Here's a good estimate of how much it costs when a drug goes into free-fall: $440 million. That's how much Johnson & Johnson [1] is writing off on Natrecor, a heart failure treatment that went into a downward spiral when medical researchers suggested that it might boost the risk of kidney problems and death.
And oh, what a drug it was supposed to be. In 2003, J&J paid $2.4 billion for the biotech company Scios [2] to get its hands on Natrecor. The drug sold at a rate of about $400 million in 2004. Then, in 2005, the safety concerns arose, and sales have been declining ever since. The $440 million charge is expected to show up in J&J's fourth-quarter earnings report.
- see this article [3] from The New York Times
Related Articles:
FDA warns J&J unit on heart drug marketing. Report [4]
DCRI tapped for major new Natrecor study. Report [5]
Slumping Natrecor sales spur layoffs at Scios. Report [6]
J&J: Natrecor study failed to reveal two deaths. Report [7]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/2-johnson-johnson-top-15-r-d-budgets
[2] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/j-j-makes-big-cuts-alza-and-scios/2007-08-02
[3] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/business/30heart.html?ref=business
[4] http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/spotlight-fda-warns-j-j-unit-heart-drug-marketing/2007-11-08
[5] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/dcri-tapped-for-major-new-natrecor-study/2006-09-08
[6] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/slumping-natrecor-sales-spur-layoffs-at-scios/2006-02-24
[7] http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/j-amp-j-natrecor-study-failed-to-reveal-two-deaths/2006-01-04