Business Briefs - Page 1 - Medical Marketing and Media

Company news: Amgen

February 08, 2012

The FDA's Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee voted 12-1 against approving Amgen's bone-cancer drug, Xgeva, as a preventative measure for men with castration resistant prostate cancer, reported the Associated Press.

Company news: Santarus beefs up sales force, Physicians Interactive gets patent

February 07, 2012

Santarus adds 150 to market its cholesterol drug, Physicians Interactive gets first e-sampling patent

Industry news: Lilly's salary cap; Hatch takes hatchet to medical device tax

February 06, 2012

The flow of generic versions of Eli Lilly's anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa and chemotherapy drug Gemzar is taking a bite out of sales and salaries, so much so that the company is freezing salaries for most of its employees, Bloomberg reported on Friday.

Company news: Merck, Millennium, Novo Nordisk and Genentech

February 02, 2012

Industry news: deals down, mobile ads up

January 26, 2012

Deal-making among pharmas fell 18% in 2011 amid a round of belt-tightening, according to UK consultancy PharmaVentures, which found that licensing deals fell 16% even as M&A activity remained robust, with deal values rising 30% but benchmark payments becoming more commonplace.

Company news: IMS, BMS and AstraZeneca

January 24, 2012

One month after divesting itself of a promotional and medical audit business from one-time rival SDI, analytics firm IMS Health is once again expanding its reach.

Company news: HGS, biotechs' regulatory distress and oncologists for more details

January 19, 2012

Human Genome Sciences is eliminating 150 positions in manufacturing, R&D and administration due to slow sales of its drug Benlysta.

Company news: Human Genome Sciences

January 17, 2012

Human Genome Sciences is laying off 150, mostly in manufacturing, due to slow demand for Benlysta, reports The Washington Post.

Agency news: Ogilvy PR, GCI Health and Green Room Public Relations

January 12, 2012

Ogilvy PR acquired a majority stake in Hong Kong-based healthcare communications shop Mind Resource Healthcare Consulting Limited.

Company news: Physicians Interactive, WorldOne, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Inhibitex

January 10, 2012

Physicians Interactive (PI) and WorldOne formed an exclusive strategic alliance to merge their US-based healthcare marketing research panels, firms said.

Company news: Pfizer and Dendreon

January 05, 2012

Pfizer said it won FDA approval to market its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 for use in adults 50 and older.

Company news: Gilead, Pfizer and Wolters Kluwer

December 29, 2011

Two potential blockbusters in the pharma pipeline took another step toward reaching market, as US regulatory authorities assigned PDUFA dates for Gilead Sciences' Quad pill and for Pfizer's tofacitinib.

Company news: Doctors.net.uk and Green Room PR

December 20, 2011

Doctors.net.uk launched DoctorClicks, a cost-per-click based service that will alert its 189,000 UK physicians with targeted links to drug company website info relevant to their clinical practices.

Company news: Covidien, GfK and Springer Science+Business Media

December 15, 2011

Covidien said it plans to spin off its $2-billion pharmaceuticals business into a standalone public company.

Company news: Dendreon and CPPIB Credit Investments

December 06, 2011

Dendreon agreed to sell its royalty interest in Victrelis (boceprevir) for $125 million in cash. The company did not disclose the exact royalty rate.

Company news: Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb

December 01, 2011

The FDA granted priority review status to Eliquis (apixaban), the novel oral anticoagulant being developed by Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Gilead Sciences, Pharmasset and Roche

November 22, 2011

Gilead Sciences agreed to pay almost $11 billion for biotech firm Pharmasset, which is developing an all-oral therapy for treating hepatitis C virus.

Company news: Pfizer, Incyte and Novartis

November 17, 2011

Pfizer's bid to expand the label of its Prevnar 13 pneumococcal vaccine garnered a near unanimous recommendation from FDA advisors.

Company news: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Wiley-Blackwell, Santarus and inVentiv Health

November 15, 2011

Full results of the SATURN study, released this week at AHA and published in NEJM, confirmed that AstraZeneca's Crestor performs about as well as Pfizer's Lipitor at reducing arterial plaque.

