Plavix

Plavix plus heartburn meds could equal trouble

Christe Bruderlin-Nelson — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:04:22 -0500

Nearly half of all patients taking the prescription medication Plavix also take a heartburn medication, but that might not be such a great idea, according to new study findings presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association meeting in New Orleans.

Medco Health Solutions conducted a study of 16,690 people and found the risk of heart attack or other cardiac trouble to be 50 percent higher in patients taking some combination of Plavix and a heartburn med than in those taking Plavix alone. In the past year, there were two additional studies with similar findings.

At issue are a class of heartburn medications called proton pump inhibitors, which includes drugs like Wyeth's Protonix and AstraZeneca's Nexium. In the study, 6,828 of the patients were taking a proton pump inhibitor in conjunction with Plavix therapy, often to prevent common side effects of Plavix, which include stomach ulcers and bleeding.

The study might answer the questions on the minds of physicians and researchers following publication of a 2003 study in the journal Circulation by Paul Gurbel. Gurbel, a cardiologist at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, found that close to 30 percent of patients did not process Plavix effectively, but the reasons for that were unclear.

It turns out that proton pump inhibitors might interfere with liver enzymes that the body uses to process Plavix, rendering it less effective in some patients.

At least some of the companies marketing the drugs have reserved judgment, however. A spokesperson for AstraZeneca said the company has not found any safety concerns in its own data and a spokesperson from Bristol-Myers Squibb said that, while the company would review the data, the retrospective nature of the study makes it more subject to confounding factors than randomized clinical studies are.

Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb together market Plavix (clopidogrel), which is second best-selling drug worldwide.

- read the full Associated Press story
- see what the Wall Street Journal said
- find the Wall Street Journal blog post
- get the study abstract

Plavix prevails in major Canadian ruling

Tracy Staton — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:18:01 -0500

In a big victory for branded drugmakers, Canada's Supreme Court affirmed the validity of a Sanofi-Aventis patent on Plavix's active ingredient. Generics maker Apotex had challenged that patent, saying that it simply carved out one ingredient from a class that Sanofi patented years before.

But the high court said in its ruling that Sanofi had spent millions of dollars and several years developing Plavix as a "less toxic" and "better tolerated" alternative to the previously protected class of compounds. "The inventor selects only a bit of the subject matter of the original genus patent because that bit does something better than and different from what was claimed in the genus patent," Justice Marshall Rothstein wrote.

Apotex's concern about "evergreening," as the practice is called, is unjustified the court said--and here's where the decision stands to benefit other drugmakers. Rothstein said that it's important to allow "selection patents" because it encourages pharmaceutical innovation.

The ruling is "absolutely crucial," Patrick Kierans, a lawyer who argued for Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies as a legal intervenor, told the Globe and Mail. "Selection patents are desperately important in the pharmaceutical industry," Kierans said. "Society wants [scientists] to go back to the well where we already believe there are potential winners."

Of course the ruling also is a big win for Sanofi and marketing partner Bristol-Myers Squibb, which have been fighting off Apotex's copycat Plavix since 2003. As you know, the generic maker briefly introduced its version in 2006, which cut into sales for months. According to a prepared statement, the companies "are pleased that the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed Apotex's appeal, which effectively prevents Apotex from marketing" Plavix there. "We are pleased that our intellectual property rights have been maintained."

- read the story at CBC
- check out the Globe and Mail article
- see the news from Dow Jones

Stent, drug makers team up on clot study

Tracy Staton — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:06:27 -0400

Stent makers and the drugmakers who treat their patients want to settle the clotting question once and for all. So device and pharma companies are joining forces on a major trial to test blood-thinner use in stent patients. And when we say major, we mean major: four years; 20,000 patients; $100 million.

The trial will test whether stent patients should take clot-busters for one year after the device is placed, or for at least two and one-half years afterward. Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson are holding up the stent side of the equation. Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb, which co-market Plavix, will participate on the drug side, along with Eli Lilly and Daiichi Sankyo, whose potential Plavix competitor prasugrel is waiting in the FDA approval queue.

