Pharma Marketletter articles from November 2004

Pharma Marketletter archives from November 2004

Cranberries may be benefical in herpes.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Alpine cranberries have significant biological activity that can help to combat herpes virus type II (HSV-2) infection, one of the most common viral infections in humans, according to research published in the Journal of the Science of Food and...

Omega-3 fats benefit cardiovascular health, more US research shows.
November 1, 2004... USA peer-reviewed research continues to show the cardiovascular benefits of fish consumption or intake of long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs). Several studies described in the September issue of the PUFA Newsletter...

AstraZeneca's EPS up 56%, sales rise 10%.(earnings per share)
November 1, 2004... Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca posted third-quarter 2004 earnings per share of $0.72 (including a benefit of $0.17 from exceptional items), up from $0.47 a share in the like, year-earlier period and, showing a massive 56%...

Copaxone 3rd-qtr sales rise 34% to $242M.(Teva Pharmaceutical Industries)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has revealed that global in-market sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (glatiramer) amounted to $242 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2004, an increase of 34% over the comparable...

Health Canada approves new MedMira Rapid HIV test.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... MedMira has said that it has received approval from Health Canada to market its enhanced MedMira Rapid HIV test for the detection of HIV antibodies in human serum or plasma. The new MedMira test will be made available immediately in Canadian...

Gilead discontinues development of GS 9005 and GS 7340.(anti-HIV agents)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Gilead Sciences of the USA says it is discontinuing its development programs for GS 9005 and GS 7340, two investigational products for the treatment of HIV. The company will continue to focus its research efforts on multiple targets for HIV,...

Blocking gene opens avenues for prostate cancer therapy.(action of a gene called IGF1R [2])(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Cancer Research UK scientists in Oxford have found a new way to make prostate cancer succumb more readily to currently-used treatments. Prostate cancer is resistant to most forms of chemotherapy and is notoriously difficult to treat....

TKT completes buy of minority holding in TKT Europe.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Transkaryotic Therapies says it has completed the purchase of the 20% equity interest in TKT Europe-5S AB held by the founding European executives of the firm for $61 million. With this purchase, TKT now owns 100% of TKT Europe-5S. The purchase...

MedImmune expands FluMist production.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA-based MedImmune, says that it is increasing its planned delivery of FluMist (influenza virus vaccine live, intranasal) up to a total of three million doses. Originally, the company had completed production of 1.1 million doses but, in...

TKT prevails in UK epoietin patent case.(Transkaryotic Therapies Inc.-patent infringement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The House of Lords, the UK's highest court, has ruled in favor of Transkaryotic Therapies in a patent infringement suit involving TKT and France's Sanofi-Aventis against US biotechnology major Amgen and Japan's Kirin. The Lords upheld an...

US uninsured "pay 78% more than best Rx prices".
November 1, 2004... Uninsured US consumers are charged 78% more for prescription drugs than the best available market prices, a survey by the US Public Interest Research Groups has found. When 45 million uninsured Americans "go it alone" at the drug store,...

US HHS Sec seeks to assure on flu vaccine.(Unites States Health and Human Services Secretary)
November 1, 2004... About 60 million doses of influenza vaccine plus an ample supply of antiviral medicines puts the USA in a strong position during the upcoming flu season, US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has said. The USA's cache...

Pay more for drugs, US Treasury Sec tells world.(United States Treasury Secretary)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The rest of the world should pay more for prescription drugs developed in the USA, US Treasury Secretary John Snow has told business leaders in Pennsylvania. The USA does the R&D for most of the drugs that make their way onto the world...

US vaccines demand "to reach $7.4B in 2008".(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US demand for vaccines will grow 8.6% a year to $7.4 billion in 2008, after which, new products for complex human diseases will lead to rapid acceleration in growth, says a new report from The Freedonia Group. In the next few years,...

ASEAN seeks more trade with India.(Association of Southeast Asian Nations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has urged India to strengthen its economic and political links with Southeast Asia which, it says, would give the country access to the region's natural resources, major investors to help develop...

India's new patent bill expected to go before Parliament in December.
November 1, 2004... India's long-awaited Third Patent Amendment Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament at its winter session in December. The bill increases protection from just processes now to product patents, and must become law by January 1, 2005, under...

Thai pharma price pledge.(Thailand-pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Drugmakers in Thailand have agreed not to raise their prices until March 31, 2005, although the Department of Internal Trade will allow such increases if manufacturers' costs go up because of rising oil prices, the Thai News Agency reports.

