Pharma Marketletter articles from March 2004

Pharma Marketletter archives from March 2004

US FDA backs radiofrequency identification tagging to beat counterfeit drug trade.(Food and Drug Administration )
March 1, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has released a final report on the specific steps which it is taking to secure the nation's drug supply against counterfeit medicines. Counterfeiting is not widespread in the USA but the FDA says it is...

Washington bill to allow Canadian imports.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The House of Representatives of the US state of Washington has voted 90-7 in favor of allowing the state government, which spends $1 billion a year on prescription drugs, to purchase these from Canadian sources. Bill 2469 now needs to be...

California advocacy groups clash with feds over Canadian re-imports bill.
March 1, 2004... Legislation to allow the US state of California's Department of Health Services to reimburse a pharmacy for prescription drugs that it buys from Canadian pharmacies for Medi-Cal or AIDS Drug Assistance Program enrollees has been introduced into...

Pfizer halts supplies to some e-pharmacies.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Pfizer has announced that, following earlier warnings, it has now told its authorized distributors in Canada, with immediate effect, to stop supplying a number of Internet pharmacies there which have been exporting its drugs.

South Africa increases money for ARV roll-out.(Aids-Related Virus )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The South African government has increased by 2.1 billion rand ($314.6 million) the planned expenditures on its "comprehensive response" to HIV and AIDS over the next three years. This will include "a conditional grant" for the roll-out of...

Israeli drug exports "to rise 20% this year".(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Israel's pharmaceutical exports are expected to increase 20% this year to reach a total of $1.7 billion, according to Chaim Hurvitz, chairman of the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Society of Israel's Manufacturers Association. ...

New Zealand Rx exports.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... New Zealand exported pharmaceutical products worth a total of NZ$200 million ($132 million) in the 12 months to the end of November 2003, an increase of 1% over the like, year-earlier period, reports Statistics New Zealand.

Iraqi health care in crisis, but there is optimism.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Leading Iraqi health care professionals have expressed optimism about the prospects for improving the crisis-torn health service over the next 10 years, although senior doctors at a recent conference criticized US overseer Paul Bremer for the...

South African pharma prices in Dec 2003.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The producer price of pharmaceuticals in South Africa in December 2003 was 0.2% lower than in November and 5.6% higher than in December 2003, Statistics South Africa has reported. In comparison, South Africa's industrial producer price...

Singapore biomed sales "to double by 2010".(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The turnover of Singapore's booming biomedical sciences industry is targeted to reach S$20 million ($11.87 billion) by 2010, from S$11.3 billion in 2003, according to Philip Yeo, co-chairman of the country's Economic Development Board. If this...

Grupo Vita denies approach from P&G.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Spanish drugs firm Grupo Vita has denied reports that US consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble has bought the firm, which makes a range of medications to treat cardiovascular and digestive-tract diseases. "This is not true," Vita...

Agis considers sale of activities for $900M.(Agis Industries denies reports about sale of part of operations)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Israel's Agis Industries has officially denied reports that it is selling a part of its operations to US company Barr Laboratories. "The company wishes to clarify that the reports are incorrect and that it is not holding, and did not hold, any...

Merck KGaA's generics benefit from surge in French market.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Sales of generic drugs by the French generics subsidiary of German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA rose almost 50% to 232 million euros ($296.3 million) last year in a generics market which expanded 37% to reach a value of 852 million. Merck...

Tanabe reports above-target 9-mth earnings.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Japanese drugmaker Tanabe has reported positive sales and earnings results for its current fiscal year's third quarter ending December 31, 2003. The company disclosed nine-month revenues of 136.9 billion yen ($1.7 billion), equivalent to 78% of...

Dainippon revises down 2007 forecasts.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Japan's Dainippon has revised down its intermediate target and disclosed a new strategic plan for fiscal years March 2003-March 2007. The new plan forecasts fiscal year to March 2007 consolidated sales of 145 billion yen ($1.3 billion),...

Daiichi FY net income forecast to soar 92%.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Daiichi Pharmaceuticals has reported first nine months cumulative sales of 254.2 billion yen ($2.4 billion), accounting for 79% of its full-year estimate. Recurring income hit 44.3 billion yen, or 96% of the 2004...