The aim is to develop a stent-and-drug protocol that might quell worries about blood clots. You'll recall the brouhaha over the safety of drug-eluting stents versus bare stents, and over stents versus drug treatment. Well, FDA asked stent and drug makers to determine the best clot-prevention approach. As Bram Zuckerman, an FDA official who helped lay the groundwork for the study, told the Wall Street Journal, "The results will lead to greater clarity of an extremely important problem."

- see the story at the WSJ Health Blog
- check out the WSJ article

German court OKs Plavix copy

Tracy Staton — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 11:01:16 -0400

No cheers at Sanofi-Aventis or Bristol-Myers Squibb today: A German court has paved the way for an immediate launch of generic Plavix. As you know, the clot buster is a big-time seller for both companies, with worldwide revenues of $7.3 billion last year. It's the world's second-largest drug, after Lipitor. Sanofi and Bristol market Plavix worldwide and split the profits, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Two companies--Ratiopharma and Yes--were given the go-ahead to sell their versions of Plavix; the court is still deciding whether to give permission to Novartis' generics unit Sandoz. That's despite the fact that Plavix's European patents don't expire till 2012 and 2019. Apparently, the generic versions use a chemical salt that's slightly different from the original, and in Europe, doctors can treat different chemical salts of the same drug as interchangeable.

Earlier this year, German drug watchdogs cleared the copycat drugs for sale, but Sanofi lobbied to have that permission revoked, and the three generics makers went to court. This is the result. Sanofi says it will appeal.

Both Sanofi and Bristol know what it's like to suffer under generic competition for Plavix. In 2006, sales of the branded version dropped when Apotex started selling a copycat form of the drug. In June 2007, however, a U.S. court stopped those sales in their tracks, at least until the U.S. patent expires in 2011. Sales have since recovered.

- read the WSJ article

Rumor mill: BMS positioning itself for sale

Tracy Staton — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:28:15 -0400

Speculation that Bristol-Myers Squibb might be a takeover target--that's old news. Informed speculation based on certain strategic moves BMS has made recently--now that's worth passing on. Tim Anderson, the Sanford Bernstein analyst, says he believes Bristol-Myers is actively entertaining the idea of selling itself. In a recent note to investors, Anderson ticked off his evidence. Two key patents expire in 2012, for Avapro and Plavix, and the same year, BMS loses U.S. rights to Abilify. But its pipeline is promising, and it has the second-smallest market cap among big drugmakers.

Additionally, Anderson notes, CEO Jim Cornelius recently bought 100,000 shares; is this a "calculated bet on the future of the company?" Its new CFO is an ex-Goldman Sachs investment banker. And the company recently announced plans to partially spin off its Mead Johnson nutritionals unit, which establishes fair value for that business in case any potential buyer wanted to keep or sell it.

This is circumstantial evidence to be sure. But rest assured that Anderson will keep his eyes peeled for more--so we should all keep an eye on him.

- read the story at Pharmalot

Setback for Lilly, gain for Plavix?

Tracy Staton — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:16:20 -0400

When FDA delayed its decision on Eli Lilly's clot-buster prasugrel, a.k.a. Effient, it sliced at least three months off the time Lilly might have to win market share from the commonly used blood thinner Plavix. Doing so quickly is crucial, because Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis' Plavix goes off patent by 2011--and cheap generic versions are likely to drain away even more of the market. Report

Plavix copycat pops up in Europe

Fri, 09 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Call it generic Whac-a-Mole. Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb have bludgeoned copycat Plavix in the U.S., but competition is now popping up in Europe. Swiss drugmaker Schweizerhall Holding said it's expecting approval to sell generic Plavix in Germany and Luxembourg and plans to launch--with the help of one or two large partners--during the second quarter. And it's applying for marketing approval in other European countries, too.

Pointing out that Plavix's European patents don't expire till 2012 and 2019, analysts said Schweizerhall probably has formulated a version of the anti-clotting drug that's slightly different from the branded drug. Other analysts expressed "complete surprise" at the announcement, saying copycat Plavix would "seriously hit" Sanofi. The French drugmaker's shares fell almost 5 percent on the news.

