Pharma Marketletter articles from February 2005

Pharma Marketletter archives from February 2005

Tougher pharma patent laws bringing multinationals back to India.
February 7, 2005... The new, tougher patent protection that came into effect by decree in India at the end of December through the enactment of the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance (Marketletters passim) has encouraged multinational pharmaceutical companies to...

Eisai signs deal with Cardinal for US sales.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The US subsidiary of Japanese drug major Eisai has signed a multi-year distribution service agreement with Cardinal Health, a provider of services supporting the health care industry. Under the terms of the deal, Cardinal will be paid...

FDA OKs FerriScan, non-invasive test for iron overload disease.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Australia-based Resonance Health has announced that its subsidiary, Inner Vision Biometrics, has received US Food and Drug Administration marketing approval for FerriScan, its novel non-invasive diagnostic test for liver iron concentration. ...

Voyager Pharma moves forward with During implant for AD.(alzheimers disease)(Voyager Pharmaceutical)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Voyager Pharmaceutical, a specialty US pharmaceutical company focused on diseases of aging and development, says that its recently-approved study for its Durin (leuprolide implant) is fully enrolled. The US Food and Drug Administration accepted...

Aesica secures major Alzheimer's contract.(Aesica Pharmaceuticals, Myriad Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... UK-based Aesica Pharmaceuticals has signed a multi-million-dollar agreement with US biopharmaceutical company Myriad Pharmaceuticals. The contract, which will last an initial 10 years, is for the supply of R-flurbiprofen, an active...

Cornerstone and Lupin in Suprax deal.(Cornerstone BioPharma)(Lupin Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Cornerstone BioPharma, a US specialty pharmaceutical company focused in the pain, wound-healing and respiratory markets, has entered into a co-promotion agreement with Lupin Pharmaceuticals, the US division of the like-named Indian drugmaker....

Danger from same brand names for different drugs.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Many US health care professionals and consumers fail to realize that the same brand name may be used for different drugs around the world, and this is an overlooked issue which has major safety implications, especially in light of the growing...

US Medicare Rx benefit "threatens 6M+ poor".
February 7, 2005... Many of the 6.4 million US seniors and people with disabilities whose prescription drugs are covered by Medicaid will be without critical medicines when their Medicaid drug coverage is terminated in January 2006, unless the federal government...

Conference.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Combination drug development: leveraging the current scientific, regulatory and legal environment to gain regulatory approval will be discussed at a conference to be held in San Diego, California, March 7-8, organized by Barnett International....

Oklahoma's overseas drug-buying proposal.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Brad Henry, Governor of the US state of Oklahoma, has unveiled his Prescription for Savings plan, which he will present to the state Legislature when it convenes this month. The plan would: set up a program to let Oklahoma pharmacies buy...

Neuro3d starts Ph I of novel antidepressant.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... French biopharmaceutical group Neuro3d says it has commenced a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation Phase I clinical trial of ND7001, a new type of antidepressant drug with anxiolytic activity, to investigate its safety,...

Vasogen's VP025 cleared for clinical trials.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Canadian drugmaker Vasogen says it has obtained regulatory approval from Health Canada to initiate a Phase I clinical study of VP025, its lead drug candidate under investigation for the treatment of neuro-inflammatory disease. The...

American PP announces Abraxane launch date.(American Pharmaceutical Partners )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... American Pharmaceutical Partners says that it plans to launch its Abraxane for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) on February 8. The product, indicated for the treatment of breast cancer...

J&JPRD completes Zarnestra NDA.(Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... USA-based Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development has completed the submission of a New Drug Application for its anticancer candidate Zarnestra (tipifarnib) to the US Food and Drug Administration under its Continuous Marketing...

Pharmos gets $12.1M milestone for Zylet launch.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... New Jersey, USA-headquartered Pharmos says it has received a gross milestone payment of $12.1 million from Bausch & Lomb, its former marketing partner for ophthalmology products, triggered by latter's commercial launch of Zylet (loteprednol...

EMEA accepts Nabi's StaphVAX for review.(European Medicines Agency)(Nabi Biopharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Nabi Biopharmaceuticals of the USA says that the European Medicines Agency has accepted for review its StaphVAX (Staphylococcus aureus polysaccharide conjugate vaccine) for the prevention of infection with S aureus bacteria in end-stage renal...

