Pharma Marketletter articles from September 2007

Pharma Marketletter archives from September 2007

Roche's Avastin cleared for NSCLC in EU.
September 3, 2007... Swiss drug major says that its anticancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab) has received European approval as a first-line treatment, in combination with chemotherapy, for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Specifically, the drug has been...

GSK accelerates review of Exelixis' XL880.(GlaxoSmithKline)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... California, USA-based biotechnology firm Exelixis says that it has agreed to UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline's request to initiate a review of the developmental anticancer agent XL880, a dose-dependant inhibitor of tumor growth, before the...

German drug discount deals attacked.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Drug discount deals between German public-sector health funds (Krankenkassen) and drug companies pose considerable risks for patients, according to experts invoked by the German Association for Insured and Patients (DGVP). The association says...

German drug sales set to decline, VFA warns.
September 3, 2007... The German pharmaceutical sector is expected to see an accelerated decline in drug sales in its domestic market this year, according to the German Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA). The group had already forecast a...

NICE accepts drugmaker case for RA drug.(National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the UK advisory body which recommends medical treatments, including drugs, in England and Wales under the National Health Service, has published final guidance on the use of Swiss drug...

MHRA considers UK Rx deregulation.(Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has launched a consultation on proposals to amend Section 58 of the Medicines Act 1968, which would enable UK pharmacists to dispense prescription-only drugs (POMs) prescribed...

GPC Biotech to cut US staffing levels 15%.
September 3, 2007... German biopharmaceutical firm GPC Biotech AG has announced plans to reduce staffing levels at its US subsidiary by around 15% as part of a wide ranging corporate restructuring program. The firm said that the cutbacks would affect its...

Genmab's 1st-half loss falls 54% on sales hike.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Danish biotechnology firm Genmab AS says that, for the six months ended June 20, 2007, net losses were 87.0 million Danish kroner ($15.9 million) a reduction of 54% on the deficit it recorded in the comparable period last year. The firm said...

Isolagen raises $13.8M through share offer.
September 3, 2007... US firm Isolagen, which develops products for both esthetic and therapeutic uses, says it has completed a registered direct offering of approximately 6.76 million shares of common stock at a price of $2.04 each. The offer, which attracted...

Perrigo's 4th-qtr income climbs 6%.(revenue report)(Financial report)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... USA-based generic drug and health care product developer Perrigo says that net income the the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, 2007, increased 53% to $19.7 million, or $0.20 per share. The firm explained that the improvement had been...

Alltracel to buy Synpart for 6.3M euros.(Alltracel Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Irish drugmaker Alltracel Pharmaceuticals says that negotiations to acquire the issued, and to be issued, share capital of German firm Synpart AG are at an advanced stage. Under the proposed transaction, Synpart, a specialist oral care and...

ReGen's zolpidem non-sedating in antidormancy trial.(ReGen Therapeutics PLC)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... UK-based biotechnology firm ReGen Therapeutics says that data from a study of its novel formulation of zolpidem indicate that the drug is non-sedating. The firm explained that the assessment had been designed to examine the antidormancy effects...

NICE issues new CFS management guidelines.(National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence)(Chronic fatigue syndrome)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, the UK advisory body which approves medical treatments for the National Health Service in England and Wales, has issued new guidelines designed to improve the diagnosis and management...

Neuralstem shares to begin trading on Amex.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... USA-based stem cell development company Neuralstem says that its shares have been accepted for listing on the American Stock Exchange. The approval is contingent on the company being in compliance with all the applicable listing standards. ...

Medtronic and Bayer to sell glucose meter outside USA.(Bayer Diabetes Care)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... USA-based Medtronic and Bayer Diabetes Care, a member of Germany's Bayer Group, have announced an alliance to distribute and co-market a new blood glucose meter for diabetic patients outside the USA. The meter, based on Bayer's Contour meter...

China donates anticancer drugs to Nepal.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The Chinese government donated oncology drugs and medical equipment valued at $18,000 to the Nepalese authorities in August. The move was in response to flooding and landslides that have killed hundreds of people, according to the Xinhua news...

North Dakota joins US states monitoring Rx drug abuse.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The North Dakota Pharmacy Board has announced plans to create a prescription drug database to identify residents of the state who are likely to be abusing prescription drugs. The move comes shortly after Alaska became the last of the 50 states...

Fraud warning of fake drug web sites.
September 3, 2007... A lack of regulation of on-line pharmacies is putting people at risk from fake medicines, the UK's public broadcaster, the BBC, reports. A study of more than 3,000 web sites found prescription drugs for sale without oversight and some that were...