Company news: J&J, Bayer and Siemens Healthcare

Marc Iskowitz November 08, 2011

Johnson & Johnson/Bayer's Xarelto (rivaroxaban) received FDA approval for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (SPAF), the second novel anticoagulant to gain US marketing approval for SPAF.

Company news: Everyday Health, Conney/Waters Group

November 01, 2011

Everyday Health is launching a YouTube channel as part of a big expansion into video.

Company news: Pfizer and PatientsLikeMe

October 27, 2011

Pfizer canned an online ad for ChapStick after bloggers panned it as sexist, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Company news: Eli Lilly, Merck, HealthiNation and Pfizer

October 25, 2011

Eli Lilly said it will withdraw severe sepsis treatment Xigris from all markets following results of a recent study, in which the drug did not show a statistically significant reduction in mortality among patients with septic shock.

Company news: Lilly and Amgen

October 20, 2011

Greater marketing and sales costs hurt Lilly's third-quarter profits, which slipped 6% to $1.2 billion.

Company news: Johnson & Johnson, Forest Labs and Berkery Noyes

October 18, 2011

Johnson & Johnson and Forest Labs both posted lower profit for the three months ended September 30.

Company news: Roche

October 13, 2011

Roche reported disappointing third-quarter sales as key cancer drugs Avastin, Rituxan and Herceptin underperformed.

Company news: FDA, Ranbaxy, Daiichi Sankyo and ImpactRx

October 06, 2011

The FDA issued Driving Innovation, a blueprint for fostering American biomedical innovation, reiterating a prior commitment to reform regulation and announcing policies aimed at facilitating personalized medicine.

Company News: Pfizer

October 04, 2011

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and published in medical journal The Lancet has found that a popular injectable contraceptive in Africa doubles the risk of women becoming infected with H.I.V.

Company news: KnowledgePoint360 Group and Publicis Healthware

September 27, 2011

KnowledgePoint360 Group split its largest medical communications agency, Acumed, into two divisions, the company said, spawning conflict shop CircleScience.

Agency News: Concentric Pharma Advertising, Intouch Solutions

September 22, 2011

Full-service agency Concentric Pharma Advertising has announced that business transfer organization MDC Partners has acquired a majority stake in the firm.

Company news: Singularity Design

September 21, 2011

Philadelphia creative shop Singularity Design acquired PoinTaken and named its founder, Calvin Butts, Jr., VP innovations.

Company news: Amgen and Eli Lilly

September 20, 2011

Amgen's bone drug denosumab won approval for two new indications yesterday, both under the brand name Prolia.

Company News: GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly

September 13, 2011

GlaxoSmithKline has announced plans to commit $1 million of its Cevarix cervical cancer vaccine to the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership over the next five years, which will afford more than 10,000 girls and women to have access to vaccination.

People news: Lundbeck, Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions and Campbell Alliance

September 08, 2011

Lundbeck named Marie-Laure Pochon EVP, commercial operations.

Company news: J&J, Bayer and Dendreon

September 06, 2011

An FDA advisory panel recommended giving a thumbs down to J&J/Bayer's anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban) for use in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Company news: Bayer, Medrad and Precision Health Media

September 01, 2011

Bayer Healthcare's Medrad unit bought a Washington State-based vascular disease device maker, Pathway Medical Technologies.

Company news: Lighthouse Learning and Shire

August 30, 2011

The ACCME awarded provisional two-year accreditation to Lighthouse Learning, the educational content provider which develops and sells CME curricula without accepting commercial funding.

Company News: Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Par Pharmaceutical Companies

August 25, 2011

French drug maker Sanofi has agreed to purchase a unit of Universal Medicare Ltd., based in India, which manufactures "nutraceuticals," such as mineral supplements, vitamins, antioxidants and anti-arthritics.

Company News: Forest Labs, Thermo Fisher Scientific

August 23, 2011

Forest Laboratories' request to investors to back company-selected board nominees, rather than the individual nominees of shareholder Carl Icahn, appears to have paid off.