Teva reports record annual sales of $3.3B.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Israel's generics giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has announced record sales for full-year 2003 of $3.3 billion, rocketing 30% from the previous year. In 2003, net income and earnings per share before the one-time income of $73.2 million...

NovoSeven cleared in EU for two new uses.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The European Commission has approved the use of Novo Nordisk's NovoSeven (eptacog alfa [activated]) for the control of bleeding in patients with factor VII deficiency and Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. These are rare, inherited coagulation...

Discovery Partners Int expands Pfizer deal.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Discovery Partners International has signed a multi-year strategic chemistry agreement with drug major Pfizer, expanding the scope of their current collaboration which was initiated in December 2001. Under the terms of the accord, DPI will...

Acambis withdraws Arilvax BLA.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The UK's Acambis has revealed that, after discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration, it has decided to temporarily withdraw its Biologics License Application for use of Arilvax vaccine in the prevention of yellow fever. The...

Revlimid gets Orphan Drug status in EU.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Celgene Corp's immunomodulatory drug Revlimid (CC-5013; formerly Revimid) has been granted Orphan Medicinal Product designation by the European Commission for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The agent has also been awarded Orphan Drug status...

Fujisawa signs accord with Hemispherx.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Japan's Fujisawa has entered into an option agreement with Hemispherx Biopharma of the USA with the intent of becoming a distributor for the latter's Ampligen, for the potential treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome in Germany, Switzerland and...

Modrenal prostate cancer trial planned.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... USA-based Bioenvision has filed an Investigational New Drug Application to evaluate the efficacy of Modrenal (trilostane) in patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer. The product is already available in the UK as a treatment for...

Pfizer halts trials of DK-507k.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... US drug major Pfizer has discontinued development of DK-507k, following an analysis of Phase I studies of the agent. DK-507k is an anti-infective compound licensed from Japan's Daiichi Pharmaceutical in 2003.

Exelixis plans to start clinical trials of XL647.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... USA-based Exelixis has submitted an Investigational New Drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration for XL647, a potential anticancer agent. The company hopes to initiate an open-label, single and repeat dose-escalating study...

IVAX first to file for generic Glucovance.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... IVAX has received final approval and confirmation from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for glyburide/metformin tablets. The product is the generic equivalent of Bristol-Myers Squibb's...

Solvay and Cyprotex sign deal.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The UK's Cyprotex has entered into an agreement with Belgium-based Solvay, in which the former will provide drug discovery support using its Cloe Screen technology. Under the terms of the deal, Cyprotex will screen compounds for Solvay and...

King 2003 revenues up 35%, but earnings slip.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Bristol, USA-headquartered King Pharmaceuticals has reported a 35% jump in turnover to $1.5 billion for the year ending December 31, 2003. Net earnings, including special items, dropped 42% to $105.9 million and earnings per share fell 41% to...

Orphan reports 2003 revenue dip of 4%.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Speciality pharmaceutical company Orphan Medical Inc has announced that its turnover for full-year 2003 fell 4% to $15.5 million compared to that achieved in the previous year, mainly due to the absence of three divested products. Net...

GSK offering L1B for Roche OTC business?(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Although no confirmation was available as this story was going to press, weekend news reports have suggested that Swiss drug major Roche is in talks with UK-based GlaxoSmithKline, and perhaps other companies, for the sale of its...

Class action law suit filed against aaiPharma.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The US law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach says that a class action law suit was filed on February 20, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of aaiPharma between April 24, 2002, and February 4, 2004, inclusive, seeking to...

La Jolla Pharma in $27M share offering.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... US biotechnology firm La Jolla Pharmaceutical says that it has agreed to sell 8,695,653 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. Pursuant to the terms of the underwriting agreement, the shares will be offered to the public...

Acambis splits ADRs.(American Depositary Receipts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... UK vaccines developer Acambis, whose primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange, has announced changes to the ratio of American Depositary Receipts which are traded on the USA's Nasdaq. The ratio is changing from one ADR for 10...

Pharmaceutical industry pricing crisis looms in 2004, says KPMG.
March 1, 2004... Another crisis on pricing is looming over the European Union's pharmaceutical industry in 2004, according to industry commentators at KPMG. The balanced set of recommendations to emerge from the G10 discussions on innovation and provision...

