Company news: Auxilium and GSK; J&J's Janssen

May 22, 2012

Auxilium inked a co-promote deal with GSK on its Testim 1% testosterone gel for the US.
 

Company news: Novo Nordisk and Health Union

May 21, 2012

Novo Nordisk expanded its motorsports initiative, while online firm Health Union launched a mobile app designed to help patients monitor migraines.
 

Company news: Haymarket Medical, Johnson & Johnson

May 17, 2012

Hitting the 1,000-download mark in less than a week, Haymarket Medical said its new myCME app has been an iTunes top 10 US medical app ever since.
 

Company news: Pfizer, OraSure

May 16, 2012

The FDA panel's tepid embrace of Pfizer's RA drug tofacitinib last week has been matched by an equally anemic payer reaction.
 

Company news: Digital health edition

May 15, 2012

Physician social network adoption was flat from 2011-2012, a survey says, and Everyday Health gets a nom for a daytime Emmy
 

Company news: two drugs clear FDA panel

May 14, 2012

FDA panel votes for second weight loss drug this year, Gilead's HIV treatment gets panel nod
 

Company news: Pfizer, Orexigen

May 10, 2012

Reports that Pfizer is pulling out of the Lipitor business are somewhat premature, spokesperson MacKay Jimeson told MM&M.
 

Company news: GlaxoSmithKline, Teva

May 09, 2012

GlaxoSmithKline is once again in hot pursuit of Human Genome Sciences. The company is back with the same $2.6 billion bid, but this time rather than asking HGSI to join GSK the Britain-based firm is offering $13 a share in cash. Meanwhile, Teva reported first quarter sales hit $5B.
 

Company news: Pfizer, Sanofi

May 08, 2012

For anyone who thought Pfizer's RA candidate tofacitinib would sail through its review tomorrow with an FDA advisory committee, documents released ahead of the meeting indicate the devil's in the details.
 

Company news: Abbott, Vertex

May 07, 2012

Abbott settled a massive federal and state lawsuit over off-label marketing of Depakote to the tune of $1.5 billion and a token guilty plea - on one violation of the FD&C Act, for misbranding - along with a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement.
 

Company news: Novartis and Boehringer Ingelheim

May 03, 2012

Novartis said Thursday that generics subsidiary Sandoz is purchasing Fougera Pharmaceuticals for $1.5 billion in cash. In other news, Boehringer Ingelheim launched what it called the largest observational study of non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients.
 

Company news: Elsevier and Eli Lilly

May 02, 2012

Elsevier took over as publisher of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. In other news, Eli Lilly opened its new Erl Wood research facility Monday.
 

Company news: Biogen Idec and Targacept

May 01, 2012

Biogen Idec reported $975 million in product sales for the quarter ended March 31, up 7.5% compared to sales for the same period last year. In other news, Targacept and AstraZeneca have officially parted ways over the experimental anti-depressant drug known as TC-5214, according to a report.
 

Company news: Amgen and Merck

April 30, 2012

The FDA, as expected, told Amgen that it could not OK the biotech's request to expand the approval for Xgeva into pre-metastases bone cancer, Amgen said.
 

Company news: BMS, Shire, Walgreen

April 26, 2012

Better than expected US sales of Plavix helped Bristol-Myers Squibb power through the first quarter with a 5% revenue gain over the first quarter of 2011, while Shire announced quarter product sales of $1.1 billion for the quarter, a 24% increase over the year-ago period. A Walgreen Co. study shows that discount prescription programs and pharmacists can have a major impact on keeping patients on their medication regimens.
 

Company news: Eli Lilly and GlaxoSmithKline

April 25, 2012

Despite plummeting Zyprexa sales and a forecast of tough times yet to come, Eli Lilly remained upbeat during Wednesday's first-quarter earnings call. Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline's CEO Andrew Witty said Wednesday that the $10.5 billion in sales his firm earned for the first quarter of 2012, a 2% bump over the same period last year, is a sign that the company's progress is on track.
 

Company news: GSK, Novartis and Boehringer Ingelheim

April 24, 2012

GlaxoSmithKline continues to shed businesses, but can't shake its weight-loss drug Alli (orlistat).
 

Company news: Abbott; Amylin

April 23, 2012

Abbott Laboratories announced Monday it was expanding its relationship with St. Jude Medical. The new agreement expands on a 2008 partnership.
 

Company news: Cancer Research UK, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association

April 19, 2012

A genetic study of breast cancer has found ten distinct types of the disease and ferreted out "a slew" of previously unknown genetic factors that influence the cancer's aggressiveness.
 

Company news: Abbott, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb

April 18, 2012

Abbott Laboratories announced Wednesday that sales hit $9.5 billion for the quarter ended March 31, a 4.6% increase over the same period last year. Meanwhile, Pfizer's move to separate itself from its nutrition business is rumored to be gaining momentum and the pharmaceutical industry landed two spots on CR Magazine's list of top corporate citizens, with BMS earning top marks.
 

Company news: Forest

April 17, 2012

Generic Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate) took a hefty bite out of Forest Laboratories fourth-quarter sales which fell 9% to $997 million, compared to $1 billion for the same period last year.
 

Company news: J&J's Janssen

April 12, 2012

An Arkansas judge levied a $1.2 billion fine on Johnson & Johnson's Janssen after a jury there found the pharma giant guilty of downplaying the risks of its antipsychotic Risperdal.
 

Company news: Amgen and Takeda

April 11, 2012

Amgen is buying KAI Pharma, a South San Francisco-based, privately held company working on a novel treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism, or SHPT, in patients with chronic kidney disease who are on dialysis.
 

Company news: Vivus

April 10, 2012

Vivus announced Tuesday that the FDA has pushed back the review date for its weight-loss drug Qnexa to July 17.
 

Company news: Merck

April 05, 2012

The latest jobs report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has somewhat positive news: planned layoffs fell to a 10-month low in March.
 

Company news: Ipsen, AccentHealth TV

April 04, 2012

Biotech Ipsen Operations appointed a new nine-person management team as the company settled into its new East Coast-based US headquarters, having moved from California.
 

Company news: Elsevier, AstraZeneca, GSK

April 02, 2012

Publisher Elsevier announced Monday that it will increase the number of papers it publishes for the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications.
 

Company news: Astellas; AMM; MAHF; MedPage Today and Medscape Mobile

March 29, 2012

Japan-based Astellas Pharmaceuticals is further cementing its relationship with US-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals with a $20 million upfront payment to develop and sell fidaxomicin tablets in Japan.
 

Company news: Merck, Affymax, AstraZeneca

March 28, 2012

Merck said Wednesday that its big outcomes study of cholesterol drugs Zetia (ezetimibe) and Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin) will be extended.
 

Company news: Bausch + Lomb and ISTA; Sanofi and Regeneron

March 27, 2012

Eye care giant Bausch + Lomb is buying ISTA Pharmaceuticals for $500 million.
 

Company news: Bausch + Lomb and ISTA; Sanofi and Regeneron

March 27, 2012

Eye care giant Bausch + Lomb is buying ISTA Pharmaceuticals for $500 million.
 

Company news: Corcept Therapeutics and Daiichi Sankyo

March 23, 2012

Corcept Therapeutics said its Cushing's syndrome drug will be launched three weeks earlier than expected.
 

Company news: GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Nature Publishing

March 22, 2012

GlaxoSmithKline is building its first new UK factory in almost 40 years, the firm said, spurring jobs while breaking new ground at some of its current locations.
 

Company news: Elsevier, Abbott

March 21, 2012

Elsevier printed the inaugural issue of its Operations Research for Health Care journal in March. Abbott reveals the name of its research spin-off.
 

Company news: Inventiv Health, Elsevier

March 19, 2012

InVentiv Health is acquiring outsourcing specialists Kforce Clinical Research with a $50 million cash payment.
 

Company news: GSK; J&J; CementBloc

March 15, 2012

GlaxoSmithKline is getting rid of more of its OTC brands, this time in Europe.
 

Company news: Allergan, Pacific Communications and InVentiv

March 14, 2012

Allergan tapped Pacific Communications to handle its Allergan Partner Privileges physician incentive award program.
 

Company news: AstraZeneca and Edelman

March 13, 2012

In a move designed to delay generic competition for one of its bestselling drugs, AstraZeneca filed a lawsuit against the FDA regarding anti-psychotic Seroquel.
 

Company news: mobile ad budgets continue to grow

March 12, 2012

Mobile marketing budgets continue to retain their luster.
 

Company news: WebMD, Wiley-Blackwell and Eli Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim

March 07, 2012

WebMD the Magazine is now part of the iPad app world.
 

Company news: GSK goes big in Japan

March 05, 2012

GlaxoSmithKline and Daiichi Sankyo announced they will be teaming up to create Japan's largest vaccine company.
 

Company news: Biogen-Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer

February 29, 2012

Biogen-Idec is submitting its multiple sclerosis drug BG-12 for formal FDA scrutiny.
 

Company news: Edelman aquires firm in Vietnam

February 28, 2012

PR firm Edelman announced Tuesday that it is increasing its reach to include Vietnam.
 

Company news: Pfizer, Projects in Knowledge

February 27, 2012

Eleven weeks after going generic, Lipitor is holding its ground with a little over a third of the market, according to a research note by Credit-Suisse analyst Michael Faerm.
 

Company news: Publicis and the American Heart Association

February 22, 2012

Publicis Groupe is expanding its footprint in China, having acquired the healthcare communications agency U-Link Solutions Co. Ltd.
 

Company news: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Corcept Therapeutics, Vivus, Orexigen and Arena

February 21, 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb continues to come under scrutiny for how it has marketed its anti-psychotic drug Abilify (aripiprazole).
 

Company news: AstraZeneca and Merck

February 16, 2012

AstraZeneca launched a home-delivery program for breast cancer drug Arimidex through PBM Express Scripts.
 

Company news: Wolters Kluwer, NEJM; Teva

February 15, 2012

The New England Journal of Medicine and Wolters Kluwer Health have signed and agreement that makes the Ovid research platform the exclusive medical aggregator of current non-embargoed NEJM content.
 

Company news: AstraZeneca; Everyday Health

February 13, 2012

An AstraZeneca survey of how the company's scientists use social media found that 71% participate in social media, and of those, 71% do so for science-related activities and 69% for personal reasons.
 

Company news: Amgen

February 09, 2012

Exceeding analyst expectations for a failure, the FDA's Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee voted 12-1 against an expanded use for Amgen's denosumab drug Xgeva.
 

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.
 
 

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

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.
 

Video Exclusive

Web Exclusives

Five industry experts advise specialty pharma company on digital strategy

April 20, 2012

Specialty pharma company POZEN assembled a crack team of experts to help shape its digital strategy. Not only did POZEN share with us the text from their contributions, but you can watch exclusive video clips of their valuable perspectives right here.
 

MM&M Awards 2011 HIghlights

The Best MM&M Awards Ever!

MAHF Ceremony 2012

Photos from the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame Awards ceremony
 
Popular Topics
Acquisition Adherence App Celebrity Clinical Trial Co-Marketing Conflict Of Interest Diabetes Diagnostics Digital Direct To Consumer (DTC) Disease Awareness Downsize Education & Awareness FDA Government Guidance Health Plans HMOs Hospitals Insurers Law Marketing Research Mobile Sales Force