Pharma Marketletter articles from May 2007

Pharma Marketletter archives from May 2007

Generics and currencies impact Sanofi-Aventis' 1st-qtr, with income down 2.26%.(Financial report)
May 14, 2007... While US drug major have benefited from the weak dollar, the converse has been the case for European pharmaceutical companies. The latest to report a negative effect is France's number one and the world's third largest drugmaker,...

ViroPharma sets up European subsidiary.
May 14, 2007... Pennsylvania, USA-based ViroPharma says it now plans to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Europe to deal with European regulatory strategy and commercialization of maribavir, the company's selective oral antiviral targeting...

Huge pay outs for MedImmune execs.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Assuming the proposed $15.6 billion acquisition of US drugmaker MedImmune by Anglo-Swedish major AstraZeneca goes through (Marketletter April 30), its senior management, especially its chief executive David Mott, stand to make a whopping...

Actavis out of Merck generics auction.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Icelandic drugmaker Actavis, which had been one of several firms looking to acquire the generics business of Germany's Merck KGaA, has officially pulled out of the bidding, after the price tag for the operation escalated to the 4.0-5.0 billion...

Ipsen's 1st-qtr 2007 sales rise 7% to $307M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... French drugmaker Ipsen says that its sales for the first quarter of 2007 reached 226.7 million euros ($307.6 million), up 7.0% year-on-year (7.2% excluding foreign exchange impacts), fuelled by strong growth in targeted therapeutic areas -...

Novo Nordisk's 1st-qtr 2007 profit rises 41%.(Financial report)
May 14, 2007... Danish insulin giant Novo Nordisk's first-quarter 2007 net profit rose 41% on the like, year-ago period to 1.71 billion Danish kroner ($312.4 million), on the back of improvements in its gross margin and a 9.2% sales increase to 9.82 billion...

Compugen posts a 1st-qtr 2007 loss of $3.1M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Tel Aviv, Israel-based Compugen reported no revenues for the first quarter of 2007, compared to $200,000 for the year-ago quarter. The early-stage drug-discovery firm said that its net loss totaled $3.1 million, or $0.11 per share, unchanged...

Teva's 1st-qtr 2007 net sales rise 24% to $2.08B.(Financial report)
May 14, 2007... Jerusalem, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries says that its net sales for the three months ended March 31, 2007, reached $2.08 billion, an increase of 24% over the comparable quarter of last year, benefiting from both the inclusion of...

ISTA withdraws EU Vitragen MAA.(ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... USA-based ISTA Pharmaceuticals, a specialty drugmaker focused on the development of ophthalmic products, has withdrawn its drug Vitragen (hyaluronidase [ovine]) from European Medicines Agency (EMEA) consideration. The product, which was...

Vyvanse classified as Schedule II by US DEA.(Drug Enforcement Administration)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... UK drug developer Shire says that the US Drug Enforcement Administration, in accordance with an earlier recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration, has classified its drug Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) as a Schedule II...

Indian firms agree drug discovery accord.(Avesthagen)(Manipal Acunova)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Biotechnology firm Avesthagen, a specialist in systems biology and bioinformatics, has entered into a drug discovery collaboration with fellow Indian company, contract research organization Manipal Acunova. The partnership will focus on the...

EC clears Herceptin for co-positive breast cancer.
May 14, 2007... Swiss drug major Roche says that the European Commission has cleared its anticancer agent Herceptin (trastuzumab), in combination with an aromatase inhibitor, for the treatment of postmenopausal women with HER2 and hormone receptor co-positive...

Biogen's 1st-qtr income climbs 7% to $131M.(Biogen Idec Inc.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Massachusetts, USA-based Biogen Idec's first quarter net income increased 7% to $131.0 million, or $0.38 per share, on an non-generally accepted accounting principals basis. The firm added, however, that excluding the impact of $60.0...

Mederex reduces non-GAAP loss.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... New Jersey, USA-based biopharmaceutical company Medarex says that its net income for the three months ended March 31, 2007, was $110.3 million, or $0.88 per share, compared with a net loss of $36.6 million in the first quarter of 2006. ...

Watson's 1st-qtr 2007 income leaps 26%.
May 14, 2007... California, USA-based drugmaker Watson Pharmaceuticals says that, for the first quarter of 2007, its net income was $31.6 million, up 25.9% on the comparable period in 2006. The firm added that, excluding the impact of charges related to its...

Cephalon's 1st-qtr income soars to $75M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... First quarter profits at US biopharmaceutical group Cephalon soared to $75.0 million from the $3.6 million it recorded in the comparable period last year. The firm added that its basic adjusted income per common share was $1.45, up 85% and...