ViroLogic's eTAG to predict cancer treatment outcome?(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... US biotechnology group ViroLogic says that assessment of data from a recent clinical trial, which evaluated the ability of its eTAG System to accurately predict treatment outcomes for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, indicate that...

Novartis launches Zometa in Japan.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Novartis has begun shipping its Zometa (zoledronic acid) Injection 4mg, a bisphosphonate indicated for the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy, to medical institutions across Japan. The agent is already approved in more than 80...

Bayer wins FDA OK for two hepatitis tests.(Bayer Healthcare)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Bayer Healthcare's diagnostics division says it has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for two new hepatitis assays - an automated assay for HAV IgM antibodies, as well as an automated assay for anti-HBc Total (IgG and...

GB Thera acquires Ph III PD agent from Chiesi.(GB Therapeutics)(Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... GB Therapeutics has entered into an agreement with Italian drugmaker Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA for an exclusive license to the latter's CHF1512 molecule, resulting in an equity investment by the latter firm in the Canadian company. The...

Despite a tough year, AstraZeneca's full-year 2004 results fall in target range.
February 7, 2005... "2004 was quite a year," was the statement that kicked off AstraZeneca's chief executive Sir Tom McKillop's opening speech at the firm's annual financial results conference in London, UK, on January 27, and what a year it has been. ...

Altana says earnings will be above forecast.(Altana AG )
February 7, 2005... German pharmaceutical and chemicals firm Altana AG has posted record 2004 results, with sales of almost 3.0 billion euros ($3.92 billion), a rise of 8.0% on the previous year, and says that pretax earnings, which will be released March 17, will...

Recordati buys unit of German's Merckle.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Italian drugmaker Recordati, which last year lost out to US firm IVAX in a bid to acquire the Polish pharmaceutical company Polfa Kutno (Marketletters passim), has agreed to acquire Merckle GmbH of Germany's branded pharmaceutical business. ...

GSK's US tax bill excalates to $7.8B.(GlaxoSmithKline )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... UK-headquartered GlaxoSmithKline has received a further claim from the USA's Internal Revenue Services for additional taxes, bringing the current total allegedly owed by the firm to around $7.8 billion. The latest IRS bill is for $1.9 billion,...

US HHS plans new Medicare e-Rxing regs; says they will improve quality, accuracy.(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)
February 7, 2005... The USA's newly-appointed Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Mike Leavitt, has announced proposed new regulations to support electronic prescribing for Medicare when the prescription drug benefit takes effect in January 2006....

Only 20% of US adults are aware of pharma's Together Rx plan, poll finds.
February 7, 2005... While 65% of US adults have heard of prescription drug discount cards for seniors which cover medicines from many different manufacturers, there is relatively low awareness of prescription drug programs which assist lower-income adults with the...

Lehman Bros conference.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Lehman Brothers' Washington Healthcare Conference will be held March 10 in the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC, USA. Speakers include Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford, Centers for Medicare and...

Mylan's pain patch gets FDA clearance.(Mylan Laboratories )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Mylan Laboratories of the USA says its fentanyl pain patch, a generic version of US health care giant Johnson & Johnson unit Alza Corp's Duragesic, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Consequently, the company will...

Chiesi and Novartis sign licensing accord.(Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Italian drugmaker Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA and Swiss pharmaceutical major Novartis have signed an international licensing and supply agreement for the former's Formoterol Modulite, an HFA-based pressurized metered-dose inhaler product. ...

Flamel and B-MS settle terms of Basulin deal.(Bristol-Myers Squibb )(pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Flamel Technologies of France has reached an agreement with US health care giant Bristol-Myers Squibb which resolves all outstanding matters regarding their former licensing deal for Flamel's formulation of long-acting human insulin, Basulin...

NTI's Viprinex gets fast-track status for stroke.(Neurobiological Technologies)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... USA-based Neurobiological Technologies' Viprinex (ancrod) has been granted fast-track status by the US Food and Drug Administration for its intended use in patients suffering from ischemic stroke. News of this development on January 28...

GPC starts Ph I trial of MorphoSys MAb.(GPC Biotech AG )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Biotechnology group GPC Biotech AG says it has commenced a Phase I clinical study of 1D09C3, an anti-major histocompatibility complex monoclonal antibody isolated from fellow Germany-based MorphoSys' library of human antibodies, which is under...