And who might those partners be? In the past, Schweizerhall has worked with Sandoz (Novartis' generics arm) and Ratiopharm of Germany, the Wall Street Journal noted; neither company was available for comment. For its part, Sanofi says it will vigorously defend its patent. Company officials must be thinking it's deja vu all over again.

- find Schweizerhall's press release
- read the story in the Wall Street Journal
- check out CNN Money's coverage
- see Schweizerhall's news in Forbes
- get Sanofi's point-of-view, also in Forbes

As former exec indicted, BMS posts growth

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

A triad of Bristol-Myers Squibb news today, some good, some not-so-good. First, let's get the earnings out of the way: The company reported a decline in earnings on restructuring charges, but adjusted results beat Wall Street forecasts; Bristol-Myers also managed to boost sales by 20 percent--yes, 20 percent--to $5.18 billion. Whither those restructuring charges? You'll recall that BMS announced 4,300 job cuts and a plethora of plant closures, measures designed to save $1.5 billion annually by 2010.

Meanwhile, a former Bristol-Myers senior VP has been indicted for misleading the government about a deal to keep generic Plavix off the market. According to the indictment, Andrew Bodnar told regulators that Bristol hadn't cut a deal with Apotex when he himself had negotiated it. Bodnar's indictment is just the latest bit of fallout from the 2006 deal; BMS already kicked out its CEO and pleaded guilty to federal charges, paying a $1 million fine.

And in the U.K., Bristol-Myers got the thumbs-down from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on its rheumatoid arthritis treatment Orencia. NICE says it's not cost-effective and so it shouldn't be paid for by the National Health Service.

- get the earnings news in the Houston Chronicle
- see the indictment story at the WSJ Health Blog
- find out more on the indictment from Pharmalot
- check out the NICE brief at CNN Money

Emerging markets drive global growth

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Without emerging healthcare markets like China and India, global pharma would be in a world of hurt. The global market for meds reached $712 billion last year, according to a new report from IMS Health, up $178 billion over five years before. But the rate of growth is slowing--6.4 percent compared with 11.8 percent in 2001. And without the big engines in Asia, that figure would be lower still. China, South Korea, and India grew by 25.7 percent, 10.7 percent, and 13 percent respectively. Russia and Turkey, 20.2 percent and 17.2 percent. The U.S.? Just 3.8 percent.

The IMS report also included the top 10 sellers worldwide (drum roll, please):

Lipitor, $13.5 billion, Pfizer
Plavix, $7.3 billion, Sanofi-Aventis
Nexium, $7.2 billion, AstraZeneca
Seretide/Advair, $7.1 billion, GlaxoSmithKline
Enbrel, $5.3 billion, Amgen and Wyeth
Zyprexa, $5 billion, Eli Lilly
Risperdal, $4.9 billion, Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)
Seroquel, $4.6 billion, AstraZeneca
Singulair, $4.5 billion, Merck
Aranesp, $4.4 billion, Amgen

Note that Aranesp made the top 10 despite a 12.9 percent drop in sales on safety worries. And the biggest gainer of the year was Plavix, the anti-clotting med; it racked up a 20.5 percent increase in sales.

- see the item at Pharmalot

ALSO: In response to the growing overseas market, DIA is opening an office in India. Release

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Dems back compulsory licensing

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Now Rep. Henry Waxman and 26 of his Congressional counterparts are wading into the compulsory licensing fray. They're questioning U.S. Trade Rep Susan Schwab for her downgrading of Thailand after it issued patent-breaking licenses for three drugs. Though Schwab gave various reasons for putting Thailand on the trade watch list, the reps' letter says the move appears to be a condemnation of compulsory licensing itself. So they're asking Schwab to "reaffirm" the World Trade Organization agreement that allows for those compulsory licenses in public health emergencies at each Member country's discretion.

Can you hear the howling already? As you know, compulsory licensing is controversial in the drug industry; after all, it lets countries bypass the patents on brand-name meds so they can buy cheap copycats. Drugmakers are understandably reluctant. But proponents say that otherwise, patients in poor countries might never get access to the lifesaving meds they need. It's a complex issue, and a contentious one, so you can expect the debate to intensify--especially if Congress decides to get more involved.

