter 2005 group turnover rise 8.6% to 1.48 billion euros ($1.78 billion), with operating profit up 14.9% at 202.9 million euros. Net profit after tax was down 30.8% on the like 2004 period, at 252.1 million euros, while earnings per share were 1.30 ...
bioMerieux sales up 4%.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... French biologicals and diagnostics group bioMerieux has reported first-half 2005 turnover of 475.0 million euros ($572.5 million), a rise of 4% on the like, 2004 period. Like-for-like sales were flat in the first quarter (up 0.2%) but rose 7.8% in the second three months ...
Novartis completes Eon Labs acquisition.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Leading Swiss drugmaker Novartis has completed its purchase of US generics firm Eon Labs announced earlier this year (Marketletter February 28), in a transaction valued at around 5.65 billion euros ($6.81 billion). Conclusion of the deal followed US ...
Litigation reserves bite into Schering-Plough's 2nd-qtr, but sales rise 18%.
Aug 01, 2005 ... US drug major Schering-Plough sustained a net loss of $48.0 million, or $0.05 a share, for the second quarter of 2005, which included $259.0 million in special charges primarily related to an increase in litigation reserves relating to previously-disclosed governmental investigations into ...
Amgen sees whopping 38% net profit and 26% sales rises, beating all expectations.
Aug 01, 2005 ... Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, saw its share price surge 15% to $81.17 after it reported record-breaking and better-than-expected second-quarter 2005 results. The California, USA-based firm posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.88, a rise of 42% on the ...
Pfizer to submit Sutent IND.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Although Pfizer says it does not normally comment in advance on the expected timing of regulatory submissions, it ha ssued a statement to address recent analysts' comments regarding the regulatory filing of Suten (sunitinib malate) in the USA. The company said it plans to file ...
GSK debuts on-line program for patients with depression.(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... In what the firm says is an effort to provide ongoing support for people with major depressive disorder (commonly referred to as depression), panic disorder and social anxiety disorder, UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline has announced the launch of the HOPE For You project, a comprehensive ...
Evotec in focused library deal with Almirall.(contracts)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Germany's Evotec AG and Almirall Prodesfarma, the leading Spanish multinational drug company, have entered into a two-year library synthesis agreement worth around 2.5 million euros ($3.0 million). Applying leading skills in high-speed parallel synthesis, medicinal and ...
Adherex closes $8.5M placing.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Adherex Technologies, a US biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of oncology products under development, says that it has completed its previously-announced private placement offering of units for gross proceeds of $8.5 million in connection with a licensing and development ...
UK DoH tenders for 2M doses of flu vacc.(UK Department of Health )(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The UK Department of Health has invited manufacturers to tender for a contract to supply two million doses of H5N1 vaccine, as part of the work to prepare for and reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic. This strategic stockpile could be used as a first line of defence for ...
UPDATE: UK NICE fast-track of Herceptin welcomed.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The UK government's decision to make an early referral of Genentech's Herceptin (trastuzumab), used in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer, to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in advance of its 12th-wave work program, has been welcomed by patient groups. ...
France moves to monitor drugs post-marketing.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... France's health care products safety agency, the Afssaps, is to set up a new department to monitor drugs in the post-marketing authorization phase and maintain a check on information produced on them. The new department, to be headed by Anne Castot, will start work after the ...
PhRMA preliminary OK for DTC voluntary guiding principles, but CU slams "placebo".(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America )
Aug 01, 2005 ... The board of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has given preliminary approval to a set of "guiding principles" on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines.E Some of the areas addressed by the guiding principles which - according to the ...
Florida sues generics firms over Medicaid "scam".(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The US state of Florida's Attorney General, Charlie Crist, has filed suit against three drugmakers, claiming they defrauded the Medicaid program at a cost to the state of $25.0 million. The suit alleges that Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Watson ...
US IoM drug safety panel urged to seek federally-mandated clinical trial registry.(US Institute of Medicine's Committee)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The US Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Assessment of the US Drug Safety System (Marketletter June 20) has been urged to recommend a federal mandate of public registry for pharmaceutical clinical trials, as well as public disclosure of all study results. While this is ...
Private labs making steady inroads into US non-Rx pharma market.
