FDA ban could cost India's Wockhardt $100 million
An FDA import ban can be costly, and India's Wockhardt says the import alert it is now under could slice $100 million out of its revenues.
Ranbaxy said to be eyeing major cuts to sales force, mainly in U.S.
The company is considering cutting back its field force of about 14,600 by as much as one-third, the sources said.
Why is the FDA holding Avandia hearings? Agency critic has ideas
Publicly disgraced after cardiologist Steven Nissen and his colleagues unveiled data on its cardiovascular risks in 2007, Avandia was withdrawn in Europe and put under tight rein in the U.S. Now, the FDA is revisiting the issue, and Nissen himself has issues with that.
Merck, Lilly, Pfizer top $1B doc-payments list
Drugmakers forked over more than $1 billion to doctors last year, significantly more than reported in 2011. And that's only the amounts we know about. According to a new data analysis by PharmaShine, reported in the Financial Times, that figure only includes the 12 leading drugmakers that actually disclose physician payments.
Forest Labs CEO to step aside at year's end after decades at the helm
Forest Laboratories will have a new CEO when 2014 dawns. Longtime chief Howard Solomon will step out of that role on Dec. 31, with plans to stick around as chairman till next year's annual meeting, and as a director for some time after that. In the meantime, Forest's search committee is hunting for a replacement, aiming to name someone before year's end.
Daiichi accuses Ranbaxy shareholders of hiding info before buyout
Ranbaxy Laboratories' FDA woes may soon be over now that the drugmaker has forked over a $500 million settlement to the federal government. It seems owner Daiichi Sankyo's Ranbaxy woes, however, are anything but. The Japanese company now believes former Ranbaxy shareholders withheld key info when negotiating to sell Daiichi its majority stake in the Indian drugmaker.
Billionaires snap up former Merck Serono HQ for Geneva biotech hotspot
Two Swiss billionaires--Ernesto Bertarelli and Hansjörg Wyss--have joined forces to buy out the former Merck Serono facility in Geneva.
Specialty drugs to rocket upward by 67% by 2015
Drugmakers know that specialty products are where it's at these days. A recent IMS Institute report showed the U.S. drug market shrinking for the first time last year. But spending on specialty drugs posted double-digit increases. Almost 20%, according to a recent Express Scripts report, in fact.
Boehringer Ingelheim handed FDA warning letter
Boehringer Ingelheim, whose contract manufacturing facility in Bedford, Ohio, has been at the heart of huge drug disruptions in the U.S., is now feeling the sting of FDA inspectors at a key plant in Europe.
Amag pulls anemia drug batch after Swiss patient dies
Amag Pharmaceuticals and partner Takeda have run into a snag in Switzerland. Japan-based Takeda is recalling a batch of Amag's anemia drug Feraheme, sold as Rienso in the Swiss market, after several reports of hypersensitivity reactions, one of them fatal.
Pfizer offers share exchange to grant Zoetis its freedom
Pfizer is cutting the apron strings at Zoetis. Just months after its highly successful IPO, in which Pfizer sold off a 20% stake, the animal health business is set to become fully independent. Pfizer is offering a stock swap to its shareholders, who can exchange $100 in Pfizer shares for roughly $107 worth of Zoetis stock.
Merck to buy $5B in stock from Goldman Sachs in jump-start for repurchase plan
Generic competition, sales woes and R&D disappointments have put revenue on the decline and Merck in hot water, with the pharma giant earlier this month promising to buy back as much as $15 billion in shares. And yesterday, the company started in on a big chunk of that buyback, inking a deal to buy $5 billion of its own shares from Goldman Sachs.
Vermont passes assisted-suicide law, with drug-dispensing safeguards
The law includes safeguards, including requirements that terminally ill patients ask for the requisite drugs three times before they're actually dispensed.
Impax calls on former Teva, Watson execs to confront FDA issues
Having failed so far to get its extended-release Parkinson's drug Rytary to market, Impax Laboratories ($IPXL) is turning to asking three big-name specialists what it should do.
Does pharma spend more on marketing than R&D? A numbers check
So, do drug companies really spend more money on marketing than on R&D? In the Pipeline takes a look at that contention, and the cold hard facts are these: Probably not. But it's hard to tell for sure.
Will U.K. watchdogs change their minds on Avastin in ovarian cancer?
The U.K.'s cost-effectiveness police have been arresting Roche's Avastin development efforts once again. As Cover magazine reports, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has nixed two proposed uses for the drug in ovarian cancer, one of the hardest-to-treat forms of the disease.
Novo A/S snatches up antibacterials-maker Xellia as part of new investment strategy
Novo A/S, the Danish holding company of and major shareholder in Novo Nordisk, said today it is pursuing a new piece of its investment strategy focused on more well-established companies as it announced the $700 million purchase of anti-infectives maker Xellia Pharmaceuticals.
Warner Chilcott CEO up for $9.2M handshake after Actavis deal
As the dust settles around Actavis' announced buyout of Warner Chilcott, it's time to dig into some of the nitty-gritty details about "New Actavis." For instance, which of Warner's top people will stick around--and if they don't, how much severance might they collect on the way out? And just how big is the tax cut Actavis expects from making the deal?
Shire eyes takeover protection as bid rumors swirl, Mail says
Shire ($SHPG) is a perennial entry on everybody's favorite M&A target list. Now, according to the Daily Mail, Shire is putting its ducks in a row for a potential "special dividend" to counter any takeover interest. Word is, an £11 billion hostile bid is coming.
Ex-HGS director draws fire for plugging anthrax drug at Pentagon
According to a Los Angeles Times investigation, former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig talked up HGS' anthrax drug raxibacumab to his government contacts--at a time when he also served on the company's board.