French Rx R&D losing ground, says Academy.(Research&Development)
November 1, 2004... A report from France's Academy of Sciences says that the national drug industry is losing ground in R&D in relation to its competitors. The creativity of French research scientists in the sector is falling and the number of innovative drugs...

Euro bio/generics mkt "to hit $21.2B in 2010".
November 1, 2004... The growing loss of patent protection on blockbuster drugs over the next few years and the rising need to contain spiralling health care costs are set to provide a fillip to Europe's generics and biogenerics market, which will grow from a value...

EMA to review COX-2 inhibitors.(European Medicines Agency)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Following the worldwide withdrawal of Merck & Co's Vioxx (rofecoxib: Marketletter October 4), the European Commission has asked the European Medicines Agency to review the COX-2 inhibitors, as a precautionary measure. The Committee for...

New Spanish Rx trade chief slams govt policies.(criticism of government's drug policies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Spanish drug industry federation, Farmaindustria, has named Pfizer Spain's president and director general Emilio Moraleda as president for 2004-6, replacing Almirall president Jorge Gallardo. In a press briefing, Mr Moraleda criticized...

UK Rx trade balance up, but imports rise.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The first half of 2004 saw the UK pharmaceutical industry's positive trade balance rise 1% over the same period of 2003 to L1.67 billion ($3.05 billion), but drug imports grew 8% to L4.24 billion during the period, compared with a 6% rise in...

French prescription numbers up but health spending growth slows.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Prescriptions issued by French doctors rose 6.2% in the 12 months to September 30, 2004, and expenditures on drugs in the period increased sharply, but growth in overall health fund spending is reported to have marked time. Provisional...

Approvable letter for Celgene's Thalomid.(Celgene Corp-drug approval)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Celgene Corp of the USA says it has received an approvable letter from the US Food and Drug Administration for its supplemental New Drug Application for use of Thalomid (thalidomide) in the treatment of multiple myeloma. In the letter, the...

Roche's Avastin on track in EU.(European Union)(Roche Holding Ltd.-drug approval)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has issued a positive opinion recommending approval of Roche's Avastin (bevacizumab) in combination with intravenous 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with...

Boeh Ingelheim files NDA for tipranavir.(New Drug Application)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim has submitted a New Drug Application to the US Food and Drug Administration for the use of its tipranavir in the treatment of HIV-1 infection in combination with other antiretroviral agents. The company is...

Actelion's Tracleer improves quality of life.(treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Results presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, reveal that the use of Actelion's Tracleer (bosentan) in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension related to connective tissue diseases...

French antibiotics consumption falls 16% since 2002, with 25% target by 2008.
November 1, 2004... Consumption of antibiotics in France has fallen 16% since 2002, according to figures from the health fund organization, the CNAM. The country has tended to lead Europe with previously very high levels of intake of both antibiotics and other...

Recommendations to boost French biotech.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The French drug industry organization LEEM, in conjunction with France Biotech - the biotechnology sector organization - has made a series of recommendations to the Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, for an "ambitious strategic plan" for the...

Germany trains LDC drug supply managers.(German pharmaceutical health fund)(less developed countries)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Under the auspices of the federal Health Ministry, the German pharmaceutical health fund, the GPHF, organized the third further-training seminar for pharmaceutical students and pharmacists with a view to training them in the field of drug...

IPMG joins fight against fake drugs in Indonesia - by P S Sujarto, Jakarta.(International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group)(Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society)
November 1, 2004... The level and amount of fake and counterfeit medicines being sold in Indonesia has resulted in the International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group joining the Indonesian Anti-Counterfeiting Society (MIAP) to pressure the government to take...

BDI issues China pharma directory.(Business Data International-pharmaceutical directory)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... With China's burgeoning economy in mind, Canadian information provider Business Data International has issued the Directory of China Pharmaceutical Raw Material Manufacturing and Marketing Enterprises, which is published in English and Chinese...

Warner Chilcott confirms 873 pence/share ($2.7M) offer.(pharmaceutical firm)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Noting recent press comments about a takeover bid for the firm (Marketletters passim), Northern Ireland-based Warner Chilcott has confirmed that it "has received an approach from a party concerning an offer for the company at a price of 837...

IVAX to trade on Warsaw stock exchange.(Polish Securities and Exchange Commission has approved IVAX Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... IVAX Corp of the USA has announced that the Polish Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the firm's application for introduction to public trading of shares on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. With this approval by the PSEC, IVAX has...

aaiPharma ups credit facility to $30M; mulls pharma divestitute.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US firm aaiPharma, together with its senior secured lenders, has entered into an amendment to its senior secured credit facility to, among other things, increase the amount of the term loans by up to $30 million. This amendment is contingent...

