Pharma Marketletter articles from March 2007

Pharma Marketletter archives from March 2007

Fighting the diseases of poverty, IPN book examines positive role of drugmakers.(International Policy Network)(Fighting the Diseases of Poverty)(Book review)
March 5, 2007... A book due to be launched in Johannesburg, South Africa, on March 5 by the Campaign for Fighting Diseases, a component of the London, UK-headquartered think-tank, the International Policy Network, contains submissions about the positive role...

EU has achieved much in pandemic preparedness, but more still to be done.
March 5, 2007... The European Union and its member states have made major progress in preparing against an influenza pandemic - but they still have at least two more years of work to do, concludes a report prepared for the European Commission by the European...

German Bundesrat OKs health reform bill.(health service reform )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The German Upper House, the Bundesrat, has completed the passage of the controversial health service reform which will now be introduced on April 1. A total of 11 federal states had already indicated support before the parliamentary hearing of...

Strong data for Avastin may lead to lower dose.
March 5, 2007... Swiss drug major Roche says that a Phase III study investigating its drug Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy met its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated advanced...

GSK's Advair Diskus cuts death risk 17.5%.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline says that study data published in the February 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine showed that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients on its Advair Diskus 500/50 (fluticasone propionate...

Novavax' VLP flu vacc fares well in mice.(virus-like particle )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... USA-based Novavax says that its seasonal influenza vaccine produced robust and broad immune responses compared to other influenza vaccine types, according to a preclinical study published in the February 21 on-line edition of the journal...

Pharmacopeia gets $1M Biovitrum milestone.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The USA's Pharmacopeia has delievered an advanced lead to one of Swedish drugmaker Biovitrum's programs in diabetes, triggering a $1.0 milestone payment as part of their R&D collaboration. Under the terms of the companies' accord, which is...

AstraZeneca invests $120M in UK PR&D site.(product research and development )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca has announced plans to invest $120.0 million in a new process research and Development laboratory at its Macclesfield, Cheshire, site, adding to its significant investment in the UK over recent years, the...

Alpha Bioligics buys CTM Biotech.(Alpha Biologics Sdn Bhd)
March 5, 2007... Alpha Biologics Sdn Bhd, the UK and Malaysia-based contract manufacturer of biologic drugs, has acquired CTM Biotech, a specialist process development company based in Cambridge, UK, in a cash deal the value of which was not disclosed As a...

Malaysia's Hovid to set up plant in India.(Hovid Sdn. Bhd.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Malaysian diversified pharmaceutical company Hovid Bhd is to establish its first overseas manufacturing plant in India, to produce generic drugs by the end of this year, according to its chief executive, David Ho, who added that the company was...

Satraplatin improves PFS in HRPC patients.(Pharmion Corp)(progression-free survival )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... German drugmaker GPC Biotech AG and USA-based Pharmion Corp say that final data from the Phase III SPARC trial show highly statisically-significant improvement in progression-free survival in hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) patients....

Hollis-Eden's HE3235 posts strong animal data in HRPC.(Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(hormone-refractory prostate cancer)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The USA's Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals reported additional positive data on its novel steroid compound HE3235 in preclinical models of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) and breast cancer, at the American Society for Clinical Oncology's...

Antisoma's AS1404 boosts docetaxel PSA response in Ph II trial.
March 5, 2007... London, UK-based Antisoma presented positive interim findings from an ongoing Phase II trial of AS1404 in hormone-refractory prostate cancer, at the American Society for Clinical Oncology's Prostate Cancer Symposium, held in Orlando, Florida....

Encouraging early data for GVAX/ ipilimumab.
March 5, 2007... At the American Society for Clinical Oncology's Prostate Cancer Symposium, held in Orlando Florida, Cell Genesys and fellow US drugmaker Medarex reported encouraging follow-up data from the ongoing Phase I clinical trial of the former's GVAX...

Pharmacopeia's 4th-qtr loss more than doubles.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... US drugmaker Pharmacopeia's net revenue totaled $3.3 million in the three months ended December 31, 2006, from $5.6 million in the like, year-ago period, due to a $2.5 million decrease in milestone income. During the period, the firm saw a...

PDL's 4th-qtr net loss widens to $72.1M.(Financial report)
March 5, 2007... USA-based PDL BioPharma says that its total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2006 rose 29% on the like, year-ago period, to $107.8 million, boosted by about $25.5 million in earnings that would have been deferred to subsequent years, but that...

