Posts Tagged ‘Drugs’
-
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 09:55 | Comments Off
FDA to Review Bone Drugs After Studies Report Hip BreaksCategories: Wall Street Journal, aging
There have long been safety questions — and lawsuits — over whether bone-building drugs like Merck’s Fosamax can actually increase the chance of femur fractures. Today, the FDA said it was going to take another look at the safety issues.
In a posting on its Web site, the FDA said a 2008 examination of data from makers of osteoporosis drugs containing bisphosphonates didn’t show that women taking the medications had an increased risk of fracturing their femurs — the bone just ..read more
-
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 10:23 | Comments Off
InterMune’s Lung Drug Gets Backing From FDA PanelCategories: Wall Street Journal
Another day, another stock-price jump.
First, the preliminaries: An advisory panel this afternoon recommended the FDA approve a lung drug developed by InterMune, with majorities of the outside experts saying the proposed treatment appeared effective and safe.
The FDA is expected to decide by early May whether to go along with the panel’s recommendation on pirfenidone, which is intended to treat patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The FDA usually follows the lead of its advisory committees.
This all comes as good news for ..read more
-
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 08:20 | Comments Off
Teva Gets 180-Day Headstart to Sell Generics of 2 Merck DrugsCategories: Wall Street Journal
In what could be a win-win decision for both Teva Pharmaceutical and Merck, a federal court said that Teva was entitled to six months of exclusivity to sell generic versions of two hypertension medicines made by Merck.
A district court ruled in July that Teva, the largest of the generic drug makers, had forfeited the 180 days of exclusivity that usually goes to the first applicant seeking FDA approval to make a generic versions of drugs — in this case, ..read more
-
Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 05:03 | Comments Off
Novartis Eyes Smaller-Than-Alcon Deals; Holders Okay ‘Say on Pay’Categories: Wall Street Journal
New Novartis chief Joe Jimenez (right) is looking at beefing up some business segments with acquisitions, but has nothing in mind as big as its $39.3 billion plan to buy the rest of eye-care company Alcon.
“We may go for smaller, bolt-on acquisitions to help build scale in vaccines, generics and consumer health, but we will not go for one of the same size and scale as Alcon for the foreseeable future,” Jimenez said at the Novartis annual meeting, according to ..read more
-
Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 03:28 | Comments Off
Pfizer Experimental Bone Drug Shows Mixed Results In StudyCategories: Wall Street Journal, aging
Last we heard of Fablyn, an experimental bone drug for the treatment of postmenopausal women, U.S. regulators were holding off on approval after FDA staff and outside reviewers raised concerns and Pfizer, the pill’s maker, was shopping it around to other companies.
Today’s New England Journal of Medicine reports that the drug met the goals of a key study. Fablyn prevented certain fractures in postmenopausal women and reduced the risk of breast cancer, said the study, sponsored by Pfizer. However, the ..read more
-
Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 02:00 | Comments Off
If Summit Doesn’t Go Over Big, Obama Has Plan to Go SmallCategories: Wall Street Journal, insurance
As expectations hover at low levels for the outcome of today’s bipartisan health summit, the Obama White House is preparing a modest overhaul proposal in case more-sweeping plans remain stalled in Congress.
The fallback plan would extend health insurance to around 15 million people by expanding current federal-state programs, the WSJ reports this morning. Insurers also would be required to allow family members to stay on their parents’ health-care plans up to age 26, it says.
No final decisions have been ..read more
-
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 09:26 | Comments Off
Aspirin Blocking Blood Clots: For Some, It Doesn’t WorkCategories: Wall Street Journal
Doctors are narrowing their recommendation on who should take daily aspirin for heart health, based largely on concerns about the drug’s side effects, which can include bleeding ulcers. See here for more about that.
But there’s another type of person who might someday be advised to steer clear of a daily aspirin: those for whom the pain reliever doesn’t work well as a blood clotter.
In most people, aspirin has an an anti-clotting effect on the blood, which is believed to ..read more
-
Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 01:03 | Comments Off
Wanted: Ex-Congressman. Must Love Drugs. Good PayCategories: Wall Street Journal
Billy Tauzin — the former Louisiana congressman who stuck with the homespun phrases even as he pulled down $2 million a year to represent the drug industry in DC — is stepping down as the head of PhRMA, the big trade group.
The WSJ notes that he was criticized “for his support of the White House’s now-teetering plan to overhaul health care.”
Exhibit A is the letter John Boehner, the House Republican leader, sent last year to Tauzin, to complain ..read more
-
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 09:20 | Comments Off
Eli Lilly Exec Heads to Harvard Med SchoolCategories: Wall Street Journal
William Chin, Eli Lilly’s senior VP for discovery and clinical research, is going to take a newly created job at Harvard Medical School.
He’ll be the “executive dean for research.” It sounds like at least part of his job will be figuring out how Harvard researchers should interact with industry, as well as working to move research from the lab to the clinic. Here’s a key chunk of a letter posted online today by the med school’s senior dean:
One of Bill’s ..read more
-
Thursday, February 11th, 2010 at 08:20 | Comments Off
Vioxx Lawsuits: What’s Been Settled, What’s Still Going?Categories: Wall Street Journal
Merck says it reached a proposed settlement on some Vioxx-related shareholder litigation.
This isn’t to be confused with the $4.85 billion megasettlement with people who claimed that they or their family members suffered after taking Vioxx.
It’s also separate from the $80 million Vioxx deal Merck cut with unions and insurers.
Nor is it connected to the Vioxx-related shareholder lawsuit that made its way to the Supreme Court last year. (We’re still waiting to hear back on from the Supremes on that one.)
So ..read more