Company news: Amylin, Eli Lilly, Alkermes, Gilead and J&J

August 11, 2011

Amylin, Eli Lilly and Alkermes said the FDA accepted their Bydureon resubmission and awarded a six-month review, extending the PDUFA date to January 28, 2012.

Company News: Manhattan Research, Merck

August 09, 2011

Pharma and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research has released the latest version of its ePharma Physician v11.0 study, which indicates that since June 2011, 38% of the physicians polled have seen a pharma or biotech sales rep use an iPad or other tablet during a face-to-face meeting over the course of the past year.

Company news: Novo Nordisk

August 04, 2011

Novo Nordisk reported first-half gains in operating profit of 13%, along with sales growth of 11% in local currencies driven by Victoza, NovoRapid and Levemir.

Company News: AstraZeneca, Bayer, Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb

July 28, 2011

AstraZeneca has released Q2 financial information, reporting overall sales revenue increasing by 3% despite a decline of nearly $500 million due to generic competition.

Company News: GlaxoSmithKline and Covidien

July 26, 2011

GlaxoSmithKline reported steady second-quarter revenue, with total "underlying sales" growth as being up 5%.

Company News: Express Scripts, Medco, Roche, Eli Lilly

July 21, 2011

Pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Express Scripts said it plans to buy rival Medco Health Solutions, currently the largest PBM, for $29.1 billion.

Company News: Allergan, Vicept Therapeutics and ClinStar

July 19, 2011

Global specialty pharma company Allergan has announced plans to acquire privately held dermatology start-up Vicept Therapeutics.

Company news: Sanofi and Valent

July 12, 2011

Sanofi will sell its Dermik skincare unit to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $425 million.

Company news: J&J, Skyline, Medtronic and Salient

July 07, 2011

The Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical R&D division of Janssen Pharmaceutica has signed a research agreement with Skyline Diagnostics, a Netherlands-based biotech company focusing on the development and marketing of gene signature-based diagnostic assays.

Company news: Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Novartis

July 05, 2011

Janssen Pharmaceuticals received a green light from the FDA to market anticoagulant Xarelto (rivaroxaban tablets).

Company news: EvaluatePharma and Citeline

June 28, 2011

Years after generic competition begins eroding Lipitor revenues (and RA biologic Humira overtakes it as the world's biggest selling drug), Pfizer will still be the industry's sales leader, but Sanofi and Novartis will run closely behind, according to EvaluatePharma's World Preview 2016.

Company news: ViroPharma and DIME

June 23, 2011

Specialty drug company ViroPharma teamed with several medical societies on the launch of a program designed to unite specialists treating patients with the orphan condition hereditary angioedema (HAE).

Company news: Eli Lilly, Amylin and the AMA

June 21, 2011

Eli Lilly and Amylin said they received EU approval for Bydureon, a once weekly version of currently-marketed Byetta, which is given twice daily.

Company News: J&J nixes production of heart stent, Sanofi pairs with Audion

June 16, 2011

Johnson & Johnson company Cordis has announced that it will discontinue the development of the NEVO Sirolimus-Eluting Coronary Stent in order to focus on other cardiovascular therapies that are more in demand.

Company news: PatientsLikeMe, BBK Worldwide and InfoMedics

June 14, 2011

PatientsLikeMe, the online health data-sharing platform, partnered with patient recruitment firm BBK Worldwide on a novel way to expedite clinical trial enrollment.

Company News: Pfizer invests in Boston-area hospitals, Centron takes on OraPharma

June 09, 2011

Making good on its global initiative to bolster science and academia, New York-based pharma giant Pfizer has announced plans to invest $100 million with Boston's Longwood Medical Area.

Company news: Wolters Kluwer Health & Pharma Solutions, Decision Resources and QuantiaMD

June 07, 2011

Market research firms Wolters Kluwer Health & Pharma Solutions and Decision Resources announced an agreement designed to make it easier for mutual customers to access managed markets data.

Company news: Lilly taps BioCritica; Manhattan Research releases BRIC digital study

May 31, 2011

An Indianapolis biotech company has caught the eye of pharma giant Eli Lilly.

