Pharma Marketletter articles from September 2005

Pharma Marketletter archives from September 2005

Peregrin enters deal with Medarex.(Peregrin Pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... California, USA-based biotechnology group Peregrin Pharmaceuticals has entered into a joint licensing agreement with Medarex to develop vascular targeting agents. The collaboration provides Medarex with certain intellectual property rights...

SIRS-Lab/Biosite in sepsis diagnostics deal.(SIRS-Lab GmbH, Biosite Diagnostics Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... German biotechnology firm SIRS-Lab GmbH has entered into an agreement with USA-based biomedical group Biosite to evaluate and potentially commercialize sepsis markers. Under the alliance, SIRS-Lab will provide access to selected biomarkers...

Isis grants iCo rights to ISIS 13650.(Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. singed licensing agreements with iCo Therapeutics)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Isis Pharmaceuticals has signed an exclusive deal with fellow Vancouver, Canada-headquartered iCo Therapeutics for the development and future commercialization of its second-generation drug, ISIS13650. Initial development will focus on the...

Immtech begins Ph III trial of DB289.(Immtech International)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Immtech International, a USA-based pharmaceutical group, has begun Phase III trials of its DB289 in partnership with the University of North Carolina. The drug, designed for the treatment of trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), will be...

Neurobiological's Xerecept in Ph III trial.(Neurobiological Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Neurobiological Technologies says it has begun patient enrollment in Phase III trial of its antitumor drug Xerecept (hCRF). The study will collect safety information and determine the dexamthasone-sparing effects of hCRF used in the...

DAVANAT/5-FU Phase II clinical trial initiated.(Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US drugmaker Pro Pharmaceuticals says it has dosed the first colorectal cancer patient in a Phase II clinical trial of its Davanat/5-fluorouracil chemotherapy agent. The drug is under investigation as a third- or fourth-line treatment for...

Acambis' JE vacc on track to Ph III.(ChimeriVax-JE, vaccines)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Cambridge, UK-headquartered vaccine specialist Acambis has reported positive results from a transitional trial of ChimeriVax-JE, its investigational vaccine against Japanese encephalitis, which places the agent on track for pivotal Phase III...

Novavax' VLP avian flu gives strong animal data.(Virus-Like Particle, H9N2)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US specialty drugmaker Novavax has reported promising preclinical results with its novel Virus-Like Particle influenza vaccine. The data, published in the August 15 online edition of the journal Vaccine, demonstrate that a H9N2 influenza virus...

New indication for Salix' balsalazide?(Salix Pharmaceuticals Inc., Colazal)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... The USA's Salix Pharmaceuticals says that study data published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology-Physics suggest that its drug Colazal (balsalazide disodium) may have the potential to prevent or...

Renovis' sciatica drug, REN-1654, stalls at Ph II.(analgesics)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... California, USA-based drugmaker Renovis has reported disappointing results from a Phase II clinical trial studying REN-1654 in patients with sciatica, a form of neuropathic pain. Although the agent showed a positive trend in pain relief, it did...

NexMed's nail fungus lacquer passes Ph I.(NM100060)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... NexMed, a developer of innovative treatments utilizing its NexACT drug delivery technology, says that results from a safety and pharmacokinetics study of NM100060, its proprietary lacquer treatment for the common nail fungus onychomycosis,...

S-P to begin distribution of drug using CIMA's OraSolv.(Schering-Plough Corp., CIMA LABS Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... CIMA LABS, a division of US biotechnology firm Cephalon, says that Schering-Plough plans to market an orally-disintegrating version of Clarinex (desloratadine), its prescription antihistamine product, using OraSolv, its proprietary...

Tentative FDA OK for Perrigo's Glimeripiride.(InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, diabetes drug )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Perrigo, the world's largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical and nutritional products, says that, through a partnership with fellow US firm InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, it has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug...