NascaCell in Japanese aptamer distribution deal with GE.(GE Healthcare)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Munich, Germany-based NascaCell IP GmbH says it has entered into a collaboration agreement with GE Healthcare to market aptamers for target validation and drug discovery in Japan. The deal is part of NascaCell's business strategy to make...

Eyetech/Pfizer's Macugen shows long-term benefits for neovascular AMD.(Advanced Macular Degeneration)
November 1, 2004... New results have been released which suggest that the benefits of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals/Pfizer's Macugen (pegaptanib sodium) in treating patients with neovascular or wet age-related macular degeneration, who are at risk of losing their...

3rd-qtr profit for Chiron despite Fluvirin woes.
November 1, 2004... Troubled vaccines and antibiotics maker Chiron saw its results swing to a profit for the third quarter of 2004, despite a fall in sales following the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's temporary suspension of the firm's...

Eli Lilly's income up 6% for 3rd-qtr 2004.
November 1, 2004... USA-based drug major Eli Lilly has posted a 6% rise in net income to $755.2 million, or $0.69 per share, for the third quarter ended September 30, as a 7% decrease in operating income to $863.6 million was countered by higher net other income,...

Sanofi-Aventis' 3rd-qtr sales rise 10.7%.
November 1, 2004... Recently-formed French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis saw its third-quarter pro forma combined revenues climb 10.7% to 6.5 billion euros ($8.1 billion), as the group reported its first set of financial results since its birth earlier this year...

ZLB Behring donates $9.8 million of hemophilia drugs.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... ZLB Behring, created via the integration Australian firm CSL's ZLB Bioplasma unit and Aventis Behring, acquired from the former Franco-German group Aventis (Marketletters passim), says its has donated over 15.2 million units of hemophilia...

Alliance swings to loss for first half, reports acquisitions.(Alliance Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... London, UK-based Alliance Pharma saw its profit swing to a loss for its fiscal first of 2004 half ended August 30, posting pretax losses of L390,000 ($701,961) compared to a profit of L200,000 a year ago, on revenues up 13% to L5.6 million. ...

Synairgen raises L10.5 million on AIM.(Alternative Investment Market )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The UK's Synairgen has raised L10.5 million ($18.9 million) via a placing of shares at 130 pence each, pre-admission to the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange, reports the Financial Times.

Exelixis' XL999 starts clinical trials.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Exelixis of the USA has initiated a Phase I trial to examine the tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile of its novel proprietary anticancer agent XL999. The dose-finding safety study will involve patients with solid tumors for whom no...

Positive new data for OXiGENE's CA4P.(combretastatin A4 prodrug)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US firm OXiGENE says that its lead vascular-targeting agent combretastatin A4 prodrug (CA4P) has demonstrated anti-tumor activity, in combination with radiotherapy, in an ongoing Phase Ib trial involving patients with inoperable non-small cell...

Connetics' Evoclin cleared in USA.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Connetics Corp's Evoclin (1% clindamycin) Foam for the treatment of acne vulgaris. The topical treatment utilizes the firm's proprietary VersaFoam delivery system.

Cell Thera's Trisenox OKed in Japan.(Cell Therapeutics in contract with Nippon Shinyaku for marketing)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US firm Cell Therapeutics says that Nippon Shinyaku has received approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare to market its Trisenox (arsenic trioxide) for patients with relapsed or refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia in...

BAY 43-9006 to be filed on Ph III results.(Bayer Pharmaceutical Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Bayer Pharmaceutical Corp, the US unit of Germany's Bayer Healthcare, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals say they are to pursue registration of BAY 43-9006 for the treatment of patients with advanced kidney cancer based on findings from an ongoing Phase...

Domantis and Argenta sign antibody deal.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... UK firms Argenta and Domantis have entered into a collaboration to co-develop fully-human domain antibody (dAbs) therapeutics for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory conditions. Under the terms of...

Neurocrine's urocortin 2 enters Phase I studies.(Neurocrine Biosciences )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Neurocrine Biosciences of the USA has started a Phase I trial of its urocortin 2, a corticotropin-releasing factor agonist, in healthy volunteers. The study is designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of the...

New UK pharmacy contract announced.
November 1, 2004... Patients in England and Wales will be able to access an increased range of services from their local community pharmacy if pharmacy owners vote to adopt a new contract published October 24. This follows the UK government's announcement to...

Pharma R&D remains vital to the UK.(research and development)
November 1, 2004... The UK has maintained its world position in R&D investment in the pharmaceutical, health, biotechnology and aerospace sectors and is second only to the USA, according to figures published by the country's Department of Trade and Industry, in...