Company news: Amylin vs. Lilly; CVS Caremark

May 26, 2011

Amylin was granted a temporary restraining order against Eli Lilly & Co. preventing Lilly from going forward with plans to have the same reps detail both Byetta, which it co-promotes with Amylin, and Boehringer Ingelheim's rival type 2 diabetes drug Tradjenta in the US.

Company news: RealAge and HealthPrize; AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo; Shire

May 24, 2011

RealAge and HealthPrize are partnering to measure the effectiveness of HealthPrize's adherence program on RealAge members taking asthma meds.

Company news: IMS, SDI and inVentiv Health

May 19, 2011

IMS said global spending on medicine will slow over the next five years to 3%-6% reflecting slowing growth in developed markets due to patent losses and policy changes.

Company news: Apotex and inVentiv Health

May 17, 2011

The FDA lifted its import ban on a generic drug facility run by Canadian company Apotex.

Company news: HealthiNation, Everyday Health, WebMD

May 12, 2011

HealthiNation announced a deal to distribute its content across Health Media Network's 2,500 physicians' offices. The deal gives HealthiNation entrée into the out of home market and helps extend its point of care presence.

Company news: Savient, ArcMesa Educators and Physicians' Education Resource

May 05, 2011

Biotech firm Savient said first-quarter revenue fell slightly short of expectations ($1.3 million, vs. consensus $2.1 million), due to lower-than-anticipated sales of its gout drug Krystexxa.

Company news: Pfizer and Merck

May 03, 2011

Pfizer and Merck, the number 1 and 2 pharma firms in the US, reported first-quarter revenues of $16.5 billion and $11.6 billion, respectively.

Company news: InTouch Solutions, GE and MedHelp

April 28, 2011

More than one third of physicians in a survey of 100 doctors had received an iPad detail from a pharma sales rep, and 68% reported being extremely or very satisfied with the format, according to a survey of physician detail preferences by InTouch Solutions.

Company news: Pfizer and PhRMA

April 26, 2011

Pfizer and Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co. are partnering for a possible Pfizer product launch in China.

Company news: Pfizer, Genentech and Abbott Laboratories

April 19, 2011

Pfizer announced top-line results from the ORAL Scan phase III study of tofacitinib, formerly known as tasocitinib, an investigational, novel, oral JAK inhibitor.

Company news: Forest Labs, Novartis and Pfizer

April 14, 2011

Forest Labs said its CEO will challenge a US Department of Health and Human Services attempt to exclude him from participation in federal healthcare programs.

Company news

April 12, 2011

Smartphone usage by moms has risen 64% over the past two years and moms are 18% more likely than average to have a smartphone, according to a BabyCenter survey.

Company news: AstraZeneca; GSK and XenoPort

April 07, 2011

FDA approved AstraZeneca's vandetanib for treatment of medullary thyroid cancer.

Company news: Merck, Pfizer and Dendreon

April 05, 2011

Merck said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire specialty pharmaceutical company Inspire for about $430 million.

Company news: K-V Pharmaceutical and Ther-Rx

March 31, 2011

In a blow to K-V Pharmaceutical, the FDA said it will not take action against pharmacies that make hydroxyprogesterone caproate, the active ingredient in K-V's recently approved pre-term labor prevention drug Makena.

Company news: IMS Health, Havas Drive, Healthline Networks

March 29, 2011

IMS Health launched the IMS Institite for Healthcare Informatics, a bigthink initiative focusing on the use of medical information globally, the future global role of biopharmas, the role of innovation in health system products, processes and delivery systems, and advancement of healthcare agendas in developing nations.

Company news: Mylan, FDA, Henry Schein, Inc. and Sermo

March 22, 2011

Generics maker Mylan sued the FDA to allow companies to sell generic copies of Pfizer's Lipitor starting June 28, the date when pediatric exclusivity periods for some of the cholesterol-lowering drug's US patents expire.

Company News: Everyday Health, MedPage Today and the American College of Cardiology

March 17, 2011

Everyday Health's MedPage Today, an online medical news-gathering outfit, signed an exclusive content and advertising deal with the American College of Cardiology to cover more than 20 major cardiology meetings worldwide.