Lipid Sciences initiates HDL collaboration.(high-density lipoprotein, Washington Hospital Center and the Cardiovascular Research Institute of the MedStar Research Institute )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US drugmaker Lipid Sciences says that, as part of its strategic plan to broaden the scope of its high-density lipoprotein therapy platform, it plans to initiate a development program in collaboration with the Washington Hospital Center and the...

US NIH final ethics rules eases up on earlier proposals, but outside consulting ban remains.
September 5, 2005... The US National Institutes of Health's newly-announced final regulations for reporting of certain financial interests, stock divestiture, outside activities and awards are more liberal than the original proposal published in February. For...

California sues 39 firms over Medi-Cal prices.(Bill Lockyer)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Attorney General Bill Lockyer of the US state of California has filed a law suit against 39 drugmakers, claiming that they manipulated the state Medi-Cal prescription drug program to pay artificially-inflated prices. "We're dragging these...

Defending brand pharma against generic threats: study.(AstraZeneca PLC)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... When AstraZeneca said it would sell Prilosec (omeprazole) over-the-counter, the once-best-seller dropped 65% in sales from $5.5 billion in 2001 to under $2.0 billion in 2004. Prilosec faced stiff generic competition as its patent expiry neared...

US mail-order pharmacy use down, mass-market stores up, says survey.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Chain stores continue to be the most commonly-used type of pharmacy in the USA, followed by mail, food store, mass-merchant, independent and clinics, according to new research from Wilson Health Information. However, it adds that, for the...

Patient education "drives cheaper drug use".(cost-saving drugs)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Patient education and involvement can strongly impact the use of cost-saving drugs included in formularies, says a new study conducted by US pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts and published in the July/August issue of the Journal of...

Low-income US seniors "to save nearly $1,500 a year under Medicare Rx benefit".(prescription drugs)
September 5, 2005... The amount of money that low-income US seniors spend on prescription drugs will fall nearly 90% under Medicare's upcoming prescription drug coverage, new research from the Medicare Today partnership claims. It says that seniors who earn around...

Arena's obesity drug gentle on the heart.(Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., APD356)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Arena Pharmaceuticals of the USA says that its obesity drug APD356 appears to have no negative effect on the heart. An assessment of follow-up echocardiograms, taken around 90 days after patients received their first doses of the agent in a...

DOV halts ocinaplon trial on safety grounds.(DOV Pharmaceutical Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... New Jersey, USA-based DOV Pharmaceutical has suspended further dosing in its ongoing Phase III clinical trial of ocinaplon, which is under investigation for the treatment of anxiety. The evaluation was halted following the occurrence of...

Gilead cuts Viread, Truvada prices to LDCs.(Gilead Sciences Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US drugmaker Gilead Sciences has announced price reductions for its antiretroviral medications Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), through the company's Access Program in the...

Over 80% of Americans "want option of authorized generics".(generic prescription drugs survey)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... More than eight in 10 Americans want the option of choosing authorized generic prescription drugs (multi-source generics manufactured by the brand name drug company and marketed as a generic under private label), according to a new nationwide...

Belarus withdraws pharma licenses.(pharmaceutical trading licenses)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Belarus' Health Ministry says it has withdrawn a dozen pharmaceutical trading licenses this year as a result of gross violations by license holders. These include selling drugs which are not registered with the national authorities, not...

AHF slams "record-high" price rise for BI's Aptivus.(AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Boehringer Ingelheim)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has sharply criticized Boehringer Ingelheim's recently-announced price rise for its protease inhibitor Aptivus (tipranavir), noting that the "astronomically high" $13,000-a-year price tag for this one drug makes...

Scotland to advise English NHS on new drug use?(United Kingdom. National Health Services)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Doctors working in the National Health Service in England could be supplied with the conclusions of the Scottish Medicines Consortium on the use of new drugs and treatments, which they could work from while they await a decision by the National...

Russia planning to mandate generic Rxing.(State Duma)
September 5, 2005... In Russia, the state Duma (parliament) is shortly expected to pass new legislation which will prohibit the practise of prescribing medicines by their brand names. The bill passed its first reading in July, and its final approval is forecast to...