Nexavar to be given to all patients in Asia-Pacific trial after it boosts survival in HCC.
September 3, 2007... Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, a US unit of Germany's Bayer, and US biopharmaceutical firm Onyx Pharmaceuticals say that a planned review by an independent data monitoring committee found that their co-developed cancer drug Nexavar...

Statins reduce the risk of developing AD.
September 3, 2007... Statins, a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol, cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease 80%, according to a study in the August 28 edition of Neurology. This finding could help extend the uses for an already lucrative family of...

Pfizer and B-MS finalize DGAT-1 collaboration.(Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.)(acylglycerol acyl transferase-1)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... World drug giant Pfizer and US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb have finalized a previously-announced agreement for the worldwide collaboration on the R&D and commercialization of diacylglycerol acyl transferase-1 (DGAT-1) inhibitors...

Japan medical costs reach $278.6B in 2006.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Japan's estimated health care expenditures paid by all medical insurances and public funds for the fiscal year 2006 increased 0.1% to 32,400.0 billion yen ($278.6 billion) compared to the previous year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare...

India to be among top 10 pharma markets.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... India will be among the world's 10 leading pharmaceutical markets from 2015 because of steadily rising sales volume and the increase in illness due to stress, according to a study by the McKinsey consultancy. Gautan Kumra, one of the...

Japan's govt urged on preventive medicine.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan has urged the Japanese government "to focus on prevention, early prediction and diagnosis by promoting patient access to the latest pharmaceutical products, medical technologies and services" in its...

Dr Reddy's joins race to acquire Bradley.
September 3, 2007... According to reports on Indian television news channel CNBC TV18, drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories has joined the race to acquire USA-based specialty drugmaker Bradley Pharmaceuticals. The story, which cites unnamed sources, points out that Dr...

Kimia Farma and Indofarma may merge.(P.T. Indofarma mergers with P.T. Kimia Farma)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Indonesian, state-owned pharmaceutical firms PT Kimia Farma TbK and PT Indofarma TbK may merge in an effort to boost efficiency, according to a report in the Jakarta Post, on August 27. Last year, the two firms achieved net profits of 42.0...

NEJM direct-to-consumer ad study shows drug industry cannot self-regulate.(New England Journal of Medicine)
September 3, 2007... The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the USA's largest HIV/AIDS health care provider, has once again denounced direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising by the pharmaceutical industry after an article published in the New England Journal of...

Patent expiries on blockbusters and health care cost-cutting drive generics market.
September 3, 2007... With several major blockbuster drugs reaching patent expiry, the market for generic pharmaceuticals in the USA is booming and is set to witness significant growth over the next few years. Demand for lower health care costs and pressure from...

EMEA clears Rasilez for high blood pressure.(European Medicines Agency )(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Swiss drug major Novartis says it has received European Medicines Agency (EMEA) approval for its antihypertensive Rasilez (aliskiren). The drug has been cleared as a therapy for high blood pressure either alone or in combination with other...

Sanofi and Actelion will dominate insomnia market by 2016.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Although French drug major Sanofi-Aventis' eplivanserin and Swiss biotechnology firm Actelion's ACT-078573 will be market leaders by 2016, the insomnia market is not likely to sustain multiple "me-too" drugs that lack definable safety or...

Headlines 25 years ago this week....
September 3, 2007... Doctors in America are prescribing less: 7% fewer scripts issued since 1976 but, among certain drug groups - such as tranquilizers and and sleeping pills - the decline is greater, although, within the psychotherapeutic sector, "mood elevating"...

Genetics determine optimal dose of common anticoagulant.(gen-warfarin)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Genetic testing can be used to help personalize the therapeutic dosage of warfarin, a commonly-used anticoagulant, according to research published in the September 1 issue of Blood. For the first time, a group of St Louis, USA, researchers...

UK to allow opticians to prescribe some drugs.(United Kingdom. Department of Health)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The UK's Department of Health has announced plans to allow optometrists to prescribe drugs for ocular diseases, including glaucoma and wet age-related macular degeneration. A general practitioner would no longer be required.

Czech health reforms include drug tax hike.(Czech Republic)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The Czech Republic's Chamber of Deputies has narrowly approved the government's public sector reform package. which includes health care charges. The vote was carried by 101 votes to 99 with the help of two opposition members. The reforms...