Neurochem's 4th-qtr 2006 loss widens 23.7%.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Canadian drugmaker Neurochem reported a net loss of C$19.3 million ($16.6 million), C$0.50 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2006, compared to a loss of $15.6 million, C$0.42 per share, in the like, year-ago period, as R&D expenses increased...

AtheroGenics sees FY 2006 income of $32M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... AtheroGenics, a US pharmaceutical company focused on drugs for chronic inflammatory diseases, reported total revenue of $11.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2006 and $31.7 million for full-year 2006, which was the first to generate income....

Selenomax slows HIV progression boost CD4.
March 5, 2007... The USA's Nutrition 21 says that daily supplementation with its high selenium yeast product, Selenomax, suppressed progression of HIV-1 and improved immune cell CD4 counts in HIV-1 seropositive men and women. The benefits were reported in a...

Mixed results from animal studies of CLA.(conjugated linoleic acid)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a supplement taken to promote weight loss, may cause insulin resistance, according to recent data from rodent studies led by Martha Belury, associate professor of Human Nutrition at the USA's Ohio State...

Spearmint tea: Remedy for female body hair.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Data just published in the February edition of Phytotherapy Research shows that drinking two cups of spearmint tea (Mentha spicata) a day for five days could reduce the level of androgens in women with hirsutism. This is a distressing disorder...

Valeant files IND for Cesamet with FDA.(Valeant Pharmaceuticals International)(investigational new drug)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... California, USA-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has filed an Investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for Cesamet (nabilone) oral capsules for the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induced...

Chimerix raises $23M to advance pipeline.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Chimerix, a North Carolina, USA-based biotechnology company developing orally available antiviral therapeutics, has made a $23.1 million private placement of its series D preferred stock. New investor, Canaan Partners, led the round, and Seth...

Teva gains final US approval for generic Aciphex.(Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The US Food and Drug Administration has granted final approval for Israeli firm Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Abbreviated New Drug Application for rabeprazole sodium delayed-release tablets, 20mg. Teva's rabeprazole product is the...

Danish court prohibits generic Lipitor.
March 5, 2007... US drugs giant Pfizer says that a Danish court has granted a preliminary injunction against Nomeco A/S - the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in Denmark - that prohibits the sale of a copy version of its blockbuster cholesterol-lowerer Lipitor...

FDA's second "approvable letter" requests futher clinical study of Novartis' Galvus.(Food and Drug Administration)
March 5, 2007... Swiss pharmaceutical major Novartis has received a second "approvable letter" from the US Food and Drug Administration requesting further clinical studies on its oral drug Galvus (vildagliptin), which is under review as a once-daily oral...

Shire secures successor to Adderall XR as US FDA approves Vyvanse: another predicted blockbuster.(Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC)(Food and Drug Administration)
March 5, 2007... UK drugmaker Shire says that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted marketing approval for Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate; formerly known as NRP104), its predicted blockbuster drug for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder....

Opportunities for Japanese generics.
March 5, 2007... Japanese generic drug producers are expecting a profit "window-of-opportunity" to occur, as local patents on original pharmaceuticals worth about 300.0 billion yen ($2.52 billion) are due to expire this year, and others valued at a further...

Japan's MHLW plans user fee hike.(Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has proposed raising the fee for reviewing New Drug Applications starting from April 1, to efficiently conduct the approval system and to shorten the review period by reducing the workload per...

Health Canada warns on HIV drug resistance.
March 5, 2007... Health Canada is informing Canadians of new information submitted by Bristol-Myers Squibb, the manufacturer of the antiviral Baraclude (entecavir) that suggests the drug may be linked to the development of a treatment-resistant strain of HIV in...

AARP mobilizes for 2007 legislative agenda.(American Association of Retired People)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The American Association of Retired People, one of the USA's most influential political lobbying groups, has announced the launch of its 2007 legislative agenda. The list of proposals includes support for direct negotiations between the federal...

Drug firms face Michigan liability backlash.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Reversing a recent trend in individual US states towards limiting drugmakers from product liability law suits involving Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs, Michigan's Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has adopted a bill, by...

Campaign to relax US Rx drug recycling regs.(prescription drugs)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... An association of US state legislators and businesses has called on the federal government to grant individual states more leeway concerning the recycling or disposal of unused prescription drugs. The American Legislative Exchange Council is a...

Tennessee halts Rx drug program enrollment.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Tennessee's new CoverRx prescription drug plan for low-income residents of the southern state has suspended enrollment, after almost 21,000 people signed up by February 8. The program's organizers explained that the total $11.5 million budget...

