pharmaceutical news

Falling dollar, falling drugmaker prices

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Is the U.S. drug industry bargain-basement land right now? Analysts say that the low, low dollar means low, low prices for pharma companies. Rivals in Asia and the Eurozone could snap up drug companies just like they've bought up Manhattan condos.

Takeda Pharmaceutical agreed to pay $8.8 billion for Millennium Pharmaceuticals--a 15 percent discount, as the dollar has fallen 15 percent against then yen since early 2007. Roche bought Ventana Medical for $3.4 billion--and though the price was higher than what the Swiss drugmaker originally bid, it still represented a double-digit discount because the dollar has sunk against the euro. Other examples, according to Pharmalot: Eisai's buyout of MGI Pharma for $3.9 billion, Novartis' 77 percent-stake acquisition of Alcon for $39 billion, and so on.

In Vivo worries that foreign buyouts might be against the national interest, considering the intellectual property at risk. Some U.S. companies might be able to get Congress to shield them from unwanted foreign takeovers, the blog suggests. Bioterror research, anyone?

- check out the Pharmalot item
- see the coverage from In Vivo

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Generics depress profits at Walgreen's

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:59:56 -0400

The generic-drug hammer has fallen again, and this time it hit a retail pharmacy. Walgreen's fiscal fourth-quarter profit dropped by almost 4 percent in part because of generics.

Simvastatin--the generic form of the Merck cholesterol drug Zocor--was a particular problem. The company filled three times as many simvastatin scrips this quarter than it did during the same period last year, but made virtually the same amount of money because of tightened reimbursements from health plans. Maybe Walgreen's and Merck can cry in their coffee together.

- see Walgreen's press release
- read the New York Times article

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Drug theft costs pharma $1B yearly

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Counterfeit drugs and outright theft cost the pharmaceuticals industry some $71 billion a year, according to a new study from a consumer advocacy group known as America's Watchdog.

Counterfeiting alone pilfers some $70 billion from drug makers pockets, the group estimated. The remainder? A phenomenon known as "diversion," in which contract manufacturers agreed to make, say, 1 million pills but make 1.5 million instead, selling the extras on the black market--usually via the Internet. Drug makers are working hard to fight this problem, using RFID tags and other inventory control measures, the group said.

- see this article from in-PharmaTechnologist.com

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SPOTLIGHT: PerkinElmer paying $300M for ViaCell

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:59:52 -0400

PerkinElmer is buying ViaCell for $300 million, aiming to grow the latter's cord-blood banking business and spin off its drug-discovery unit, which is working on stem-cell-based remedies for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Release

BMS to pay $515M in kickback case

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Bristol-Myers Squibb now has the dubious distinction of the third-largest court settlement between a drug maker and the U.S. Attorney's office in Massachusetts. The drug maker agreed to pay $515 million to settle kickback claims.

It's not the money that's most worrisome, though, but the behind-the-curtain machinations of a special Bristol-Myers sales force charged with marketing the antipsychotic Abilify for off-label uses--included one use that the FDA had warned against. The company also defrauded Medicaid with a pricing scheme on the antidepressant Serzone, and inflated prices of various cancer drugs and generics.

- see the U.S. Attorney's statement on the settlement
- read Bristol-Myers' statement
- read the report from the Boston Globe

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IMS lists best drug launches of all time

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

It's not easy being a global pharmaceuticals company. First, you have to develop drugs--and then you have to sell them, not only to your home country, but around the world. And there lies the rub, according to a new study from IMS Health.

The research firm found that, of 4,225 drugs launched, only 35 landed near the top of the heap in more than one country within two years. Why? Very few companies customized their sales pitches country-by-country. Tailored marketing isn't necessary only for cultural reasons, but also because different countries have different ways of paying for drugs: private insurance, state health services, and so on. In some countries, doctors have more influence--including the U.S., of course, but also in Italy and Japan. In others, doctors let regulators make their drug choices for them. Too often, drug makers ignore these distinctions; IMS concluded that only 15 percent of the drug launches successfully adapted to local markets.

The best launches of all time? Pfizer's Lipitor and Viagra, and Merck's Fosamax. IMS also included Eli Lilly's launch of Zyprexa and GlaxoSmithKline's of Avandia on that list, but we think they're disqualified. Hiding adverse safety data (Lilly) and black-box warning labels (GSK) will negate a successful start-up every time.

- read the report on the drug sales report from CNN

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