IDM's mifamurtide gets non-approvable letter from FDA.(IDM Pharma)(United States. Food and Drug Administration)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... California, USA-based biopharmaceutical firm IDM Pharma has received a "non-approvable" letter from the Food and Drug Administration for its developmental anticancer agent mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE; formerly known as Junovan). The drug, which had...

Implicit's hep C drug enters Ph IIa study.(Implicit Bioscience )(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Immunology-focused biotechnology company Implicit Bioscience says that physicians at fellow Australia-based Southern Health, a health care provider for south-eastern Melbourne, have begun examining the effect of oglufanide disodium in hepatitis...

BioSante's flu vaccine adjuvant impresses in trial.(BioSante Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... US firm BioSante Pharmaceuticals says that data presented at this year's Novel Vaccines Conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, indicate the considerable progress it has made in developing its nanoparticle-based pandemic H5N1/bird flu vaccine...

TorreyPines begins Ph I tezampanel trial.(TorreyPines Therapeutics )(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... California, USA-based biopharmaceutical firm TorreyPines Therapeutics has begun a Phase I trial of its developmental migraine treatment tezampanel. The drug, which is an AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist, will be evaluated in terms of its...

FDA OKs Teva's generic Famvir.
September 3, 2007... The US Food and Drug Administration has granted final approval for Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Abbreviated New Drug Application to market its generic version of Swiss drug major Novartis' Famvir (famciclovir) tablets, 125mg,...

Opportunities to improve on Remicade's efficacy?
September 3, 2007... There is a significant opportunity for a drug that can offer profound improvement in efficacy over Centocor/Schering- Plough/Tanabe's Remicade (infliximab) for the treatment of acute ulcerative colitis, according to a new report from Decision...

Cortex to raise $14.3 million.(Cortex Pharmaceuticals )(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... California, USA-based Cortex Pharmaceuticals says that it has obtained commitments from several institutional investors to purchase shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase common stock in a registered direct offering for an...

Enrollment opens for ImClone's Ph II IMC-1121B study.
September 3, 2007... ImClone Systems of the USA says that the first of its disease-directed clinical trials of the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 monoclonal antibody IMC-1121B has opened for patient enrollment. This Phase II single-arm,...

CORRECTION: German drug sales set to decline.
September 3, 2007... CORRECTION: In the Friday August 24 update to our web site ("German drug sales set to decline, VFA warns"), we incorrectly stated that Boehringer Ingelheim is listed on the stock exchange instead of Merck KGaA. We apologize for our mistake.

CTx to speed up Asia-Pacific cancer drug R&D.(Cancer Therapeutics CRC)(research and development)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The Australian organization Cancer Therapeutics CRC (CTx) has commenced operations as one of the largest public-private partnerships of its type in the world. Underpineed by A$148 million ($121.0 million) in funding over seven years, including...

Merck & Co opens Asia-Pacific HQ in Singapore.
September 3, 2007... US drug major Merck & Co, which operates in the Asia-Pacific region under the corporate name Merck Sharp & Dohme, has opened its regional headquarters in Singapore at Parkview Square. The move is part of the company's global strategy to...

Study confirms US seniors' Rx coverage improvement, but uninsured numbers rise.
September 3, 2007... The share of US seniors without drug coverage has dropped significantly under Medicare's new prescription drug benefit (Part D; Marketletters passim), according to a Health Affairs article based on a combined Kaiser Family Foundation,...

Ipsen's six-month net income drops 10%.
September 3, 2007... Profits for the first six months of 2007 at French drugmaker Ipsen fell 11.6% to 78.0 million euros ($108.4 million), equivalent to earnings per share of 0.92 euros. The decline was attributed to the combined impact of price cuts in Europe, a...

EUSA buys rights to Innocoll products.(EUSA Pharma)(Innocoll Pharmaceuticals)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... EUSA Pharma, a transatlantic specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and marketing drug products for oncology, pain control and critical care, has acquired rights to several products from Canadian drugmaker Innocoll...

Japan stock market week to August 27, 2007.
September 3, 2007... Tokyo continued a downturn in the two weeks to August 27. The Nikkei 225 ended down 3.0% to close at the 16,300 level, while the Topix index dropped 2.7%. The market suffered the steepest single-day loss in seven years on August 17, with the...

PhRMA and BIO join US disaster relief campaign.(Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America)(Biotechnology Industry Organization)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization have joined with other health care organizations to create Rx Response, a program designed to support the continued delivery of drugs...