Ex-FDA Commissioners discuss agency needs.(Food and Drug Administration )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Four former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioners have presented their views on improvements to make at the federal agency, in a panel discussion organized by the George Washington University's School of Public Health and Health...

Novartis' Focetria gets nod from CHMP.(Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Swiss drug major Novartis has received a positive opinion supporting European Union regulatory approval of its human vaccine Focetria for use in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak, such as one that could be caused by the H5N1 strain of...

Idenix' Sebivo close to EMEA approval.(Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(European Medicines Agency)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The USA's Idenix Pharmaceuticals has received a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), recommending that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) grant marketing authorization for Sebivo (telbivudine), its...

Avastin gets tentative clearance in Japan.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Swiss drug major Roche says that its Japanese subsidiary Chugai has received a positive recommendation for the use of Avastin (bevacizumab) in patients with advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer by a consultative expert panel for the Japanese...

Xeloda gets nod for stomach cancer in Europe.(Clinical report)
March 5, 2007... Roche says that its oral cancer drug Xeloda (capecitabine), in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, has received a positive recommendation from the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for first-line use in...

Almirall sees growth from new drugs.(Almirall-Prodesfarma S.A.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The Spanish Almirall group is to develop a new generation of drug products as part of a general strategy of sourcing 50% of its pharmaceutical sales from within the company. Its president, Jorge Gallardo, said in Barcelona that the new...

AstraZeneca's CEO reviews Japan ops.(David Brennan)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... AstraZeneca's chief executive, David Brennan, outlined the group's business strategy for Japan at a recent press conference in Osaka. He told reporters: "even in Japan we will seek an opportunity to acquire a small-sized company having a unique...

PhRMA hits back at ex-NEJM editor claims.(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America)(New England Journal of Medicine)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), has launched a rebuttal of criticisms made by Marcia Angell, the former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, directed against...

Electronic drug monitoring "cheaper than clinical trials".
March 5, 2007... Electronic monitoring of drugs and medical devices would be cheaper than post-authorization clinical trials and provide benefits for patients, regulators and drugmakers alike, according to a professor of medicine and business administration at...

Graffinity in research deal with Amgen.(Graffinity Pharmaceuticals AG)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Germany's Graffinity Pharmaceuticals GmbH has entered into a research collaboration with US biotechnology major Amgen. Under the terms of the agreement, Graffinity will receive technology access fees and success payments for the generation...

$3B US drug-eluting stent market by 2011.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Millennium Research Group has conducted a detailed analysis of the interventional cardiology market in its US Markets for Interventional Cardiology Devices 2007 report. The report indicates that, despite a difficult 2006, the drug-eluting stent...

Merck KGaA holds nearly all voting rights of Merck Serono.(Brief article)(Statistical data)
March 5, 2007... Darmstadt, Germany-headquartered Merck KGaA says that the preliminary final result of the public tender offer for all publicly-held bearer shares of Merck Serono SA (formerly the Swiss drugmaker Serono SA). Following the expiration of the...

ReNeuron gains revenue-share on new cell line patent.(Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... UK-based ReNeuron has entered into a revenue-sharing agreement with the international Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA, concerning newly-patented research conducted by these institutions on...

Shire launches Fosrenol in UK.(Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Basingstoke, UK-based speciality drugmaker Shire has launched Fosrenol (lanthanum carbonate) in its domestic market following the product's authorization as a phosphate binding agent for use in the control of hyperphosphatemia in chronic renal...

GTx presents strong interim Ph II Acapodene data.(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Tennessee, USA-based biotechnology firm GTx says that Phase III interim data show that its oral, once-daily Acapodene (toremifene citrate) 80mg increases bone mineral density and lowers cholesterol in prostate cancer patients on androgen...

US FDA approves King's Bicillin production plant.(King Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Tennessee, USA-based King Pharmaceuticals says the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its new state-of-the-art manufacturing and production facility in Rochester, Michigan, for its Bicillin product line. Bicillin L-A (penicillin G...

BTG acquires new opioid drug.(CLL Pharma)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... London, UK-based drugmaker BTG has acquired an opioid agonist for the control of post-operative pain from CLL Pharma, a drug development company based in Nice, France, in return for undisclosed milestone and royalty payments. The compound,...

EU's medicines safety monitoring needs strengthening, says Commission.
March 5, 2007... A public consultation has shown that the current European Union system of medicines safety monitoring (pharmacovigilance) needs rationalization and strengthening. The European Commission says that differing implementation by member states has...