Most-admired pharmaceutical companies in Japan - by P Reed Maurer.
March 1, 2004... Takeda has maintained its position as the most-admired pharmaceutical company in Japan, with US giant Pfizer, the most-admired foreign company, a strong runner-up. These are the results of the 2003 survey of pharmaceutical professionals...

New Phase III data for Neurocrine's indiplon.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Neurocrine Biosciences has released promising results from a Phase III trial evaluating an immediate-release formulation of its indiplon in elderly patients with chronic insomnia. The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel...

Positive findings for Novartis' Zelnorm.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Data published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology confirms that Novartis' Zelnorm/Zelmac (tegaserod) provides overall relief of symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, including abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating and...

MMI gets US patent for anticancer therapy.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Medical Marketing International has been formally notified by the US Patent Office that the patent for its ruthenium anticancer compounds will be granted. The patent has already been awarded by the European Patent Office. The ruthenium...

Genitope updates on lead product.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Genitope Corp has said it is to close registration for its pivotal Phase III trial of its MyVax personalized immunotherapy, on March 31, 2004. The study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the product in patients with previously-untreated...

Warning about aspirin-induced asthma.(study in the British Medical Journal)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... A study published in the British Medical Journal has suggested that the prevalence of aspirin-induced asthma may be considerably higher than previously thought. A meta-analysis of 21 studies revealed that: 21.1% of adults and 5% of...

Positive data for NOBEX' insulin product.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... NOBEX has reported promising Phase I/II data for its hexyl-insulin monoconjugate 2, an orally-active insulin in development for the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus. The results, published in the journal Metabolism, showed that...

Aventis to see if Lantus reduces CVD risk.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Franco-German drug major Aventis has revealed that the ORIGIN (Outcome Reduction with Initial Glargine Intervention) trial is recruiting subjects; 406 patients have been enrolled to date. The trial is designed to evaluate whether the use of...

US Pres Bush nominates McClellan to lead CMS; is he heading for HHS Sec?
March 1, 2004... US President George W Bush has nominated Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan to become Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a post which became vacant on the resignation in December 2003 of Tom...

US mayors urge govt over drug imports.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The newly-formed New England Mayors' Conference on Prescription Drugs has asked Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson to certify imports of prescription drugs "under controlled and limited circumstances." The mayors of 12...

Merck & Co free drug plan for Medicare.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Merck & Co is to provide its drugs free for low-income US Medicare beneficiaries who exhaust their $600 transitional aid allowance in Medicare-endorsed drug discount cards. Noting that this action is consistent with its Patient Assistance...

Spanish industry concern over Rx prices.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The system of calculating reference prices for reimbursable drugs, which was introduced by the Spanish authorities at the start of 2003 (Marketletters passim), is causing growing concern in the country's pharmaceutical industry. The sector...

Russian moves to curb counterfeit drugs.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... In Russia, the Health Ministry suspended the licenses of 321 companies manufacturing or trading in counterfeit medicines last year, and a further 200 may also lose their licenses following ongoing investigations, according to the RIA Novosti...

HIV/AIDS expanding in Europe, experts warn.(Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Acquired immune deficiency syndrome)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Eastern Europe has the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world, and it will soon be on Europe's borders following the European Union's enlargement on May 1, experts at a ministerial conference hosted by the Irish EU Presidency, have...

Russian drug sales, imports up in 2003.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Russia's pharmaceutical market expanded 19% to $4.83 billion at consumer prices in 2003, according to estimates by the RMBC market research company reported by the Interfax news agency. Domestic chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers...

Latvian drug prices "set to rise on EU entry".(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Prices of drugs in Latvia could increase 15%-20% when it becomes a member of the European Union on May 1, say analysts in Riga reported by Baltic Business News. This is due to rises in various costs and the introduction of 5% value-added...

IVAX' 2003 revenues hit record high.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Miami, USA-based IVAX Corp has reported record fourth-quarter and full-year 2003 net revenues, up 23% to $399 million and 19% to $1.42 billion, respectively. However, net income for the fourth quarter fell to $29.3 million, or $0.15 per...