Austrian Rx prices under retail average for 2004.(pharmaceutical products)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Retail sales of pharmaceutical products in Austria during 2004 were 0.6% higher than in 2003, while overall retail sales in the country last year showed an increase of 4.9%, year-on-year, according to a report from Statistics Austria.

Spanish Rx prices dip.(pharmaceuticals)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... July's consumer price for pharmaceuticals in Spain was the same as June and 2.6% down on July 2004. In comparison, July's consumer price index had a monthly fall of 0.6% and a 3.3% annual increase, reports the National Statistics Institute.

Italian govt urged to monitor cat C drug prices.(Francesco Storace)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Italian consumer groups are to meet with Health Minister Francesco Storace on September 9, to discuss price-monitoring for non-reimbursed category C drugs. To encourage competition, pharmacists must now offer up to a 20% discount on the...

ImClone applies to expand Erbitux' indication.(ImClone Systems Inc.)
September 5, 2005... US drugmaker ImClone Systems has submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application to the US Food and Drug Administration to expand the indication of its anticancer drug Erbitux (cetuximab) to include the treatment of squamous cell...

Tercica responds to citizen petition.(Increlex)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... In a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration, Californian drugmaker Tercica has responded to a request that approval be denied for its drug, Increlex (mecasermin [rDNA origin] rinfabate injection) (Marketletter Aug 15). The product,...

UK scientists find genetic role in skin cancer.(gene B-RAF)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Scientists at the Institute for Cancer Research in London, UK, have elucidated the role of a gene important in the development of the deadliest form of skin cancer (malignant melanoma). The team found that proteins encoded by the gene B-RAF...

York validates SPIs for eczema treatment.(York Pharmaceuticals Inc., skin protease inhibitors)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... York Pharmaceutical, based in Hitchin, UK, has announced the discovery and clinical validation of skin protease inhibitors intended for use in atopic eczema treatment. The company's focus is on the development of products which repair and...

US FDA gives priority review to Novartis' Femara in new indication.(aromatase inhibitor)
September 5, 2005... The US Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review to Swiss drug major Novartis' Femara (letrozole), a once-daily aromatase inhibitor, in the adjuvant (post-surgery) treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive...

Inyx buys Celltech unit from UCB.(UCB Pharma N.V./S.A.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Inyx Inc, a US specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus on niche drug delivery technologies and products, says that it has signed a definitive agreement with Belgium-headquartered UCB, whereby it will acquire from the latter all the...

Aptuit to acquire Almedica.(Almedica North America)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Aptuit says it will acquire fellow USA-based Almedica International for an undisclosed cash consideration. Aptuit, an emerging company focused on streamlining and supporting the drug development process for biotechnology and pharmaceutical...

Warner Chilcott renews contract with Dendrite.
September 5, 2005... Dendrite International, a provider of sales, marketing, clinical and compliance solutions for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, says that Warner Chilcott, a specialty drugmaker focused on women's health care and dermatology, has...

Per-Se Tech to acquire NDCHealth Corp.(Per-Se Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Per-Se Technologies and NDCHealth Corp say that definitive agreements have been signed for the sale of the latter, a leading provider of health care technology and information solutions, in a transaction valued at approximately $1.0 billion....

Pharmacopeia and Organon extend collaboration.(partnerships)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Pharmacopeia, a US innovator in the discovery and development of novel small-molecule therapeutics, says that it has extended its long-standing and successful collaboration with Organon, the human health division of Dutch firm Akzo Nobel. ...

Australia's Sigma and Arrow to merge.(Arrow Pharmaceuticals)
September 5, 2005... Australia's largest contract drug manufacturer, Sigma, has announced plans to acquire Arrow Pharmaceuticals, the country's second-biggest generics drugmaker, in a stock deal which, at current prices, would create a group valued at around A$2.2...