Actelion's 2006 net income soars 92%.(Financial report)
March 5, 2007... Swiss drugmaker Actelion says that its net income for the full year 2006, on a US generally-accepted accounting principles basis, was 241.1 million Swiss francs ($194.3 million), up 92% on 2005. Lehman Brothers commented that the firm's profits...

Elan's 4th-qtr loss down 55%.(Financial report)
March 5, 2007... Irish drugmaker Elan says that, for the fourth quarter of 2006, its loss fell 55% to $26.5 million from the $58.3 million it posted for the comparable period in 2005. The firm explained that the improvement was largely a result of a better...

Biovitrum's FY 2006 net profit plummets 47.4%.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Swedish drugmaker Biovitrum says that its net revenues for full-year 2006 increased 28% on the previous year to 1.20 billion Swedish kronor ($171.8 million), as net plummetted 47.4% to 92.7 million kronor or 2 kronor per share. The firm noted...

Zeltia's FY2006 loss widens 16% to $58M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Spanish drugmaker Zeltia SA says that its net loss for full-year 2006 widenened 16% on 2005, to 43.8 million euros ($57.9 million), despite a 5.8% revenue increase to 76.2 million euros, as commercial and marketing costs to promote new brands...

Norgine's 2006 sales rise 13% to $225M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... UK-based specialty drugmaker Norgine says that, in full-year 2006, it achieved 193.0 million euros ($255.3 million) in sales, a 13% rise on 2005, led by high revenue from Movicol (macrogol, polyethlene glycol). Sales of Movicol, Norgine's...

Cosmo launches IPO on the SWX Exchange.(initial public offerings from Cosmo Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... In its planned initial public offering on the SWX Swiss Exchange, Lainate, Italy-based Cosmo Pharmaceuticals will place up to 3,419,130 primary shares with up to an additional 512,870 if the over-allotment option is excercised within 30 days...

Evolutec's 2006 R&D costs increase 98%.(Research and development)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The UK's Evolutec, which is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no direct source of income, says that its revenue in 2006 totaled L14,000 ($27,485), level with last year, as a result of payments for materials supplied to its Merial...

NovoSeven misses Ph III trial primary endpoint.
March 5, 2007... The world's largest insulin maker, Novo Nordisk, has reported disappointing results from a Phase III trial of its recombinant coagulation factor, NovoSeven, in the treatment of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and the firm has decided not to seek...

Placebo groups to be switched to Gardasil.(Sanofi Pasteur MSD)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... European vaccine specialist Sanofi Pasteur MSD says that the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board of two large-scale trials, FUTURE I and II, has recommended that its cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil (quadrivalent human papilloma virus...

GSK initiates Ph III trial of Tykerb.(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline has initiated a Phase III trial of its investigational cancer treatment Tykerb (lapatinib) in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Analysts have predicted annual sales of the drug at about L1.0...

US FDA approves Lilly's Cymbalta in GAD.(Food and Drug Administration)(generalized anxiety disorder)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The US Food and Drug Administration has approved US drug major Eli Lilly's antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine HCl) for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. The approval is based on the results of three randomized, double-blind,...

World Health Organization DG names senior team.(Director General)(APPOINTMENTS)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization, has named her senior team to lead the health programs, or "clusters," at WHO headquarters: Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, as previously announced, as Deputy Director General; Ala...

Developments in Gene Expression Profiling; conference.
March 5, 2007... The Developments in Gene Expression Profiling Conference will address the latest applications of gene expression profiling based technologies within drug discovery and development, including real-time qPCR, RNAi and microarray, whilst examining...

Headlines 25 years ago this week....
March 5, 2007... Japanese pharmaceutical firms "will make good progress in internationalizing their operations," in 1982, predicts Sumitomo Bank, in a new survey on the sector, which notes that, due to strong and steady expansion of domestic demand for drugs,...

US pharmacists oppose Medicaid reimbursement rule change.
March 5, 2007... New reimbursement rules to US pharmacists for generic prescription drugs under the Medicaid program have come under fire from members of both major parties in the US Congress. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposals would...

UN Foundation gets $139M measles initiative donation.(Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation )(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The United Nations Foundation has received a $139.0 million contribution from the GAVI Alliance to support the former's efforts to reduce measles deaths worldwide 90% by 2010. The Measles Initiative is a public-private partnership between the...