Rituxan yields promising results in RRMS.(relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis )(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Biotechnology major Genentech and fellow USA-based Biogen Idec reported positive data from a Phase II study of Rituxan (rituximab) in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), at the American Academy of Neurology's annual...

GSK's Lamictal XR cut partial seizures 46%.
May 14, 2007... Data from two clinical trials presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Boston suggest that an investigational once-daily extended-release formulation of UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal (lamotrigine) is effective as an...

Pfizer's Lyrica reduces fibromyalgia pain 50%.(Clinical report)
May 14, 2007... Significantly more patients treated with Pfizer's Lyrica (pregabalin) reduced their pain 50% or more versus placebo, according to results presented at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting, held in Boston. Clinically, this would...

Strong Ph II data on Genzyme/Bayer's MS drug.(Bayer Healthcare AG)(multiple sclerosis)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... US biotechnology major Genzyme and German drugmaker Bayer Healthcare reported positive interim data from the CAMMS223 Phase II study of their multiple sclerosis drug alemtuzumab, at the 59th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology,...

Intercytex to raise L12 million in placing.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Cambridge, UK-based Intercytex, a cell therapy company focused on esthetic medicine and tissue repair, plans to raise L12.0 million ($24.0 million) in a placing of new ordinary shares to institutional investors in the UK and continental Europe....

Pfizer debuts on-line site for PMC updates.(www.pfizer.com/pmc)(post marketing commitment)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Global drug giant Pfizer says that it has launched an on-line site to provide up-to-date, user-friendly information on the status of its US post-marketing surveillance commitments. Post-marketing studies are designed to provide additional...

FTC asks for more info on S-P's Organon acquisition.(Federal Trade Commission )(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... New Jersey, headquartered US drug major Schering-Plough says that it received a Request for Additional Information (Second Request) from the Federal Trade Commission regarding its planned $14.4 billion acquisition of Organon BioSciences, the...

Novelos closes $15M financing.(Novelos Therapeutics Inc.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Novelos Therapeutics, a US biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and hepatitis, has closed its previously-announced private placement resulting in $15.0 million in gross proceeds through the sale...

US FDA to update black box warnings for young adults taking antidepressants.
May 14, 2007... The US Food and Drug Administration has proposed that producers of all antidepressants update the existing black box warning on their products' labeling to include warnings about the increased risks of suicidal thinking and behavior, known as...

Further pharma price cuts in Hungary, with 348 medicines down average 8.3%.
May 14, 2007... In Hungary, the price of 348 medicines dropped an average of 8.3% effective May 1. According to the Ministry of Health, the continuous price reductions on the Hungarian pharmaceutical market are as a result of the Pharmaeconomic Act which was...

New GMP database launched by EMEA.(EudraGMP launched)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... A new database, designed to facilitate the exchange of information on compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice within the European network - called EudraGMP - has been introduced by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The Agency claims...

Novartis' once-yearly Aclasta cuts spine fracture risk in osteoporosis 71%.
May 14, 2007... Switzerland-based drug major Novartis says that its drug Aclasta (zoledronic acid; sold as Reclast in the USA) cuts the risk of all types of bone fractures in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis. The findings, which are derived from a...

Peptech to buy EvoGenix for $129M.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Biopharmaceutical firm Peptech has signed a deal to acquire fellow Australia-based EvoGenix, a protein therapeutics company, for A$156.0 million ($129.0 million) to form one of the country's largest biotechnology companies and a high-profile...

Bavarian Nordic's 1st-qtr loss narrows to $9.4M.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Danish drugmaker Bavarian Nordic's first-quarter 2007 revenues totaled 28.8 million kroner ($5.2 million) versus 35.8 million kroner in the like, year-ago period, while the firm's loss before tax narrowed to 51.7 million kroner from 60.9...

Pharmstandard raises $880M in IPO.(initial public offering)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Russian generic drugmaker Pharmstandard raised $880.0 million in an Initial Public Offering that values the company at $2.2 billion (Marketletter April 23). The offering was priced at $58.20 per share and $14.55 per global depositary...

GPC closes Waltham plant and cuts staff 16%.
May 14, 2007... German drugmaker GPC Biotech AG is closing its R&D facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, and losing 16% of its total workforce, as it consolidates its drug discovery efforts to one location. Affected employees will be eligible for...

Speedel's 1st-qtr 2007 loss falls to $12.2M.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Swiss biotechnology firm Speedel says that its first-quarter 2007 operating loss narrowed to 14.9 Swiss francs ($12.2 million) from 17.1 million francs in the like, year-ago period, as its basic and diluted loss per share fell to 1.96 francs...