Antigenics' net loss hits $66.2M in 2003.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The USA's Antigenics has reported that its net loss for full-year 2003 increased to $66.2 million, or $1.70 per share, from 55.9 million, or $1.70 per share, in the prior year. For the fourth quarter, the company incurred a net loss of $18.3...

Aventis appeals over Sanofi bid decision.
March 1, 2004... The takeover struggle between Sanofi-Synthelabo and Aventis has been shifted into the law courts. Aventis has filed an appeal contesting the decision of the French financial markets authority, the AMF, over the acceptability of the original...

Healthy interim ressults for S Africa's Aspen.(Aspen Pharmacare)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Despite pricing pressures on the drug industry, South Africa's largest pharmaceutical company, Aspen Pharmacare, saw a healthy rise in revenues for the six months ended December 31, 2003, which jumped 18% to 1.1 billion rand ($165.2 million)....

Merck & Co to buy Aton Pharma as way to expand into cancer therapy sector.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... US pharmaceutical major Merck & Co has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the privately-held US biotechnology company Aton Pharma. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Merck noted that consideration for the...

Japan's Yamanouchi and Fujisawa to merge in share transaction.
March 1, 2004... Japanese drug majors Yamanouchi and Fujisawa have announced their intention to merge, effective April 1, 2005, in an all-share transaction. The merger ratio will be one Yamanouchi share per 0.71 of Fujisawa and the former will be the surviving...

Tokyo pharma stocks - week to Feb 23.
March 1, 2004... Tokyo witnessed an accelerated pace of share price gains in the week to February 23, thanks to strong economic data and the depreciation of the yen against the US dollar which caused investors to buy back high-technology and export-oriented...

Maelor's Volplex for China.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... UK specialist health care products firm Maelor has announced the signing of a major contract for the distribution of its plasma substitute product, Volplex (succinylated gelatin), in China. The agreement will see Maelor's product enter the...

AVAX Tech completes contract manufacturing alliance.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... AVAX Technologies of the USA has announced the completion of a contract manufacturing funding and alliance agreement between its operating subsidiary Genopoeitic and OPISODIA SAS, a division of France's OPi SAS. The alliance will utilize...

$6.2M placing by Epoch Biosciences.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... US firm Epoch Biosciences, a provider of proprietary products that accelerate genomic analysis, says that it has signed definitive agreements with institutional investors to raise approximately $6.2 million in gross proceeds in a private...

Schering AG postpones analysts' conf.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Germany's Schering AG has postponed its analysts' conference (usually held around now) to mid-2004 but has said it remains committed to its 2006 margin targets. The company said the conference date had been changed for organizational reasons...

Alteon's ALT-711 shows promise in patients with serious hypertension.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... USA-based Alteon has reported positive findings from a post hoc analysis of ambulatory blood pressure measurements (ABPM) from two Phase IIb trials evaluating the use of its ALT-711 in the treatment of patients with uncontrolled systolic...

Serono licenses rights to InDex' Kappaproct.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Switzerland's Serono has signed an agreement with Swedish firm InDex Pharmaceuticals under which the former receives exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the latter's Kappaproct for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and,...

Provalis first-half sales slip to L6.4M.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... UK-based medical diagnostics and pharmaceuticals group Provalis saw its share price drop 11% to L0.08 as the company announced a mixed set of results for its fiscal first-half ended December 31, 2003. It achieved record sales in the...

Pharmagene revenues rocket 49% in 2003.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... UK drug discovery company Pharmagene has reported a 49% leap in turnover to L4.7 million ($8.8 million) for full-year 2003. The increase was mainly due to growth from the company's Phase ZERO, TargetEvaluator and Custom Validation Platform...

Priority Review for Pharmion's Vidaza.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing and awarded Priority Review for Pharmion Corp's New Drug Application for the use of Vidaza (azacitidine for injectable suspension) in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes. ...

Atrix files for new Eligard formulation.(Sanofi-Synthelabo to market product when approved.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Atrix Laboratories has submitted a New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration for Eligard 45mg (leuprolide acetate for injectable suspension), a novel, six-month sustained-release product for the treatment of hormone-sensitive...

Celgene's Thalomid on track for new use.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Celgene Corp has revealed that the US Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review its supplemental New Drug Application seeking approval to market Thalomid (thalidomide) for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The product is...