UK government tests pandemic flu alert response.(Exercise Winter Willow)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The UK government has tested its response to a human influenza pandemic in a two-day operation code-named Exercise Winter Willow. The format was designed to test the government decision-making process at national, regional and local levels. ...

Frost & Sullivan Awards honors European health care.(awards of AmVac AG)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... A range of health care-related firms have been honored at an awards ceremony held in London, UK, ranging from drug discovery technologies to patient monitoring. Among the drug industry winners, Zug, Switzerland-based biotechnology firm,...

Abcam to exclusively distribute ABT's Abs.(contracts of Assay BioTechnology and Anbo Biotechnology)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Abcam, a UK-based bioscience company that markets antibodies via its on-line catalog, has entered a joint agreement with Assay BioTechnology and Anbo Biotechnology to acquire exclusive worldwide rights for the distribution of their entire...

Positive two-year data for ALK-Abello's Grazax.(preventing grass pollen allergy)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Danish drugmaker ALK-Abello has reported strong top-line results from the second treatment year in a long-term study of Grazax, its tablet-based vaccine against grass pollen allergy. According to the firm, the agent showed increased clinical...

Keppra "non-inferior" to CR carbamazepine.(controlled-release)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Belgian drugmaker UCB says that study results published in the Febrary 6 edition of Neurology indicate that the efficacy and tolerability of its anti-epileptic Keppra (levericetam) fared well compared to controlled-release carbamazepine, the...

Astellas' FK506 gets positive opinion from CHMP.(Astellas Pharma Inc.)(Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma says that that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending marketing approval of the once-daily FK506...

Samaritan to sell Shire's Elaprase in Greece and Cyprus.(Samaritan Pharmaceuticals)(Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, a Las Vegas, USA-based developer of innovative drugs, has signed a marketing and distribution agreement with the UK's Shire to sell Elaprase (idursulfase) for Hunter's disease, in Greece and Cyprus. The drug was...

Nautilus files Belerofon IND.(Nautilus Biotech S.A.)(investigational new drug)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Paris, France-based Nautilus Biotech has submitted an Investigational New Drug filing to the US Food and Drug Administration for oral Belerofon, its long-lasting human Interferon (IFN) alpha. Belerofon has therapeutic potential for the...

Mylan gains tentative US OK for generic ondansetron.(Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Mylan Pharmaceuticals has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for ondansetron orally-disintegrating tablets USP, 4mg and 8mg strengths. These are the generic version...

Ligand completes sale of Avinza to King.(Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(King Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Ligand Pharmaceuticals has completed the sale of Avinza (morphine sulfate extended-release capsules) and associated assets to fellow USA-based King Pharmaceuticals, in exchange for cash and royalties (Marketletter September 18, 2006). With the...

Japan stock market week to Feb 26, 2007.(Statistical data)
March 5, 2007... Tokyo posted another advance in the week to February 26. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% to close at 18,215.35, the highest since May 2, 2000, while the Topix index gained 2.1%. The Bank of Japan raised the benchmark interest rate to 0.50% from 0.25%...

Belgium's UCB beats consensus forecasts, with growth driven by Keppra.
March 5, 2007... Belgian pharmaceutical group UCB, which has recently acquired the German firm Schwarz Pharma (Marketletters passim), has reported a strong set of results for the full-year 2006, which have exceeded analysts' consensus forecasts. UCB and...

BIO survey rebuts Part D price negotiation plan.
March 5, 2007... The USA's Biotechnology Industry Organization has released figures which claim that the Medicare Part D prescription drug plans "offer significant discounts on single-source therapies and provide greater access to many single-source innovative...

Medicaid "repeatedly overcharged" claim.(Taxpayers Against Fraud's criticism on medicaid overcharging)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... The US Department of Justice has been criticized by activist group, Taxpayers Against Fraud, for allegedly failing to pursue law suits with sufficient aggression against drugmakers who are accused of overcharging the Medicaid, Medicare and the...

B-MS and Adnexus to develop adnectins.(Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.)(Adnexus Therapeutics Inc.)(Brief article)
March 5, 2007... Bristol-Myers Squibb and fellow USA-based Adnexus Therapeutics have entered into a collaboration that will focus on the development and commercialization of clinical candidates from the latter's pipeline of addressable fibronectin proteins, or...

AstraZeneca begins Ph III Zactima trial.
March 5, 2007... Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca says that it has initiated a Phase III study of its drug Zactima (vandetanib), in combination with US drugmaker Eli Lilly's Alimta (pemetrexed), in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. The...