Aug 01, 2005 ... Led by mass-merchandisers and wholesale clubs, private-label products continue to make a slow but steady push into the US non-prescription drug market. The overall share for store-brand over-the-counter medications increased to more than 20.0% of the total market in 2003 and continues to ...
Cancer drugs drive Rx success and claim marketing dollars.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Cancer drugs, along with treatments for high cholesterol, ulcers and depression, have claimed their spot as key products in the pharmaceutical portfolio. As such, the marketing budgets that accompany their development and launch continue to grow, says a report from Cutting Edge ...
Lilly swings to loss in 2nd qtr on settlement.
Aug 01, 2005 ... US drug major Eli Lilly saw its performance for the second quarter of 2005 swing to a loss, as a modest rise in sales was not enough to counter the impact of its legal settlement regarding its top-selling antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine). The group posted a loss of $252.0 ...
Lilly ICOS slashes loss.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The Eli Lilly and ICOS joint venture Lilly ICOS saw its second-quarter 2005 net loss fall dramatically to $1.7 million versus $70.5 million for the year-ago period, as global ...
Tax charges slice Merck & Co's 2nd-qtr income.
Aug 01, 2005 ... New Jersey, USA-based drugmaker Merck & Co has reported a substantial drop in second-quarter 2005 earnings, primarily due to a tax charge hit of $640.0 million. The group saw its net income plummet to $720.6 million, or $0.33 per share, from $1.77 billion, or $0.79 a share, recorded for ...
Baxter's 2nd-qtr 2005 sales jump 8%.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US health care group Baxter has posted an 8% rise in sales to $2.60 billion for the second quarter of 2005, helping to drive the company's income to $324.0 million, or $0.51 a share, from a loss of $169.0 million, or $0.28 per share, for the like, year-earlier period. ...
FDA accepts Spectrum's ANDA for cancer drug.
Aug 01, 2005 ... California, USA-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals says that it has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application with the US Food and Drug Administration for an undisclosed injectable anticancer drug. The company noted that it now has 11 ANDAs on file with the FDA, including sumatriptan succinate ...
Alfacell sells RNase drug rights to NITD.(Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases )(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... New Jersey, USA-headquartered Alfacell Corp says it has signed a Material Transfer Agreement with the Singapore-based Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases for the former's novel ribonuclease antiviral drug candidate, AC 03-636. The terms of the agreement state that NITD ...
ChemGenex/Stragen sign deal for Ceflatonin.(Stragen Pharma )(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Australian cancer drug developer ChemGenex has signed a deal with Geneva, Switzerland-based Stragen Pharma for the development and commercialization of its anticancer product Ceflatonin (homoharringtonine), which is currently in Phase II evaluation for chronic myeloid leukemia in patients ...
Nabi starts Ph I trial of S aureus 336 vaccine.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Nabi Biopharmaceuticals of the USA has initiated a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase I study of its Staphylococcus aureus vaccine, which is being evaluated for the prevention of type 336 infections in at-risk patients, such as those receiving dialysis or undergoing invasive surgery. ...
BDSI's Emexine accepted for review.(BioDelivery Sciences International )(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US specialty biopharmaceutical group BioDelivery Sciences International says that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted its New Drug Application for Emezine, a formulation of the ...
Neuren/US Army expand brain drug deal.(Walter Reed Army Institute of Research)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... New Zealand's Neuren Pharmaceuticals says it has expanded its agreement with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the leading medical research arm of the US Army, for the brain trauma drug NNZ-2566. According to the company, the latest preclinical studies have ...
FDA requests efficacy data for Entereg appro.
Aug 01, 2005 ... Adolor Corp of the USA and UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline say that the US Food and Drug Administration has issued an approvable letter in response to Adolor's New Drug Application for Entereg (alvimopan) capsules. The agent is in development for the management of postoperative ileus by ...
DOR BioPharma and Cambrex hit milestone.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US groups DOR BioPharma and a subsidiary of Cambrex Corp have successfully attained the first milestone of fermentation and downstream process development in their development and manufacturing deal for RiVax, the former's ricin toxin vaccine. "Cambrex took a low-yield ...
CytRx arimoclomal Ph II trial placed on hold.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Los Angeles, California, USA-based CytRx Corp says that, in response to an Investigational New Drug Application filed with the Food and Drug Administration for a planned Phase II clinical trial of arimoclomol for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, the ...