India's Cipla pricing claims disputed.(AIDS Healthcare Foundation)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The USA-based non-governmental organization, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, has become embroiled in a dispute in India over the accuracy of its claims that the locally-based generic drug major Cipla sells a year's treatment of an...

Barr's Portia approved and launched in Canada.(Barr Pharmaceuticals )(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Barr Pharmaceuticals says that its subsidiary, Barr Laboratories, has received approval from the Therapeutic Products Directorate of Health Canada for its Abbreviated New Drug Submission for its Portia generic oral contraceptive as a generic...

Dutch approval for AstraZeneca's once-daily Seroquel XR.
September 3, 2007... Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca says that the Netherlands regulatory authority, the Medicines Evaluation Board has approved Seroquel XR (quetiapine fumarate) extended-release tablets, a once-daily medicine for the treatment of...

IGI signs new deal with Dermworx.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... US firm IGI has signed a new exclusivity, manufacturing and supply agreement with Dermworx, which supersedes and replaces the earlier accord, dated October 11, 2006, between the two firms. Under the terms of the new deal, IGI will recognize...

Average US health care plan cost is $6,881 per employee.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The USA's United Benefit Advisors, an alliance of 142 of the nation's premier independent benefit advisory firms, has released the results of its third annual employer-sponsored health plan benchmark survey. Among the survey's numerous...

Aesica opens new UK pilot plant.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... UK-based Aesica, a supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients, has opened a new pilot plant at Cramlington in Northumberland. The unit, which is the fifth owned by the firm, will operate under current Good Manufacturing Practice conditions....

Role of metal ions in amyloid-beta oligomer formation in AD.(Prana Biotechnology Ltd.)(alzheimer's disease)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Australia's Prana Biotechnology, a specialist in the field age-related neurodegenerative disorders, says data indicates that biological metals such as copper and zinc can bring about conformational changes in the beta-amyloid protein (ABeta)...

GenVault joins P3G project.(Public Population Project in Genomics)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... San Diego, USA-based GenVault, a specialist in the provision of integrated archiving and retrieval solutions for organizations managing DNA collections, has announced the successful development of a bio-bank for the Montreal-based non-profit...

Vermillion to raise $20.5M in private placement.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... US diagnostics firm Vermillion, formerly Ciphergen Biosystems, has entered into securities purchase agreements in connection with a private placement with a group of existing and new investors. Under the terms of the deal, Vermillion will...

Belinostat enters Ph I/II trial.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Copenhagen, Denmark-based TopoTarget AS and US firm CuraGen have initiated patient dosing in a Phase I/II trial evaluating belinostat (PXD101), their co-developed histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, in combination with the anthracycline...

FDA receives complete response for Entereg NDA.
September 3, 2007... UK drug major GlaxoSmithKline and USA-based Adolor say that the Food and Drug Administration has accepted as complete the latter's response to the November 2006 New Drug Application "approvable" letter for Entereg (alvimopan) for the management...

Drug Royalty buys 25% of Peg-Intron royalties.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Canadian privately-held investment company Drug Royalty has purchased 25% of US drugmaker Enzon Pharmaceuticals' worldwide royalty interest in Peg-Intron for $92.5 million. The drug, which is an advanced version of US drug major...

Brochitol impresses in Ph III bronchiectasis trial.(Pharmaxis)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Australian drugmaker Pharmaxis says that its developmental bronchiectasis treatment Bronchitol (mannitol) has met two primary efficacy endpoints, improving both patient quality of life and mucus clearance, in a Phase III trial. Participants...

Wyeth and Progenics file methylnaltrexone with TGA.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... US drugmakers Wyeth and Progenics Pharmaceuticals have submitted a marketing application to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration seeking approval to market as subcutaneous formulation of methylnaltrexone for the treatment of...

Neurochem's Alzehemed fails to prove efficacy at Ph III.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Canadian drugmaker Neurochem says that its developmental Alzheimer's disease treatment Alzhemed (tramiprosate) failed to demonstrate a statistically-significant improvement in disease symptoms after 18 months of therapy. The news caused the...

UK parallel traders claim L30M Cozaar/Hyzaar savings for NHS.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... As a result of parallel import competition, the UK's National Health service will save an estimated L30.2 million ($60.8 million) per year due to major price reductions for one drug alone, the British Association of European Pharmaceutical...

Stock Commentary - Europe - week to August 27, 2007.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... EUROPEAN: bourses experienced a lot of volatility in the two weeks to August 27, with a particularly devastating showing on August 16, when the FTSE Eurofirst index plunged 3.4%, its worst single-session loss since March 2003, the Financial...