UK tissue bill "could criminalize pharma".(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Research community concerns at the implications of the Human Tissue Bill, now going through the UK Parliament, have again been aired, as Alastair Riddell, chief executive of UK biotechnology company Pharmagene, warned that it could outlaw...

Spain: advertised OTC sales up 4.8% in 2003.(over-the-counter )
March 1, 2004... Spanish sales of advertised over-the-counter drugs rose 4.8% to 521 million euros ($657.3 million) last year, nearly double their 2.7% growth in 2002, reports the pharmacists and health care foundation, the Cofmanefp. The growth in...

Norwegian pharma trade in December 2003.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... In December 2003, Norway imported 871 tons of medical and pharmaceutical products worth 634 million kroner ($91 million), compared to 968 tons worth 656 million kroner in December 2002, reports Statistics Norway. Exports of these products last...

EU/developing nations clinical trials accord.(European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership program)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... European Union Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin visited Senegal during the week beginning February 22 to launch the operational phase of the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership program, which is focused on...

Vietnamese drug prices.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The consumer price of pharmaceuticals in Vietnam in February was up 0.5% on January, compared with a 3% rise in the consumer price index, say General Statistics Office data reported by the Vietnamese News Agency.

GSK cuts 15 drug prices in Philippines.
March 1, 2004... GlaxoSmithKline has reduced by 34% the cost of 15 medicines in the Philippines, including treatments for infections, gout, arthritis, tuberculosis and asthma, reports Business World Philippines. Two antibiotics, Amoxil (amoxycillin) and...

Indian drugmakers planning OTC boost.(over the counter)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Indian pharmaceutical companies plan to greatly expand their activities in the booming over-the-counter medicines sector, where growth this year is forecast to be at least 15%. Companies will spend around $20 million in 2004 on advertising...

Zimbabwe ARV import row widens.(antiretroviral drugs)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Fresh differences have emerged between the Zimbabwean government and some local HIV/AIDS groups, following attempts by the state Medicines Control Authority to outlaw imports of the antiretroviral drug Nevilast (lamivudine, nevirapine and...

Brazil, Mozambique plan HIV/AIDS drug facility.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Brazilian officials were due to visit Mozambique in late February to finalize plans for the construction of a manufacturing facility, costing $20 million, for generic antiretroviral drugs. Visiting Mozambique recently, the Brazilian President,...

UPDATE: Yamanouchi and Fujisawa to merge, creating Japan's largest drugmaker.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Japanese drug majors Yamanouchi and Fujisawa have announced their intention to merge, effective April 1, 2005, in an all-share transaction. The merger ratio will be one Yamanouchi share per 0.71 of Fujisawa and 234 million shares of common...

Seattle Genetics in MAb manufacturing deal with Abbott.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Seattle Genetics has entered into an agreement with Abbott Laboratories for manufacturing of the former's SGN-30 monoclonal antibody product candidate. This process is also used in Seattle's SGN-35 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) product...

Scolr placement to help accelerate drug delivery development.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... US biopharmaceutical company Scolr has entered into definitive agreements with existing and new institutional investors for the purchase of approximately $10.4 million of securities through the sale of 3,206,538 shares of common stock at $3.25...

Phytopharm placing raises L6.5 million.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... UK botanical pharmaceuticals development firm Phytopharm says that it has raised approximately L6.5 million ($12.1 million) before expenses (L6.3 million net) through a placing of new shares, which was oversubscribed. The proceeds will be used...

Abbott's TheraSense acquisition clears antitrust review.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... US health care major Abbott Laboratories says that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act applicable to its pending acquisition of TheraSense has expired, thus completing one of the conditions of the purchase....

Namenda improves behavioral outcomes in moderate-to-severe AD patients.
March 1, 2004... New data presented at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, showed that treatment with Forest Laboratories' Namenda (memantine), in combination with Aricept (donepezil), improved behavioral...

Adolor's Entereg on fast-track in USA.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has awarded fast-track designation to Adolor Corp's Entereg (alvimopan) for the management of postoperative ileus. The agent is licensed to European drug major GlaxoSmithKline (Marketletters passim). Adolor...