VASTox commences SMA program.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... UK drug discovery and services group VASTox has initiated a new program which is focused on the discovery of therapies for spinal muscular atrophy, adding to its activities in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and tuberculosis. Commenting on the development, the company's chief ...
BioAlliance files IND for Ph III trial of Lauriad.(Investigational New Drug )(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... France's BioAlliance Pharma has filed an Investigational New Drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration for a Phase III trial of its antifungal agent Lauriad (miconazole) for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis. Chief executive Dominique Costantini noted that "the ...
Introgen's INGN 241 effective in cancer?(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Shares in US group Introgen Therapeutics climbed 3.1% to close at $6.60 following the July 21 news that recent data indicate that its INGN 241 induces the immune system to attack cancer cells via interleukin-24-dependent mechanisms. "These new data detail the role that IL-24 plays in ...
Australian Rx numbers drop as prices rise.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Following price rises for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme-subsidized drugs at the start of the year, Australian patients have cut their use dramatically, reports the Health Insurance Commission. 42.0 million prescriptions were filled in the first three months of this year, compared with ...
Poor nations and "elite-only" access to ARVs.(antiretrovirals)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Impoverished nations which are being hit hard by HIV/AIDS should take steps to preserve their trained elites, within both their military and civilian sectors, through the provision of antiretroviral drugs, according to a new report published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think ...
Canadian provinces OK Genentech's Herceptin.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... In Canada, the provincial governments of Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan have announced that they will pay for Genentech's breakthrough therapy Herceptin (trastuzumab) for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer. After fast-tracking Herceptin through review, Ontario says it ...
Tanzania: free ARVs.(Antiretrovirals)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The government of Tanzania says it will supply 44,000 HIV/ AIDS patients with antiretroviral drugs by year-end. It currently provides the drugs free of charge to 21,000 ...
EFPIA joins domestic and US drugmakers in urging Japan to adopt MRSP Rx pricing.(european Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, manufacurer's suggested reimbursement price system)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations has urged Japan to adopt a manufacturer's suggested reimbursement price system as the new National Health Insurance drug price-setting mechanism. Similar proposals have already been put forward by the Japan ...
Takeda R&D meeting focuses on insomnia treatment Rozeram.(research and development)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Japanese drug major Takeda presented its planned marketing strategies for Rozerem (ramelteon, TAK-375), an MT1/MT2 receptor agonist treatment for insomnia, at a recent R&D meeting with analysts. A New Drug Application was filed with US Food and Drug Administration in September 2004. This ...
Sanofi-Aventis: is growth slowing?(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The question being raised about the Franco-European drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis is whether its growth is beginning to slow down. Second-quarter 2005 sales in fact managed to expand at 10.1% compared with 7% for the pharmaceutical market as a whole (Marketletter July 25), giving the firm a ...
Enbrel drives Wyeht's 2nd-qtr sales.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Leading US health care group Wyeth has posted a strong set of second-quarter 2005 results, with turnover up 12% at $4.7 billion. Excluding favorable exchange rate impact, the rise was 10%. Net income and earnings per share both leapt 18% to $976.6 million and $0.72, respectively. ...
Unfavorable pricing hits Mylan sales.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US generics drugmaker Mylan Laboratories saw first-quarter fiscal 2005/6 (ended June 30) revenues dip 4.6% to $323.4 million. This was largely the result of overall unfavorable pricing but partially offset by new products. Gross profit for the reporting period fell 7% to ...
Gilead's 2nd-qtr revenues up 55%.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... USA-based biotechnology company Gilead Sciences has reported record revenues for the second quarter of 2005, jumping 55% to $495.3 milliona and with HIV/ AIDS product sales leaping 61% to $344.4 million. Earnings per share rocketed 70% to $0.41, with net income at $196.0 million versus ...
CuraGen buys-back $39.9M of debt.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Nasdaq-listed US firm CuraGen Corp says that, during July, it repurchased $25.9 million of face value of its 6% convertible subordinated notes due February 2007. The company also announced that in April and May it bought-back an additional $14.0 million of face value of the 2007 notes ....