Kalbe and Orange Drugs to set up Nigerian JV.(Kalbe Farma P.T. entered into joint ventures)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Indonesia's Kalbe Farma and Nigerian company Orange Drugs have entered into an agreement to establish joint-venture pharmaceutical factories in Nigeria involving an investment of around $25.0 million. The joint company, to be called Orange...

USA's Xechem forms UK subsidiary.(Xechem International Inc. set up Xechem UK)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Xechem International of the USA has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, Xechem UK, with a registered office in Godalming, Surrey, to expand its European operations and facilitate the firm's entry into this market for its lead product,...

Expanded label for CoTherix' Ventavis.(pulmonary arterial hypertension drug)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US drugmaker CoTherix has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to modify the label for its pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Ventavis (iloprost) inhalation solution. It will now include information from a recent clinical...

FDA approves Takeda's ACTOplus met.(Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Rozerem)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... The North American division of Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceuticals says that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved its New Drug Application for ACTOplus met (pioglitazone HCl and metformin HCl) for the treatment of type 2...

FDA OKs Tercica's Increlex for primary IGFD.(insulin-like growth factor-1)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... California, USA-based drugmaker Tercica says that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its drug candidate Increlex (mecasermin, rDNA origin) injection for the long-term treatment of growth failure in children with severe primary...

MedImmune licenses Staph MAbs from GSK.(GlaxoSmithKline PLC)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US drugmaker MedImmune has licensed worldwide development rights from UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline to certain antistaphylococcal monoclonal antibodies. The program includes BSYX-A110, which is in Phase II for the prevention of serious...

Cerenis signs PPAR agonist R&D accord with Nippon Chemiphar.(Cerenis Therapeutics, peroxisome proliferator)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Cerenis Therapeutics, a privately-held US biotechnology company, has entered into a license agreement with Tokyo, Japan-headquartered drugmaker Nippon Chemiphar to develop new small-molecule therapies based on peroxisome proliferator-activated...

TAP's TAK-390MR enters Ph III.(TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. develops gastrointestinal agents)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... TAP Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture of Abbott Laboratories and Japan's Takeda has initiated Phase III studies for an investigational new product, TAK-390MR, for the treatment of acid-related disorders. Licensed from Japan's Takeda , the agent...

Par receives OK for generic Questran.(Par Pharmaceutical Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... USA-based Par Pharmaceutical, has received final Food and Drug Administration approval for its cholesterol drug cholestyramine, a generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb's drug Questra. The company says that the FDA has given approval for...

Baxter gets FDA go ahead for Ceftriaxone.(Baxter Healthcare Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Baxter Healthcare, based in Deerfield, USA, says that the Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for its ceftriaxone injection product. The drug, available as single-use units either at 1g per 50ml or 2g per 50ml dosage, is a...

Spectrum's Ozarelix Ph II trial due to begin.(Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... USA-based group Spectrum Pharmaceutical has completed enrollment of patients suffering from hormone-dependent prostate cancer for Phase II trials of its drug Ozarelix (a fourth-generation luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone). The...

Peregrine and NABTT initiate Cotara trial.(Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., New Approaches to Brain Tumor Therapy )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Peregrine Pharmaceutical, based in Tustin, California,USA, has announced the start of clinical trials of its brain tumor drug Cotara (a tumor-necrosis therapy antibody attached to iodine-131). The study, run in collaboration with the New...

Allergy Theraputics starts ragweed vaccine trial.(allergy vaccine)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... UK firm Allergy Theraputics says that it has recently initiated a Phase II clinical study of a ragweed allergy vaccine. The trial is designed to measure the differing symptoms observed when subjects are either treated with the vaccine or a...

New Zealand Pharmac clashes with Pfizer over pharma funding report.
September 5, 2005... New Zealand's pharmaceutical management agency, Pharmac, has attacked the conclusions of a new report, which says the time is ripe to undertake a far-reaching review of the country's pharmaceutical policy. New Zealand's funding of...