Metabolic protein processing deficits may cause schizophrenia.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA-based Psychiatric Genomics has announced new findings concerning the potential cause of schizophrenia. The results, presented at the Society for Neuroscience's 34th annual meeting, held in San Diego, California, USA, showed that the...

OTCs to treat URIs could save $4.75B, says US study.(over-the-counter therapies, upper respiratory infections )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Using over-the-counter therapies to treat common upper respiratory infections could save billions of dollars a year, according to a new study conducted by researchers from Northwestern University, USA, which was sponsored by the US Consumer...

Loss increases at Cell Genesys as revenues fall.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA-based Cell Genesys has reported a net loss of $24.0 million, or $0.54 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, compared with a net loss of $2.9 million, or $0.07 per share, in the same quarter of 2003. The increase in net loss...

Vertex losses halved, sales grow 69.6%.(Vertex Pharmaceuticals )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Vertex Pharmaceuticals has reported consolidated financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2004, showing that its net loss was $38.8 million, or $0.49 per basic and diluted share, compared with $86.4 million, or $1.12, for the...

Pharmion's Vidaza sales $20.4M in launch quarter.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US firm Pharmion Corp reports that net sales totaled $42.6 million in the third quarter of 2004 compared with $7.7 million in the same 2003 period. Turnover of Vidaza (azacitidine for injectable suspension), which the company launched in the...

Bayer and CTT settle patent dispute.(Competitive Technologies and Bayer HealthCare)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... In the USA, Competitive Technologies (CTT) and Bayer HealthCare, a US unit of the German Bayer group, have settled the patent case brought by the former company in the Colorado Federal District Court alleging infringement of US Patent Number...

Serono sees 3rd-qtr net income leaps 47%.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Switzerland-based Serono SA, Europe's largest and the world's third biggest biotechnology firm, posted a hefty 47.2% increase in third-quarter 2004 net income, which reached $162.5 million, on sales up 26.0% at $633.6 million. However, by...

Ranbaxy's 3rd-qtr 2004 sales jump 19%.(Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Ranbaxy Laboratories of India and its subsidiaries have posted consolidated third-quarter 2004 revenues of 13.4 billion rupees ($293.9 million), rising 19% over the like, year-earlier period, driven by robust turnover growth in all regions. ...

Wockhardt sees 3rd-qtr net profit climb 13.6%.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Indian drugmaker Wockhardt has posted a gross profit of 800 million rupees ($17.5 million) for the third quarter of 2004, ended September 30, leaping 32% over the year-ago period and leading to net profit of 558 million rupees, up 13.6% despite...

Sun Pharma's profit climbs 20% for 2nd qtr.(Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has reported a 20% rise in net profit to 792 million rupees ($17.4 million) for the second quarter of fiscal 2005, ended September 30. Total income of 3.3 billion rupees was up 16.2% over the like, year-earlier...

Nicolas Piramal's 3rd-qtr profit rises 8%.(Nicholas Piramal India Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Nicolas Piramal of India has generated net profits of 544 million rupees ($11.9 million) for the third quarter ended September 30, a rise of 8%, although net sales grew only 0.3% to 3.53 billion rupees.

Gilead's 3rd-qtr 2004 revenues rocket 63%.(Gilead Sciences Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA-based Gilead Sciences saw its sales for the third quarter of 2004 shoot up 63% to $326.2 million from the year-ago period, on a stellar performance of its HIV franchise, which turned in growth of 88% to $228.1 million, as well as a 146%...

QLT posts 27% rise in income for 3rd qtr.(QLT Therapeutics )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Vancouver, Canada-headquartered QLT Therapeutics saw its income jump 27% to $16.7 million, or $0.24 per share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2004. Growth was driven by strong sales for the period, which were up 22% at $47...

MedImmune's 3rd-qtr loss grows four-fold.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... US drugmaker MedImmune saw its third quarter losses quadruple to $65 million, or $0.26 per share, from the year-earlier period's $16 million, or $0.16, on charges and lost sales from the break-up of its deal with Wyeth over the influenza...

Alcon's 3rd-qtr earnings up 26.9%.(Alcon Laboratories Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... New York, USA-based Alcon, the majority shareholder of which is Nestle of Switzerland, saw its net income for the third quarter jump 26.9% to $194.3 million, or $0.62 per share, beating general expectations on higher production volumes and...

Genzyme swings to profit in 3rd qtr.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... USA-based Genzyme Corp posted third-quarter net income of $97.8 million, or $0.42 per share, versus a loss of $95.7 million, or $0.43 a share, for the like, year-earlier period. Growth was driven by a 30% increase in revenues to $569.2...