ViroLogic's 2nd-qtr revenues leap 35%.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US biopharmaceutical company ViroLogic has reported record turnover of $12.4 million for the second quarter of 2005, which was 35% higher than for the like, 2004 period. Driving the increase was revenue from the company's HIV pharmaceutical testing products, which rose 104.3% ...
Evotec in deal with P&G for discovery services.(Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Germany's Evotec AG and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals say they have entered into agreements whereby the former will provide pharmaceutical discovery and chemical development services to P&GP. Under the terms of the accords, P&GP will access a wide range of discovery and ...
Endo to submit response to Appeal Court over oxycodone.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Endo Pharmaceuticals, a specialty US pharmaceutical company with market leadership in pain management, says that the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has requested the firm to submit a response brief as part of its review process of Purdue's petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc ...
Orphan status for UCB's brivaracetam in EU?(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Belgian group UCB says that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products has recommended orphan medicinal product designation for its SV2A ligand brivaracetam (UCB 34714) for the treatment of progressive myoclonic epilepsies. PMEs are a group of ...
Peregrine and US Army in antiviral testing deal.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Peregrine Pharmaceuticals says it has signed a Cooperative R&D Agreement for Material Transfer with the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases to investigate the potential therapeutic application of the firm's anticancer drug Tarvacin (anti PS/3G4) for the treatment of ...
Alnylam and Nastech sign RNAi accord.(RNA interference)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... RNA interference therapeutics group Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has granted fellow USA-based Nastech Pharmaceutical, which focuses on molecular biology-based drug delivery technologies, an exclusive license to InterfeRx for the discovery, development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics ...
MerLion and Merck & Co expand deal.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Singapore-based MerLion Pharmaceuticals says it has expanded its existing collaboration with US drug major Merck & Co, which is centered on the discovery and development of new drug candidates derived from natural products chemistry. Under the modified agreement, the ...
Valeant to develop Viramidine in Japan.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... California, USA-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is planning to start the development of its nucleoside guanosine analog, Viramidine, in Japan, following the first meeting of its hepatitis C Japanese advisory board, held July 25 in Tokyo ....
Americans OK DTC ban on new drug launches.(direct-to-consumer advertising )
Aug 01, 2005 ... As US legislators and the pharmaceutical industry consider some form of moratorium on direct-to-consumer advertising for new prescription drugs for a time after their launch (see page 13 for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's proposed DTC "guiding principles"), a ...
Rx info for patients "often confusing at best and dangerous at worst," says UK CSM report.(patient information leaflets)
Aug 01, 2005 ... The quantity of information about medicines made available to patients and carers is not in doubt but its quality very often has been, with results that are, at best, confusing and, at worst, downright dangerous, says the UK Committee on Safety of Medicines' Patient Information Working ...
New French drug ban targets antibiotics.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... 12 familiar medicines, sold in France for some time to treat throat conditions, are to be removed from the market from September 20, the health products safety agency, the Afssaps, has announced. From that date, pharmacies will no longer be able to sell the products, which ...
Teva to regain No 1 generics spot with $7.4 acquisition of IVAX.
Aug 01, 2005 ... Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has announced its largest-ever acquisition, with a $7.4 billion bid for US generics maker IVAX Corp. The deal will put Teva back into the number one position in the global generics market, which it lost briefly to Novartis after the Swiss ...
UPDATE: MGI Pharma makes $178M bid for Guilford, plus assuming $69.4M convertible debt.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... Further consolidation of US mid-sized drug companies is forthcoming, with the proposed acquisition of Guilford Pharmaceuticals by MGI Pharma. The latter has made a cash and stock offer of $178.0 million and will assume $69.4 million of Guilford's convertible debt, which will be ...
S-P buys exclusive US rights to Integrilin.(Schering-Plough Corp.)(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US drug major Schering-Plough has reached agreement to acquire exclusive US marketing rights to Integrilin (eptifibatide) from partner Millennium Pharmaceuticals, with the aim of optimizing the growth potential of this US market-leading GP IIb-IIIa inhibitor which is indicated for the ...
Genentech warns on Raptiva risk.(Brief Article)
Aug 01, 2005 ... US biotechnology firm Genentech, which is majority-owned by Swiss drugmaker Roche, has issued new safety information relating to Raptiva (efalizumab), which is indicated for the treatment of adults (18 years or older) with chronic moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for ...