Meiji Seika aims to boost Chinese sales.(Meiji Seika Kaisha )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Japanese drugmaker Meiji Seika Kaisha aims to increase its drug sales in China more than 10 times current rates to hit 10.0 billion yen ($96.0 million) by 2009 by producing antibiotics materials at a new factory from April, according to the...

Fen-phem charges gouge Wyeth results.(Wyeth Pharmaceuticals)
February 7, 2005... Despite reporting a healthy rise in sales of 7.0% to $4.60 billion and 10.0% to $17.40 billion for the fourth quarter and full-year 2004, Wyeth reported a net loss of $1.76 billion, or $1.32 per share, for the quarter, compared with a profit of...

Dr Reddy's revenues fall 8%, net plunges.(Dr Reddy's Laboratories )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Hit by higher R&D costs and declining sales for the third fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2004, Indian drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories posted an 8.0% decline in revenues to 4.70 billion rupees ($107.7 million). Sales outside India were 3.20...

GSK licenses MetaBase from GeneCo.(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... US firm GeneGo, a provider of software and databases for systems biology, says that UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline has licensed its MetaBase database of human biology and medicinal chemistry. MetaBase represents a comprehensive,...

Genetix debuts novel technology for biopharma development.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Genetix, a UK genomics and proteomics technology group, has announced the launch of its next-generation mammalian cell imaging and picking instrument, the ClonePixFL. The instrument is being debuted at LabAutomation, now taking place in San...

Xoma to sell $60M convertible notes.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... California, USA-based Xoma says that it intends, subject to market and other conditions, to sell approximately $60.0 million principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2012 to qualified institutional buyers. The company expects the...

ArQule completes $30M financing.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... US biotechnology firm ArQule says that it has closed its previously-announced registered direct offering. The company sold approximately 5.78 million shares of its common stock at $5.25 per share, for aggregate proceeds of approximately $30.0...

Japan stock market week to January 31.
February 7, 2005... Tokyo saw a moderate rebound in the week to January 31 following seesaw movements in a relatively narrow price range. The Nikkei 225 closed at the 11,300 level, up 0.9%, while the Topix index gained 0.6%. Investors were generally sensitive to...

Phased withdrawal of co-proxamol in UK.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is to phase out the widely-prescribed painkiller co-proxamol, after a consultation on its safety and effectiveness found that benefits did not outweigh its risks. Co-proxamol...

Pfizer CEO warning to Germany over prices.(Henry McKinnell )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Pfizer chief executive Henry McKinnell has stated that he is "very concerned that Germany is on the wrong track toward rationing and price control" of pharmaceuticals. Speaking at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland...

Irish 10-month foreign med/pharma trade.(pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Ireland exported pharmaceutical and medical products worth 12.5 billion euros ($16.29 billion) during January-October 2004, compared to a level of 11.4 billion euros for the like, year-earlier period, according to the Central Statistical...

Freedom of Info accord with PAGB.(Proprietary Association of Great Britain )(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The Proprietary Association of Great Britain has now signed up to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's existing Memorandum of Understanding on disclosure of information and the Freedom of Information Act.

New Enforcement/Intelligence Group.(United Kingdom. Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... A freestanding Enforcement and Intelligence Group has been set up by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, reporting directly to chief executive Kent Woods. It will work across the Agency's entire business, ranging from...

Poland boosts locally-made insulin.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... In Poland, the Ministry of Health has lowered the price of domestically-produced insulin and reduced reimbursement levels for foreign-manufactured versions, which are used by 80% of patients in the country. The difference in the...

Public Citizen renews call for Celebrex ban on new info related to CV risks.
February 7, 2005... US consumer group Public Citizen has repeated its earlier demand to the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw drug giant Pfizer's COX-2 inhibitors Bextra (valdecoxib) and Celebrex (celecoxib; Marketletter January 31), following...

Migrainers snot getting most effective therapy: Datamonitor.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... More than 70 million people suffer from migraine worldwide, but the quality of currently-available treatments is far from ideal, says a recent report by business information group Datamonitor. Although the triptan class of drugs is considered...

Cambridge scientists develop new tech for cancer drug discovery.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Scientists at the University of Cambridge, UK, have developed a new technology that could potentially lead to more targeted and effective treatments for some cancers. The technology separates cancer stem cells from cancer cell lines, thereby...

