Maraviroc

ALSO NOTED: Layoffs depress J&J profits; Canada OKs Pfizer HIV med;

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> Pink slips cost money. Just ask Johnson & Johnson, which saw its third-quarter profits drop by 8 percent because of money spent cutting jobs. Release

> Health Canada gave the thumbs up to Pfizer's maraviroc, a first-in-class remedy that will be marketed there under the brand name Celsentri. Report

> Elan Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec's partner in the MS drug Tysabri, says it might buy the other half of that drug when Biogen changes hands. Report

> Some AIDS activists are upset that Merck priced its new HIV drug at $9,855 per year--not cheap, but not the $20,000 that Roche first asked for Fuzeon in 2004. Report

> Indian drug maker Wockhardt is planning to buy Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals for up to $70 million. Report

> Rules-Based Medicine, which is hot in pursuit of new biomarkers, has received a $25 million injection of cash. Report

> Dutch biotech Crucell has inked a joint venture deal with MedImmune to develop its bacterial antibodies to treat hospital-acquired infections. Report

> Schering-Plough: A good company to work for. Report

And Finally... Speaking of cancer drugs, we have them to thank for a swift drop in death rates from the disease. Report

ALSO NOTED: GSK to launch cervical cancer vaccine in EU;Ranbaxy licenses Sirtex cancer remedy;

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> GlaxoSmithKline is now ready to launch its vaccine against cervical cancer, Cervarix, in the E.U--and analysts expect revenues of $2 billion to $5 billion there, based on rival Gardisil's performance in the U.S. Report

> Ranbaxy Laboratories inked a licensing deal with Australia's Sirtex Medical to market the colorectal/liver cancer drug Sir-Spheres. Report

> Cardinal Health tapped CEO R. Kerry Clark as chairman, to replace retiring chairman and founder Robert D. Walker. Report

> Pfizer got EU approval for Celsentri (maraviroc), its new, first-in-class HIV fighter. Report

> Bristol-Myers will buy its drug-development partner Adnexus Therapeutics for about $415 million. Report

> Novartis got the E.U. nod for its Exelon patch, a treatment for mild to moderate Alzheimer's. Report

> The EU's drug safety committee recommended approval for Schering-Plough's combination hepatitis C treatment. Report

And Finally... Here's another drug safety dilemma to round out the day's news: Patients often take handfuls of different prescription drugs daily, in potentially deadly combinations, along with OTC chasers for good measure. Report

FDA: Merck's anti-HIV drug hopeful

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Will the FDA give Merck a shovel to finish digging its public image out of the Vioxx pit? All set to meet next Wednesday on Merck's proposed HIV drug Isentress (raltegravir), the agency's Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee released promising info today: Isentress works in patients whose other HIV drugs are no longer effective. The words "highly statistically significant" were used.

The committee will discuss a proposed indication for raltegravir in treatment-experienced patients, in combination with other antiretrovirals. Trials showed that the drug suppressed the virus to undetectable levels, the documents show. The new drug inhibits HIV in an entirely new way, by targeting an enzyme the virus uses to insert its genetic material into human DNA. If it comes to market, it'll be the second novel HIV treatment to be approved this fall; Pfizer won the FDA nod for its Selzentry, or maraviroc, which keeps the virus from entering white blood cells.

- The FDA committee documents are available here

ALSO: More on Merck's overall comeback in this CNN Money report

Pfizer goes public with R&D pipeline

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

It's tough to take over the world when everyone can see your battle plans--or so thought Pfizer before CEO Jeffrey Kindler pledged transparency. Now the company's future can be viewed at its public R&D pipeline site, which was updated yesterday for the first time since it went online in December. Pfizer has 47 Phase II drugs, 11 Phase III drugs and 14 biologics in its pipeline. An unlucky 13 projects were abandoned.

The pipeline also shows 20 cancer hopefuls moving their way up the charts. But it was an HIV drug that jumped out of the pipeline and onto the market yesterday, with the FDA's approval of Selzentry (maraviroc). It's a first-in-class drug that keeps the virus from entering white blood cells. The accelerated approval is specific to patients with a particular strain of HIV-1, known as R5 virus. Development of the drug for other HIV patients continues, according to Pfizer's pipeline site. Unfortunately, the company hasn't revealed much more about maraviroc's development. Is Pfizer's transparency initiative better than tea leaves? Sure, but it's not exactly the keys to the kingdom.

- see this release on Pfizer's pipeline
- read the release on the FDA approval
- here's the report from StreetInsider on Selzentry
- here's a link to the pipeline

Related Articles:
Pfizer's Kindler leaves analysts feeling flat. Report
Management shakeup at Pfizer. Report
CEO McKinnell gets the boot as Pfizer struggles. Report
Troubled Pfizer blueprints biotech venture effort. Report