Stock Commentary - New York - week to August 27, 2007.
September 3, 2007... NEW YORK: equities had a roller-coaster ride over the two-week reporting period to August 27, buffeted by the ongoing subprime mortgage market woes and investors' bargain-hunting. By close, however, the Dow Jones - which had dropped below the...

Criminal use of OTC drugs provokes review.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... The threat of the use of over-the-counter cold remedies in the European Union to manufacture the illegal narcotic methamphetamine or "crystal meth" is prompting restrictions by regulators, the UK's Daily Telegraph reports. The European...

Minnesota physicians required to e-prescribe.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Minnesota has announced plans to make it the first US state to require that all prescriptions its employees are written use a paper-less system. Previously, the 50 states have adopted regulations allowing health care providers to adopt...

Vit E's "low CV efficacy due to dosage errors".
September 3, 2007... The reported failure of vitamin E to prevent heart attacks may be due to underdosing, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The findings, published in the on-line edition of...

Pycnogenol alleviates perimenopause in trial.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... A study to be published in an upcoming edition of the Scandinavian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology shows that Pycnogenol, pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces climacteric symptoms such as hot flashes, depression,...

US study dismisses soft drink obesity link.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... A new peer-reviewed study has found that people who frequently consume sweetened soft drinks do not have a higher obesity rate than those who rarely drink them. The study, published in the August edition of Food and Chemical Toxicology, found...

FDA clears Roche's West Nile Virus test.
September 3, 2007... The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Roche Diagnostics' biologics license application for the company's test for direct detection of West Nile Virus in donated human blood and plasma. This virus, which can cause serious health...

Entelos acquires Iconix Biosciences.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Entelos, a US life sciences company that leverages its proprietary in silico disease models, known as PhysioLab platforms, to develop drugs and support pharmaceutical R&D, has entered into an agreement to acquire Iconix Biosciences, a...

Orexo's OX 19 enters Phase I testing.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Swedish firm Orexo's product for nocturia and on demand treatment of urinary incontinence, OX 19 (sublingual desmopressin) has started Phase I trials. Orexo has developed several formulations and is now proceeding to investigate the lead...

Catalent's deal with ALK-Abello will expand Zydis capacity.
September 3, 2007... New Jersey, USA-based Catalent Pharma Solutions and Danish pharmaceutical company ALK-Abello A/S have signed an agreement that will enable a substantial increase in Zydis oral-dissolving tablet production capacity dedicated to the latter's...

Lorus' GTI-2040 shows promise as AML drug.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Canadian biopharmaceutical firm Lorus Therapeutics says it has successfully completed a proof-of-concept study of its developmental oncology agent GTI-2040 in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. The firm added that, based on these positive...

Ketasyn achieves positive results in AAMI trial.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... US privately-held biotechnology company Accera says study data indicates that its lead development compound Ketasyn (AC-102) has a positive and clinically-meaningful effect on age-associated memory impairment in older adults. The Phase II...

ExonHit and Allergan's R&D accord yields drug candidate.(ExonHit Therapeutics S.A.)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Paris, France-based ExonHit Therapeutics, a drug and diagnostics discovery company, says that its collaboration with US drugmaker Allergan has produced a promising clinical candidate, a pre-defined success milestone. The firms said that the...

SpePharm to sell Access' MuGard in Europe.(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... US biopharmaceutical firm Access Pharmaceuticals and Dutch drugmaker SpePharm Holding BV have signed a definitive license agreement under which the latter will market the former's oral mucositis treatment MuGard in Europe. The product, which is...

Japanese Cabinet re-shuffle sees Yoichi Masuzoe as MHLW Minister.(Japan. Ministry of Health and Welfare)(Shinzo Abe )(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... Following a huge defeat in the Upper House elections, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced a Cabinet re-shuffle which sees Yoichi Masuzoe become Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare. Mr Masuzoe was one of the people calling for the...

Pfizer names Frank D'Amelio as CFO.
September 3, 2007... Global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has named an industry outsider, Frank D'Amelio, as chief financial officer. He joins the firm from French communications company Alcatel-Lucent and succeeds Alan Levin, who submitted his resignation in May.

Hana BioScience promotes Steven Deitcher to president and CEO.(Steven Deitcher has been promoted to the posts of president and chief executive)(Brief article)
September 3, 2007... California, USA-based Hana Biosciences has promoted Steven Deitcher to the posts of president and chief executive and to the firm's board of directors. Dr Deitcher was previously executive vice president of development and chief medical officer...