Biotechnology, the job machine in Germany in the coming decade; study.
May 14, 2007... Biotechnology must be applied more intensively in a wider range of uses, in order to keep up and to strengthen the competitiveness of German industry in the international arena. This is the conclusion of a broad study by the Fraunhofer...

FDA report highlights research to foster generic drug development.(Food and Drug Administration)
May 14, 2007... The US Food and Drug Administration has issued the "Critical Path Opportunities for Generic Drugs" report identifying many of the unanswered scientific questions that impede the development of generic versions of commonly used drugs. The...

Headlines 25 years ago this week....
May 14, 2007... How will French drug prices be determined under Mitterrand's new Health Ministry? Most agree that increases are necessary to keep up research spending, with one Ministry counsellor telling the Marketletter that the ratio of R&D to turnover is...

Mapping out the competitive landscape for the next generation pharma market.
May 14, 2007... As most pharmaceutical, biotechnology and generics companies have now closed the financial books on 2006, Global Insight has take the opportunity to map out the competitive landscape for 2007-10. With traditional big-hitters - such as Pfizer...

Eli Lilly to publish information on grants and contributions on new web site.(Website overview)
May 14, 2007... US drug major Eli Lilly has begun posting on-line all its educational grant funding and other monetary contributions provided to USA-based organizations. The firm says it is the first drugmaker to disclose its grants to US organizations, which...

Abbott's ABT-874 shows positive results in Ph II psoriasis trial.(Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois))(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... USA-based health care major Abbott Laboratories says that results from a Phase II trial of its investigational psoriasis treatment ABT-874 indicate that it brings about a significant symptom reduction. The firm explained that, after 12 weeks of...

Low-dose interferon performs well in animal influenza trials.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... US biotechnology group Amarillo Biosciences says that, in collaboration with researchers from Australia and the USA, it has conducted a number of studies exploring the efficacy of low-dose interferon in combating mouse-adapted influenza virus....

Millipore and Gen-Probe extend marketing deal.
May 14, 2007... USA-based firms Millipore and Gen-Probe have entered into a deal under which the former will market the latter's Mycoplasma Tissue Culture Non-Isotopic test to those conducting biopharmaceutical research. The accord, financial terms of which...

Bayer to join wound-care market.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Germany's Bayer AG has announced plans to enter the wound care market with a range of bioresorbable silical gel-based dressings that have been developed by its subsidiary, Bayer Innovation GmbH. The firm added that a pilot plant that it...

Cryo-Cell to offer MPSC collection service.(maternal placental stem cell)(Cryo-Cell International Inc.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Researchers at USA-based Cryo-Cell International, one of the world's largest cord blood banks, say they have isolated a new type of adult stem cell with potential for treating a broad range of diseases in the future. The maternal placental stem...

Advalytix to direct EU single cell analysis program.(Quantitative Analysis of Genes in Single Cells )(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Munich, Germany-based Advalytix AG has taken over the coordination of the European Union Project - Quantitative Analysis of Genes in Single Cells (QuAGSiC). The firm, a 100% subsidiary of Olympus Life and Material Science Europa GmbH, is...

ACT achieves vascular repair with hES cells.(Advanced Cell Technology)(human embryonic stem cells)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... USA-based Advanced Cell Technology has reported evidence that, for the first time, hemangioblast precursor cells derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells achieved vascular repair. The firm's research, which appears in the May 7 on-line...

Biovitrum initiates Ph II trial of neuropathic painkiller.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Swedish biopharmaceutical company Biovitrum has initiated a Phase II clinical trial of a novel drug candidate in neuropathic pain, which is a chronic form of pain resulting from nerve injuries. Contrary to current treatments that act in the...

MGI and Helsinn submit Aloxi sNDA.(MGI Pharma )(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... USA-based MGI Pharma and its partner Helsinn SA, a privately-held Swiss company, have submitted a supplemental New Drug Application for Aloxi (palonosetron HCl) injection for the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting to the US Food...

Marinus initiates Ph IIb trial of ganaxolone.(Marinus Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Marinus Pharmaceuticals, a US specialty pharmaceutical company focused on novel drugs for serious neurological disorders, has started enrolling patients in an international, multicenter, placebo-controlled Phase IIb study of its lead compound,...

Genaera initiates Ph I study of obesity drug.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... USA-based Genaera has begun enrolling subjects in the first human clinical study of its obesity drug trodusquemine (MSI-1436). The Phase I trial will recruit healthy overweight and obese volunteers to assess safety and pharmacokinetics of...