New Zealand 12-month pharma trade.(international trade statistics)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... New Zealand exported pharmaceuticals worth NZ$200.0 million ($138.0 million) in the 12 months to end-July, an annualized fall of 4.4%, while drug imports rose 14.4% to NZ$895.0 million, reports Statistics New Zealand.

US CMS lowers Medicare Rx benefit cost estimates further; $20/month premiums.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
September 5, 2005... Medicare beneficiaries all over the USA will be able to choose prescription drug coverage that will cost less than originally expected, including plans with premiums of $20 per month or less. Options will also include plans offering zero...

Stems Cell gains license of California processing facility.(HuCNS-SC)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... StemCells of the USA says that it has received a manufacturing license for its cell processing facility from the State of California Department of Health Services, Food and Drug Branch. This enables the company to use its proprietary...

Sanofi ups guidance as 2nd-qtr EPS rises 24.7%.(Sanofi-Aventis S.A., earnings per share )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... France's Sanofi-Aventis, the world's third-largest drugmaker, has reported a 26.0% rise in second-quarter 2005 net income to 1.55 billion euros ($1.89 billion), with earnings per share leaping 24.7% to 1.16 euros. Gross profit was up 9.6% on...

Dade Behring in-licenses homocysteine assay.(Competitive Technologies Inc. singed licensing agreements)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Competitive Technologies has licensed its homocysteine assay license to clinical diagnostics major Dade Behring under its US patent number 4,940,658 and its foreign counterparts, relating to homocysteine medical tests. Under the terms of the...

Boston Life Sci makes $12.7M placing.(Boston Life Sciences Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US firm Boston Life Sciences has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with a group of accredited investors pursuant to which the latter, subject to the right of participation by certain existing stockholders of the company, have...

Protein test may aid advanced cancer therapy.(protein HER-2)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Testing secondary tumors that have spread around the body for the protein HER-2 may help doctors decide the most effective treatment for some patients with advanced breast cancer, concludes a study published in the British Journal of Cancer,...

Speedel to list on SWX Swiss Exchange.(initial public offerings)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical firm Speedel says that it has applied for the listing of its shares on the SWX Swiss Exchange main segment, without a public offering. The first trading day has been approved as September 8 and the shares...

Japan stock market two week to August 29.(pharma markets)
September 5, 2005... Tokyo saw an extended gain over the two weeks ended August 29, following mixed movements. The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.4% to close at 12,309.83, while the Topix index was up 0.8%. At the beginning of the review period, international investors...

UPDATE: Merck & Co suffers defeat, as Vioxx jury awards $253M; will appeal.(Merck and Company Inc.)
September 5, 2005... Beleaguered US pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co was dealt a hefty blow on August 19, when a jury in Texas, the first to try cases brought against the company relating to adverse effects of its now-withdrawn COX-2 inhibitor arthritis/pain drug...

Momenta files ANDA for M-Enoxaparin.(Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc., Abbreviated New Drug Application )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Massachusetts, USA-headquartered Momenta Pharmaceutical says it has submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval for its deep vein thrombosis drug M-Enoxaparin (a low molecular weight...

InforSense to supply National Cancer Institute.(cancer research program)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... The US National Cancer Institute has chosen UK firm InforSense to provide it with the technology required to carry out genetic analysis in its ongoing cancer research program. Scientists based at the NCI's core genotyping facility in...

BTG and Collegium to develop new asthma drug.(BTG Pharmaceuticals Corp., Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc., CP-141)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... London, UK-based medical innovations firm, BTG, and USA-headquartered Collegium Pharmaceutical have signed a joint collaboration agreement to develop CP-141, a modified oral formulation of a currently-available asthma drug. BTG says that...

NeuroSearch and TopoTarget to develop NSD-551.(anticancer drugs)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Danish drugmaker NeuroSearch has signed an agreement with the pharmaceutical group TopoTarget, also headquartered in Denmark, for the development of its chemotherapy-enhancing agent NSD-551. The compound activates an ion channel important in...