Company news: Daiichi Sankyo, Astellas, Takeda

March 15, 2011

Japanese pharma giants are taking stock of the damage from last Friday's Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami.

Company news: Vitals.com, The New York Times

March 08, 2011

The New York Times Company sold UCompareHealthCare to MDxMedical, parent of doctor ratings site Vitals.com.

Company news: Amgen

March 03, 2011

Amgen revamped its Breakaway from Cancer site, adding a "cancer resource navigator tool" aimed at helping cancer patients maneuver through the complicated maze of online info through a targeted search of more than 100 credible cancer sites.

Company news: Forest Labs

March 01, 2011

FDA approved Forest's Daliresp (roflumilast) for the treatment of severe chronic COPD in adults 18 and up.

Company news: PKD Foundation and Schwartz Communications

Matthew Arnold February 24, 2011

The PKD Foundation, a research and advocacy group for Polycyctic Kidney Disease, is looking for a new CEO after its president and CEO Dan Larson announced his retirement from that role.

Company news: GlaxoSmithKline

February 17, 2011

GlaxoSmithKline is readying another round of R&D cuts and giving its Research Triangle Park workforce a haircut, according to the News & Observer of Raleigh, NC.

Company news: Daiichi Sankyo and GCI Health

February 15, 2011

Daiichi Sankyo acquired a 140,000 square foot packaging and manufacturing facility in Bethlehem Township, PA for $10 million.

Company news: Orexigen Therapeutics

February 10, 2011

Orexigen Therapeutics, whose experimental obesity pill Contrave was rejected by the FDA in January, said it's laying off 23 employees, or 40% of its staff.

Company news: Allergan and Sage

February 08, 2011

Allergan named Pacific Communications agency of record for the chronic migraine indication on its Botox therapy.

Company news: inVentiv Health

January 25, 2011

InVentiv Health said it is acquiring pharma consulting firm Campbell Alliance and i3, a global contract research organization.

Company news: CSL Behring and McGraw-Hill

January 20, 2011

CSL Behring awarded advocacy grants worth around $100,000 to six patient groups through its Local Empowerment for Advocacy Development program.

Company news: GlaxoSmithKline

January 18, 2011

GlaxoSmithKline said it will take a fourth-quarter legal charge of about $3.5 billion to cover the cost of a government investigation into its sales and marketing practices, as well as future product-liability cases related to diabetes drug Avandia.

Company news: Covidien

January 13, 2011

Covidien said it expects to see minimal financial impact from the FDA's move to place limits on the amount of acetaminophen in Rx combination products.

Company news: Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim

January 11, 2011

Eli Lilly will pay Boehringer Ingelheim $387.4 million as part of a deal to jointly develop and commercialize several diabetes pipeline agents.

Company news: Endo Pharmaceuticals and MannKind

December 30, 2010

Endo Pharmaceuticals said it received FDA approval for a testosterone gel called Fortesta, the second topical testosterone product in as many months to win US approval.

Company news: Takeda and Teva

December 28, 2010

Takeda granted generics firm Teva a license to market authorized copies in the US, starting Aug. 17, 2012, for best-selling diabetes pill Actos, and on Dec. 14, 2012, for Actoplus met (Actos plus metformin).

People news: Cephalon and PhRMA

December 23, 2010

Cephalon named J. Kevin Buchi CEO and a member of the company's board of directors.

Company news: social media guidelines

December 21, 2010

DDMAC pushed back its hotly-anticipated social media guidance, originally slated for the fourth quarter of 2010, to the first quarter of 2011.

People news: Johnson & Johnson

December 16, 2010

Johnson & Johnson named devices and diagnostics worldwide chair Alex Gorsky and pharmaceuticals chair Sheri McCoy vice chairmen of the Executive Committee.

Company news: Abbott Laboratories

December 07, 2010

The Senate Finance Committee released an eyebrow-raising report detailing contacts between Abbott Laboratories and a Baltimore cardiologist who was a top user of the company's stents.

Company news: AstraZeneca

December 02, 2010

AstraZeneca chief David Brennan said the company will see nearly a billion dollars shaved off its profits for 2010 and 2011 combined due to healthcare reform legislation in the US, Reuters reported.