Japan stock market week to May 7, 2007.
May 14, 2007... Tokyo rebounded in the week ended May 7 (three trading days only because May 3 and 4 were national holidays in Japan). The Nikkei 225 gained 1.6% to close at the 17,600 level, with a substantial daily advance in the last trading day, while the...

Clinton supports patent grab by Brazil, Thailand.
May 14, 2007... Former US President Bill Clinton has endorsed actions of the military government in Thailand and Brazil in issuing compulsory licenses for patented drugs (see page 15). At a press conference for the Clinton Foundation, which negotiates bulk...

Chinese fake drug firm "not licensed".(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Neither the chemical firm which manufactured fake glycerin for use in a cough remedy, nor the state-owned trading company that exported it, were licensed by the State Food and Drug Administration to supply pharmaceutical raw materials or...

Medicines Australia welcomes govt boost.
May 14, 2007... Medicines Australia, the drug industry trade association, has welcomed the "important" announcement in the national budget of an A$435.8 million ($359.8 million) grant for medical research. Other elements of the budget also met with the group's...

"Great potential" for generics in Australia.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Generic pharmaceuticals have a great potential in Australia, according to Genepharm chief executive Dennis Bastas. He added that branded drugs still retain a strong hold in the country, stronger than in other countries, but that grip should...

Australian R&D tax breaks announced.(research and development)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Changes to R&D tax concessions recently announced by Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane will boost investment in the country's innovation A$1.0 billion ($825.5 million) and confirm Australia's status as a...

Mixed outlook for Singapore pharma sector.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Despite its established nature, Singapore's pharmaceutical market has limited growth potential when compared with other similarly developed countries in the region, according to a new report from Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets. At...

Royalty Pharma buys stake in Remicade IP.
May 14, 2007... USA-based Royalty Pharma, a specialist in the acquisition of revenue producing intellectual property, says that New York University has sold a portion of its worldwide royalty interest in the the anti-inflammatory Remicade (infliximab). NYU...

Abbott files Humira for childhood RA and IA.(rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis)(Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois))(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... USA-based health care major Abbott Laboratories says it has completed the simultaneous submission of both a supplemental Biologics License Application and a Type II Variation document with regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, requesting...

Novartis' pandemic vacc Focetria gets EU OK.(vaccine)(European Union )(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Swiss drug major Novartis says that its influenza vaccine Focetria, which is intended for use following the declaration of an influenza pandemic, has been approved in all 27 European Union member states, as well as by Iceland and Norway. The...

Bayer and Intendis to promote Yaz for acne.(Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, a US unit of Germany's Bayer Heathcare, and Intendis, a US affiliate of Bayer Schering Pharma AG, are to jointly promote Yaz (drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol), an oral contraceptive, as a treatment for moderate...

Valcyte as effective as ganciclovir in CMV.(cytomegalovirus)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Swiss drug major Roche says that the results of a trial of its oral antiviral Valcyte (valganciclovir), designed to treat cytomegalovirus infection in transplant recipients, demonstrates that the agent is both as effective and as well-tolerated...

GSK's vaccine DTaP-IPV performs well at Ph III.(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... UK-based drug major GlaxoSmithKline says that the results of a US trial indicate that its developmental combination vaccine DTaP-IPV, (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and inactivated poliovirus) elicited comparable levels of immune...

Provenge gets FDA "approvable letter".(Food and Drug Administration )(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Seattle, USA-based Dendreon says that it has received an approvable letter from the Food and Drug Administration regarding its prostate cancer treatment Provenge (sipuleucel-T). The FDA has asked for further information to support the efficacy...

Lilly launches diabetes drug Byetta in the UK.
May 14, 2007... USA-based drug major Eli Lilly says that the type 2 diabetes treatment Byetta (exenatide), co-developed with fellow US firm Amylin, is now available to patients in the UK. The drug, which is a synthetic version of a chemical found in the saliva...

Majority of US physicians favor more than two drugs in single pill.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... A majority of US cardiologists support the development of more than two drugs in a single tablet, according to a survey by Decision Resources, a leading specialist health care research and advisory firm. The 53% response rate is slightly...

Asia Business Forum hosts R&D conference in Malaysia.
May 14, 2007... The Asia Business Forum is hosting a conference titled Planning, Managing & Measuring your Research & Development, at the JW Marriot Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on July 30-31. The conference program and booking details are available by...

Texas PBM contract transparency bill will save taxpayers "millions".(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... "Millions of dollars in savings" from prescription drug payments are expected for taxpayers, following the approval by the US State of Texas' legislature of bills, in both chambers, to require transparency in contracts between the State's...

US BIO praise for House Speaker Pelosi over small business grants.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... The US Biotechnology Industry Association has welcomed the inclusion of reforms to the Small Business Innovation Research grant program by Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California), the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in the House Innovation...