- see the House Democrats' letter to the U.S. Trade Rep (.pdf)
- read the item at Eye on FDA
- check out Pharmalot's coverage

Related Articles:
Thai official backs off licensing fight
Thailand reconsiders compulsory licenses
Thailand skirts Plavix patent
Thailand may bust cancer patents

Analysts put BMS on takeover menu

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Analysts are salivating over Bristol-Myers Squibb. Healthy earnings and sales growth, coupled with a stock price down by about a third since last July, makes the drugmaker "an attractive takeover candidate for a larger pharma," a Zacks Investment Research analyst wrote to investors, upgrading the stock to "buy" from "hold." A Standard & Poor's analyst concurs, saying BMS "could offer significant value in a merger with the right partner."

And just which Big Pharma might that partner be? Zacks mentioned Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis, which have worked with Bristol on some products. Plavix, for instance, is a joint promo with Sanofi, and the anti-clotting drug is growing fast; plus, the med may also help cut risk of heart attack or stroke in atherosclerosis patients. But Plavix's patent expires in 2011--and that's where Pfizer speculation comes in. It's Bristol's development partner on Apixaban, another anti-clotting product.

- read the story in Business Week

Related Articles:
Patent victory reignites rumors of BMS takeover. Report
Rumor Mill: Is BMS going on the sales block? Report
Analysts buzzing about possible Bristol-Myers sale. Report

Thai official backs off licensing fight

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

The brief ray of patent-respecting sunlight from Thailand has gone behind the old compulsory licensing cloud. A month ago, new Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsab said he'd review the previous minister's practice of overriding patents on some expensive cancer drugs so that Thai patients could get cheap generic versions. One possible reason: The country was getting pressure from Western trade officials. But now, Chaiya says he'll press ahead with those compulsory licenses.

Why the about-face? Thai doctors, health activists, academics, and patients pitched a fit, that's why. As soon as Chaiya announced his willingness to reconsider sidestepping the patents on those drugs--Novartis' Gleevec and Femara, Sanofi-Aventis' Taxotere, and Roche's Tarceva--various groups put on the full-court press to change his mind. The Rural Doctors Society even started circulating a petition to get Chaiya impeached, a campaign the group says it will continue.

- see the Bangkok Post story
- check out the article in the Wall Street Journal

Related Articles:
Thailand reconsiders compulsory licenses. Report
Thailand skirts Plavix patent. Report
Thailand may bust cancer patents. Report

Fearing sanction, Thais may pay for drugs

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Thailand may be running scared. Remember, the new health minister promised last week to review the country's compulsory licenses--which essentially break patent rules so that cheap meds can be had during health emergencies. Now, Chaiya Sasomsa says he'd rather buy the expensive cancer drugs his predecessor co-opted, because the alternative may be trade sanctions.

The World Trade Organization allows compulsory licenses if public health demands it. But apparently, Thailand officials are worried that the policy could undermine relations with trading partners. The U.S. Trade Rep, for one, put Thailand on its Priority Watch list because of the patent-breaking.

- read the item at Pharmalot

Related Articles:
Thailand reconsiders compulsory licenses. Report
Thailand may bust cancer patents. Report
Thailand skirts Plavix patent. Report

Earnings from Schering, Sanofi, Teva

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 06:59:56 -0500

It's an earnings kind of day today, with two of the brand-name biggies reporting, plus the leading generics maker. Here are the results:

Schering-Plough reported a $3.4 billion loss for the fourth quarter, on charges related to its buyout of Organon BioSciences. Those accounting charges masked a 40 percent year-over-year increase in revenues to $3.72 billion. Products driving the increase include the arthritis med Remicade--which saw sales rise by 35 percent to $455 million--and the nose spray Nasonex.
Despite generic competition that ate into sales of its sleeping pill Ambien, Sanofi-Aventis reported a 31 percent increase in profits to $1.09 billion for the fourth quarter. However, prior year results included an accounting charge of $311.8 million. Strong Plavix sales, which grew by 14 percent year-over-year, helped feed revenues. But sales of the company's top 15 drugs declined 0.3 percent.
Generics maker Teva saw its fourth-quarter earnings jump by 20 percent, beating analyst expectations. Sales of the company's own treatment for multiple sclerosis, Copaxone, grew by 15 percent to become the no. 1 seller in the U.S. among MS meds.