Michigan Blues' generics plan "a model for safe, affordable drugs ".(Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's generic drug savings program (Marketletters passim) has been recognized by Harvard Medical School as a national model that enhances health care affordability, US Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association...

Cholesterol drugs "still poised for US OTC switch, despite Mevacor setback".
February 7, 2005... In its US application to switch its cholesterol-lowerer Mevacor (lovastatin) from prescription to over-the-counter status, Merck & Co maintains that the statin is safe to use without a physician's guidance. Last month, a US Food and Drug...

EU pharma ad ban "should be lifted".(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The European Union's ban on pharmaceutical advertising should be lifted, according to Frits Bolkestein, the former EU Commissioner for the Internal Market. Speaking in Brussels, Belgium, Mr Bolkestein said that he believed in freedom of...

Irish pharmacists seek limited Rxing powers.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The Irish Pharmaceutical Union has urged the government to grant pharmacists the power to prescribe medicines in certain limited circumstances. Union president Karl Hilton told a seminar organized by the IPU that the experience of pharmacists...

French HAS views pharma evaluation.(health authority)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... France's new health authority, the HAS, is studying the current list of conditions relating to long-term illnesses, or ALDs (see story this page), and may propose revisions. It is also looking afresh at basic issues of health spending and...

Long-term illness "will raise French health bill".(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... French health spending costs are expected to increase again sharply during the period to 2010 because of the number of patients treated who suffer from illnesses of long duration, or ALDs, according to the new council responsible for the future...

Hungary: Rx export boom.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Hungary exported pharmaceutical and medical products worth $990 million during the first 11 months of 2004, a year-on-year increase of 51%, while the country's imports of these products were 29% higher at $1.38 billion, reports the Central...

Israel agrees Rx data exclusivity amendments.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Israel is to alter two recommendations of an inter-ministerial panel regarding pharmaceutical data exclusivity, including its suggestion that the marketing of a generic in any third country should not end the five-year exclusivity period. ...

Guatemalan drug test data protections return.
February 7, 2005... Guatemala has introduced legislation to reverse its recent repeal of laws protecting test data for drugs and President Oscar Berger has sent the country's Congress legislation to implement the US/Central American Free Trade Agreement. A...

South Africa: govt court move over Rx price regs.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... On March 15, South Africa's Department of Health will ask the Constitutional Court to hear its appeal against the December 2004 Bloemfontein Court of Appeal ruling which overturned the new drug pricing regulations, stating that they were not...

Indian pharma "fully equipped for patent reg".(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Indian drugmakers are poised and fully equipped to take advantage of the $50.0 billion worth of drugs going off patent in the next five years, under its new patent regime, Shri Kamal Nath, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, has told...

Shire and River sign deal for ADHA drug.(Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The UK's Shire Pharmaceuticals and New River Pharmaceuticals of the USA have entered into an agreement for the global commercialization of NRP104, the latter's compound currently in Phase III clinical evaluation for the treatment of...

ICOS and Solvay form AndroGel alliance.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... USA-based ICOS Corp and Belgian drugmaker Solvay Pharmaceuticals have signed a co-promotion deal for AndroGel (testosterone gel) 1% CIII, cleared in the USA as a replacement therapy in males for conditions associated with a deficiency or...

BioMarin's rhASB gets FDA priority review.(United States. Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The US Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review status to BioMarin Pharmaceuticals' rhASB (galsulfase), a potential enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis VI. Also known as Maroteaux-Lamy Syndrome,...

Northwest's DCVax Prostate OK for Ph III.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Northwest Biotherapeutics of the USA has obtained clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to commence a double-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial investigating its DCVax-Prostate in around 600 patients at 30-50...

Norwood gets FDA OK for Ph II BMT study.(Food and drug administration)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... UK firm Norwood Immunology, which trades on the UK Alternative Investment Market, says that the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted the firm's Investigational New Drug application for the initiation of a Phase II clinical trial...

Serono sees slowing 4th-qtr profits.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Swiss group Serono, Europe's largest biotechnology company, reported strong 200 financial results but a slowdown in fourth-quarter earnings. For the full year, net income was up 26.7% to $494.2 million and earnings per share were $32.35, a rise...

Roche disappoints despite 116% net income hike.
February 7, 2005... Roche of Switzerland posted a wacking 116.0% rise in 2004 net income of 6.64 billion Swiss francs ($5.58 billion) in local currencies, or 7.81 francs per diluted share, but the figures came in below consensus estimates and the firm's share...