Norwalk drops out of CMS Administrator succession.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Leslie Norwalk)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Leslie Norwalk, the Acting Administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), told President George W Bush that she did not want a permanent appointment when she took over at the agency, following the resignation of Mark...

Solvay's 1st-qtr 2007 sales rise 1% to $3.25B.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Belgian chemicals/pharmaceuticals firm Solvay says that its first-quarter 2007 sales reached 2.4 billion euros ($3.25 billion), a 1% increase on the like, year-ago period, as net income fell to 218.0 million euros from 238.0 million euros in...

Strong Ph II data for Inspire's allergy nasal spray.
May 14, 2007... The USA's Inspire Pharmaceuticals says that, in a Phase II dose-ranging clinical trial in seasonal allergic rhinitis, its epinastine nasal spray met the primary endpoint of improvement in daily reflective change from baseline for total nasal...

MedImmune's FluMist beneficial in daycare/school setting.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... US drugmaker MedImmune says that FluMist (influenza virus vaccine live, intranasal) in daycare and school settings may help reduce the burden of seasonal influenza. Economic analyses applied to outcomes observed in previously-completed clinical...

Epigenomics and Myriad enter R&D accord.
May 14, 2007... Berlin, Germany-based diagnostics firm Epigenomics AG has entered into an R&D collaboration with the USA's Myriad Genetics to identify and analyze DNA methylation biomarkers that may predict patients' response to an undisclosed marketed...

Low rate of breakthrough bleeds with Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO.
May 14, 2007... US health care major Johnson & Johnson's birth control pill Ortho Tri-Cyclen LO (norgestimate/ethinyl estradiol) resulted in significantly lower rates of breakthrough bleeding and spotting in a broad range of women compared to another low-dose...

ANI Pharma buys production plants from Solvay.(ANI Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Solvay Pharmaceuticals B.V.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... ANI Pharmaceuticals, based in Maryland, USA, has announced a major expansion of its prescription drug capabilities with the acquisition from Belgium-headquartered Solvay Pharmaceuticals of two manufacturing facilities located in Baudette,...

BioSante in contraceptive deal with Pantarhei.(BioSante Pharmaceuticals)(Pantarhei Bioscience)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... BioSante Pharmaceuticals of the USA has signed an exclusive agreement with Pantarhei Bioscience, a Netherlands-based pharmaceutical company for the development and marketing of an oral contraceptive in the USA. BioSante will co-fund the early...

Insmed raises $18.2M in direct offering.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Virginia, USA-based Insmed says that it has obtained agreements from investors to buy around 20 million shares of its common stock at a price of $0.90 per share. Under the terms of the offering, Insmed will also issue five-year warrants to...

Cegedim acquisition of Dendrite progresses.(Dendrite International Inc.)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Shareholders of New Jersey, USA-based Dendrite International have approved its acquisition by French company Cegedim SA. Subject to satisfaction of certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, Dendrite expects the...

US Senate renews PDUFA by 93 votes to one and "allows" Rx drug imports.
May 14, 2007... The US Senate has overwhelmingly carried the Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments Act of 2007 (Marketletters passim) by an unexpectedly high majority of 93 to one. As amended, the legislation is likely to be approved by President George W...

Pres-elect Sarkozy lifts pharma hopes in France.(Nicolas Sarkozy )
May 14, 2007... The election of Nicolas Sarkozy to be President of France has been met with some cheer by the country's drug industry. The G5 grouping of French research-based drugmakers believes that a new approach will be taken by the government, which has...

Health Minister ignored Spain's pharma proposal.(Elena Salgado)(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... Spain's drug industry organization, Farmaindustria, was left seething after the country's Health Minister was shown to have ignored a proposal to privately finance R&D into rare diseases. Instead, Health Minister Elena Salgado responded the...

Italy's drug market hit buy corruption cases.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... The Italian pharmaceutical market, hit by a recent corruption scandal and government-imposed price cuts, faces plans to liberalize the over-the-counter sector, according to a report by the Ireland-based analyst firm, Research and Markets....

New Hampshire data mining law overturned.(Brief article)
May 14, 2007... The US State of New Hampshire has announced that it will appeal a federal trial court decision, that a state law which banned firms from "data mining" by selling, using or distributing patients' prescription drug information, was...

US health care reform group launches.(Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform)
May 14, 2007... Nearly 40 of the USA's top business leaders and largest employers have joined forces to announce the formation of the Coalition to Advance Healthcare Reform. At a joint event with lawmakers at a Capitol Hill, Washington DC, press conference,...