- see Schering-Plough's release
- check out the news from the Associated Press
- find a link to Sanofi's press release
- read the Sanofi story in the Wall Street Journal
- see the Teva article

Stopping Plavix may boost heart risks

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Patients had better be careful when they stop taking the anticlotting drug Plavix. A new study shows that those treated with Plavix for a heart attack or angina had a "rebound effect" risk of heart attack or death. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the research found that the rate of those adverse events nearly doubled during the 90 days after patients stopped Plavix.

But this doesn't mean docs should toss aside the drug. The researchers said that the rebound might be managed by weaning patients gradually from the drug or by adding aspirin as dosage is reduced. Or, they suggested, patients might avoid the problems by continuing to take Plavix indefinitely.

The latter suggestion could be good news for manufacturer Bristol-Myers Squibb and marketer Sanofi-Aventis, at least till the drug's patent expires in 2011 or generic versions make it to market, whichever comes first. BMS has been fighting off various generic challenges--and briefly lost, as Apotex launched a copycat Plavix in late 2006. Plavix sales were up substantially in 2007, helping fuel 65 percent growth in BMS' pharma revenues.

- see the study abstract
- check out the article in the Wall Street Journal
- read BMS' earnings release

Related Articles:
Bristol profits leap on Plavix sales. Report
Generic Plavix grabs big market share. Report
Injunction issued against generic Plavix. Report

BMS, AZ, Wyeth report earnings

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

A handful of drug makers released their earnings, and it's a mixed bag: some up, some down, some hit by one-time charges. Here's a roundup.

Bristol-Myers Squibb reported a fourth-quarter loss of $133 million on revenues of $5.38 billion, profits hampered by a slate of extraordinary charges. Rebounding sales of the clot-buster Plavix, plus rising revenues from cancer-fighter Erbitux and other meds, boosted sales. But BMS isn't as optimistic about 2008 earnings now as it was in December; it downgraded EPS expectations to $1.36 to $1.46 from $1.44 to $1.54.
AstraZeneca met analysts' expectations with a 3 percent downfall in 2007 earnings, citing "challenging" market conditions. Pretax profits were $7.98 billion on a 12 percent hike in sales to $29.56 billion. In 2008, the company faces possible generic competition for its blockbuster heartburn drug Nexium and its schizophrenia drug Seroquel. But, AZ says, its cost-cutting plan--which includes cutting 10 percent of its workforce--will help profits in the coming year.
Wyeth reported a 19 percent increase in fourth-quarter net on strong sales growth of its arthritis, heartburn and antidepressant meds. Income rose to $1.02 billion, or 75 cents per share, on a 10 percent increase in revenues to $5.76 billion. But it's not as optimistic about 2008 as analysts had expected; it projected earnings for the coming year of $3.35 to $3.49 per share, compared with analysts' target of $3.54. One reason: It could face generic competition for its top-selling drug, Effexor, which loses patent protection on its active ingredient this year.

- see the earnings release from BMS
- here's AstraZeneca's earnings release (.pdf)
- see the article on AZ's earnings at CNBC
- check out a more detailed look at AZ's results in the Financial Times
- get the release and find the story on Wyeth's results

Drug name psychology, or the power of Z

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

You know about those product-naming experts who charge hundreds of thousands for just the right combinations of vowels and consonants. Well, the Associated Press today draws the curtain aside to reveal just which levers these experts are pulling.

For instance, did you know every letter has a personality? There's Z for speed -- think quick relief from cholesterol with Zocor, from depression with Prozac and Zoloft, from allergies with Zyrtec. Then there's L, R, and S to calm and relax; why else would so many mental health drugs lean on them? Hard consonants like P, T, and K connote effectiveness; hence effective clot-busting with Plavix, effective germ-fighting with Tamiflu, effective HIV-busting with Kaletra. Then there's the all-important letter X, the science guy. Naturally, it graces many names with a white-lab-coat feel: Lexapro, Xolair, Celexa, Zyprexa, Fosamax.

From letters, we move to syllables--two or three--and overall symbolism. Last month, Eli Lilly dubbed its new heart drug Effient (think efficient). Overt symbolism like that is better, the experts say, than the type that plucks at the subconscious. No matter what subliminal advertising nuts claim.

- read the article from the Associated Press

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ALSO NOTED: Novartis 4Q profit down 45%; Sanofi: Dr. Reddy's won't launch Plavix copy;

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Novartis' restructuring cut deeply into fourth-quarter profits, with a $444 million charge bringing earnings down to $931 million from $1.6 billion during the same quarter last year. Report

> Sanofi-Aventis said it's "highly unlikely" that India's Dr. Reddy's would launch a generic version of Sanofi's anti-clotting drug Plavix in the U.S. Report

> Japan's Eisai cleared an antitrust obstacle to its buyout of MGI Pharma; the $41 per share tender offer expires next week. Report

> The FDA warned today that two different drugs commonly referred to as EDTA--edetate disodium and edetate calcium disodium--should not be confused; both children and adults have died when given the wrong one. Report

> Pfizer has once again demonstrated its zeal for biotech, inking a $250 million deal to in-license the worldwide rights to an experimental osteoarthritis therapy under development at Germany's Scil Technology. Report

> Dr. Judah Folkman (photo)--whose work on angiogenesis spawned a new category of oncology drugs--died on Monday at the age of 74. Report

> Forecast: Biotech and pharmaceutical outsourcing will grow '08. Report

And Finally... First hormone therapy and now calcium supplements? What's a post-menopausal woman to do? Report

BMS to shutter plants, cuts 4,800 jobs

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Well, it's official: Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to lay off 4,800 workers, or 10 percent of its workforce, and sell or shut down at least half of its manufacturing plants. The moves are part of a restructuring designed to save $1.5 billion annually by 2010. Why? A familiar litany of reasons: generic competition and cautious regulators. For Bristol, the big loss will be the $3 billion Plavix, which goes off patent in 2011.

Some 1,300 jobs will be cut before year's end, with the remaining 3,500 layoffs in 2008. Three areas appear to be safe from the ax: R&D, biologics, and commercialization. Manufacturing looks as if it will suffer a big chunk of the cuts; already the company has announced that it's closing a packaging facility in Colon, Panama, plus manufacturing facilities in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; and Barcelona, Spain. How will the company operate without these plants? It plans to farm out some manufacturing, for one. It's also going to slough off 60 percent of its 500 products, partly by selling off "mature" products, partly by eliminating certain lines.

The moves sound familiar to anyone who's been following pharma news this year. Company after company has launched big layoff-slash-restructuring initiatives: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Merck...and now BMS.

- see the release from BMS
- check out this announcement about the Colon plant
- read the in-depth report from The New York Times

Related Articles:
BMS starts laying off workers. Report
BMS to unveil (big?) layoffs. Report
Bristol CEO: Job cuts, shutdowns continue. Report
Top 5 layoffs of 2007. Report

ALSO NOTED: Sepracor expands HQ; Sanofi profits jump 9.1 percent;

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:50 -0400

> Sepracor's layoffs weren't the only news to come out of its earnings announcement yesterday; the company also will expand its Boston-area offices with a 150,000-square-foot building next to HQ. Report

> Sanofi-Aventis reported a 9.1 percent spike in profits on strong sales of vaccines and its anti-clotting drug Plavix. Report

> Novo Nordisk reported a leap in third-quarter profits to $421 million, but lowered its full-year sales expectations because of currency exchange rates. Report

> Nycomed is buying Bradley Pharmaceuticals for $346 million cash, or $20 a share. Report

> India's Glenmark Pharmaceuticals posted profits of $18.4 million on revenues of $93.8 million for the quarter--growth of 50 percent and 88 percent respectively. Report

> Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have added to the store of knowledge linking dopamine to obesity. Report

> Sangamo shares leap on stem cell tech advance. Report

> Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified a new target for drug developers out to control obesity and diabetes. Report

And Finally… Here's one reason to wear pajamas when you're on the road--or develop a new sleeping pill back home: an epidemic of sleepwalking through hotel lobbies. Report