SPECTRUM week to Aug 15.(pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 5, 2005... --------------------------------------- Stock Close %Change On Week Amylin $32.66 +50.6 Alpharma $25.33 +28.0 Alizyme 113.75 pence...

Stock Commentary - Europe - week to Aug 15.(pharmaceutical industry)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... EUROPEAN: bourses were all significantly lower in the two-week reporting period to August 29, with worries about rising oil prices and the effect this will have on corporate earnings still the main focus during the summer holiday season which,...

Stock Commentary - Tokyo week to Aug 15.(pharmaceutical industry)
September 5, 2005... TOKYO: saw an extended gain over the two weeks ended August 29, following mixed movements. The Nikkei 225 edged up 0.4% to close at 12,309.83, while the Topix index was up 0.8%. At the beginning of the review period, international investors...

Stock Commentary - New York week to Aug 15.(pharmaceutical industry)
September 5, 2005... NEW YORK: equities moved up and down in a narrow range during the two-week reporting period to August 29, with the Dow Jones 1.5% lower overall and dropping under the psychologically-important 10,500 mark. Disappointing earnings guidance and US...

Novartis bids $4.5B to buy rest of Chiron.(Novartis AG)
September 5, 2005... In a move that would give it a significant stake in the global vaccines market, Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis has offered to acquire the remaining 57.8% of the outstanding shares it does not already own of US firm Chiron for $40.00 a...

Staf Van Reet joins Galapagos as VP corporate development.(Mayne Group Ltd. appointed Thierry Soursac)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Australian health care group Mayne has appointed Thierry Soursac as chief executive officer of its pharmaceutical division. Dr Soursac previously served on the management board of Aventis, quitting the post after its merger with...

York Pharma names Neil Symmonds sales and marketing director.(York Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... UK-based dermatologicals specialist York Pharma has named Neil Symmonds as its sales and marketing director. Mr Symmonds has several years' experience managing prescription skin care product brands for Novartis, Sandoz and Galderma.

Actavis' Sigurdur Olafsson named chief exec, sales and marketing.(Sigurdur Oli Olafsson appointed)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Sigurdur Oli Olafsson has been appointed chief executive of sales and marketing for the newly-created international S&M division of Iceland-headquartered generics drugmaker Actavis. He leaves behind his position as CEO of corporate development,...

Ranbaxy Laboratories opens drug discovery center in India.
September 5, 2005... Leading Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories has opened its third drug discovery research center at Gurgaon, India. The new R&D center is housed in a brand new building in the same campus as Ranbaxy's earlier research facilities and will focus...

Panacos names Peyton Marshall as CFO.(Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc. appointed chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US antivirals specialist Panacos has appointed Peyton Marshall as its executive vice president and chief financial officer. Dr Marshall is a 20-year veteran of public biotechnology firms and the financial industry and, before his appointment,...

Vyteris appoints David Friend and Louise Galanos.(Vyteris Holdings)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Vyteris Holdings, a US development firm focusing on drug delivery technologies, has expanded its management team by appointing two senior executives: David Friend as vice president of research; and Louise Galanos as VP of quality assurance. Dr...

EU Commission clears J&J's takeover of Guidant.(Johnson & Johnson acquired Guidant Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... US health care giant Johnson & Johnson's $25.4 billion acquisition of medical devices firm Guidant Corp has been approved by the European Commission. The deal, which was initiated at the end of last year (Marketletter December 20, 2004), marks...

Pfizer prevails in Czech atorvastatin dispute with Zentiva.(Quest Diagnostics, LabOne Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Quest Diagnostics, a USA-based provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire diagnostic services company LabOne for $934.0 million in an all-cash transaction. All outstanding common...

Amylin enters $152 M public offering.(Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... The USA's Amylin Pharmaceuticals has initiated a public offering of 5,068,138 shares of its common stock at a price of $31.00 per share under shelf registration statements previously filed and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange...