Business Briefs

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.