Valeant to acquire Xcel Pharma.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Valeant Pharmaceuticals has signed a definitive agreement to acquire fellow US firm Xcel Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held company focused on neurology products and which has an epilepsy drug candidate in Phase III trials. The transaction...

Tentative FDA OK for IMPAX generic Ditropan.(Food and drug administration)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... IMPAX Laboratories says that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for the company's Abbreviated New Drug Application for a generic version of Ditropan XL (oxybutynin chloride) 5mg, 10mg and 15mg extended-release...

Phytopharm to raise L23.9M.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The UK's Phytopharm says that it proposes to raise approximately L23.9 million ($45.0 million), approximately L21.6 million net of expenses, through a private placement and open offer comprising an aggregate of 13,261,446 new ordinary shares at...

Positive 9-month results from Terumo.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Japanese drugmaker Terumo saw its share price advance 10.3% as it reported stronger-than-projected results for the first nine months of the fiscal year to March 2005. Turnover increased 7.6% year-on-year to 171.5 billion yen ($1.65...

Savient in partial deal with Novo Nordisk on hGH patent.
February 7, 2005... Savient Pharmaceuticals, an emerging US specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing pharmaceutical products that address unmet medical needs, says that, with its marketing partner Teva Pharmaceutical...

US charity boosts stem cell research.
February 7, 2005... The USA-based Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has awarded $1.0 million to scientists developing cell lines for transplant therapies. Deborah Brooks, Foundation president, said: "we've made cell transplantation a top priority...

Oxford Biomedica licenses LentiVector.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Oxford Biomedica has licensed its LentiVector gene delivery sytem to a large undisclosed company. Under the terms of the agreement, the Oxford University spin-off will allow the use of LentiVector in research and will receive an annual...

Positive trial results for Sanofi-Aventis.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Sanofi-Aventis has announced preliminary results from two trials for its metastatic colorectal cancer drug, Eloxatin (oxiplatin), at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, in Florida, USA. The first study assessed the safety of different...

GPC Biotech starts Phase I cancer trial.(Biotechnology industries)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... German-based cancer drug company GPC Biotech has announced the start of Phase I trials for its anticancer monoclonal antibody 1D09C3, the first compound to emerge from its internal R&D program. The antibody recognizes and selectively kills,...

Eden announce assistance program for small UK biotechs.(Eden Biodesign)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Eden Biodesign, operator of the UK's National Biomanufacturing Center, has announced that it will keep providing pre-opening assistance to fledgling UK biotechnology firms until the center opens next year. The scheme is open to any UK...

AstraZeneca shares poor trial result.(Pharmaceutical industry)(lung cancer drug Iressa)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca has agreed to share prelimiary data from its 709 trial for the lung cancer drug Iressa (gefinitib) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On December 17 the company announced that, in...

Michael Leavitt confirmed as US Secretary of Health and Human Resources.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... The nomination to the post of US Secretary of Health and Human Services of Michael Leavitt, previously Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency, has now been confirmed by the Senate (Marketletter December 20, 2004). He replaces...

Novo Nordisk US appointments.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... In the USA, Danish firm Novo Nordisk has recruited three medical and clinical affairs personnel. Michael Sumner (ex-Aventis-Behring) joins as senior director of clinical affairs in biopharmaceuticals; Maida Taylor (formerly with Eli Lilly)...

Ron van Amsterdam and Lilian Tijburg join Pharming.(Biological products industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... At Netherlands-based Pharming Group NV, Ron van Amsterdam, formerly with Organon, and Lilian Tijburg, most-recently with Centocor, have been named as directors of quality assurance.

James Hawley joins MGI Pharma s senior VP.(Pharmaceutical industry)(Vice president)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Former Cima Labs executive James Hawley has joined US company MGI Pharma as senior vice president and will assume chief financial officer functions.

Pharmacopeia recruits David Floyd as Exec VP of discovery and CSO.(Executive Vice President)(chief scientific officer)(Pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Pharmacopeia Drug Discovery of the USA has appointed David Floyd as executive vice president of discovery and chief scientific officer. Dr Floyd has served with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the past 25 years, most recently as VP of discovery...

Jean-Louis Saillot promoted at Schering-Plough.(pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2005... Jean-Louis Saillot has been promoted to vice president and head of global pharmacovigilance at US drug major Schering-Plough.