Genaissance revises 2004 revenue outlook.(Genaissance Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Genaissance of the USA has revised its revenue target for the year ending December 31, 2004, due to a shift in the timing of certain anticipated contracts. The firm now expects full-year sales of $20-$21 million, including the acquisition of...

Merck KGaA's 3rd-qtr profit leaps 43%.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... German drugmaker Merck KGaA saw its profit after tax and minority interests jump 43% to 116 million euros ($148 million), or 0.61 euros per share, for the third quarter of 2004, ended September 30. Growth for the period was driven by...

Schwarz' sales drop 17% for 3rd-qtr 2004.(Schwarz Pharma AG)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Germany-based Schwarz Pharma posted sales of 221.4 million euros ($283 million) for the third quarter of 2004, marking a 17.9% decrease from the year-earlier period. Results still beat general expectations, however, as rising generic...

UPDATE: Serono tops forecasts as EPS rockets 54%.(earnings per share)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Posting third-quarter 2004 results which beat analysts' consensus forecasts, Switzerland-based Serono SA, Europe's largest and the world's third biggest biotechnology firm, saw a hefty 47.2% increase in third-quarter 2004 net income, which...

Actelion 9-mth sales leap 63%, EPS +173%.(earnings per share )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Swiss biopharmaceutical company Actelion has reported first nine months of 2004 sales of 341.5 million Swiss francs ($285.1 million), a rise of 63.3% on the like, year-earlier period, with revenues from its pulmonary arterial hypertension drug...

Pelikan raises $29.2 million in Series D round.(Pelikan Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... California, USA-based Pelikan Technologies, which focuses on the development of products for hand-held diagnostics, says it has raised $29.2 million in a Series D preferred stock international financing round, led by swissfirst Bank AG. ...

EyeTech sees 3rd-qtr net loss widen.(Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Eyetech Pharmaceuticals of the USA posted a net loss of $24.7 million for the third quarter of 2004, rising 49% over the $16.6 million recorded for the like, year-earlier period, on mounting R&D and sales and marketing expenses. R&D...

JPT Peptide Tech opens US office in Virginia.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Germany's JPT Peptide Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Jerini AG, has commenced operations at the Fairfax County BioAccelerator business incubator in Virginia, USA, in order to expand into the North American...

Celsis' 1st-half profit leaps 27%.(Celsis International PLC)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Celsis International, a UK-based microbial detection and analytical services provider, has posted profit growth of 27% to $2.7 million for the first six months of its fiscal year, ended September 30. Growth was driven by a solid 12.7% rise...

Tokyo pharma stocks - week to October 25.
November 1, 2004... Tokyo saw an extended retreat in the week ended October 25, due to concerns over the negative impact on the Japanese economy and corporate earnings of a strong earthquake of 6.8-magnitude which hit the Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture over...

Better lifecycle management essential for pharmaceutical industry success; new study.
November 1, 2004... One of the most important priorities for the pharmaceutical industry today is product lifecycle management, a holistic approach that addresses integrated operations such as marketing and sales, says the fourth annual Vision & Reality report...

EpiTan focuses on Melanotan, a potential blockbuster Olife styleO drug.
November 1, 2004... Melbourne, Australia-based EpiTan is primarily focused on developing and commercializing its lead product Melanotan, a synthetic copy of a naturally-occurring hormone, alpha-MSH, which stimulates the production of melanin in the skin. ...

Novartis' Emselex cleared in EU for OAB.(overactive bladder)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The European Commission has granted approval of Novartis' Emselex (darifenacin hydrobromide) 7.5mg and 15mg for the treatment of overactive bladder in all 25 European member states, as well as Norway and Iceland. This follows the recent...

US FDA approves Shire's Fosrenol.(Food and Drug Administration, Shire Pharmaceuticals )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... UK-based Shire Pharmaceuticals says that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its Fosrenol (lanthanum carbonate), a new phosphate binder that reduces elevated blood levels of phosphate in patients with end-stage renal disease. ...

Approvable letter for Altana's Alvesco.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The US Food and Drug Administration has issued an approvable letter for Germany-based Altana's Alvesco (ciclesonide) for the treatment of persistent asthma, regardless of severity, in adults, adolescents and children four years of age and...

Merck KGaA and Lilly in insomnia drug deal.(Eli Lilly and Co.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Germany's Merck KGaA and US drug major Eli Lilly have signed an agreement under which the latter has gained worldwide development and commercialization rights to the former's EMD 281014, a potential new treatment for insomnia. The agent, a...