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Hospira to acquire Orchid's pharmaceuticals business for $400 million

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, and Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a leading Indian pharmaceuticals company and among the top-five generic beta-lactam antibiotics manufacturers globally, today announced an agreement for Hospira to acquire Orchid's generic injectable finished-dosage form pharmaceuticals business for approximately $400 million.

15 Dec 2009

Patheon releases the first commercial shipments of SUMAVEL DosePro to Zogenix

Patheon a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry announced today that it has successfully released the first commercial shipments of SUMAVEL DosePro (sumatriptan injection) to Zogenix in anticipation of the planned U.S. commercial product launch scheduled in January 2010.

15 Dec 2009

UNITAID to launch patent pool for HIV/AIDS drugs by mid-2010

The international drug procurement agency UNITAID on Monday unveiled plans to create a patent pool for HIV/AIDS medications to help increase access to generic versions of newer drugs at lower prices for low- and middle-income countries, Agence France-Presse reports. The patent pool "will create a common space for patent holders to license their technology in exchange for royalties" and is "scheduled to begin operating in mid-2010," AFP reports (12/14).

15 Dec 2009

AstraZeneca, UVa announce collaboration in development of new treatments for CAD and PAD

AstraZeneca and the University of Virginia (UVa) in Charlottesville, today announced that they have entered into a strategic research collaboration to enhance development of new treatments primarily for coronary artery disease (CAD) with a secondary focus on peripheral vascular disease (PAD).

15 Dec 2009

Increased funds lead to 'significant progress' in global malaria fight, WHO report says

WHO's World Malaria Report 2009, which was released on Tuesday, found "increased funding is starting to pay off in the battle against malaria but prevention and treatment must be increased to try to halt the killer disease," Reuters reports (Kelland, 12/15). According to the Associated Press, there were more than 240 million cases of malaria and an estimated 863,000 people, mostly in Africa, died of the disease in 2008 (Cheng, 12/15).

15 Dec 2009

Almac Discovery initiates Phase I clinical trial of intranasal Granisetron for CINV

Almac Discovery today announced the start of Phase I clinical trial of the novel intranasal Granisetron product. This product, which uses Archimedes' proprietary ChiSys® delivery technology, is being developed as a rapidly acting, well tolerated and convenient treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).

15 Dec 2009

Contentious party politics consume health care debate

The Wall Street Journal's Capital Journal details the tough choices facing Democrats. "At this stage in the sausage-making process that is writing legislation, nobody is under the illusion he or she is working on anything like the perfect health bill, or one that is growing in popularity. A series of recent polls shows the opposite -- that support is eroding the longer the bill hangs in the balance

15 Dec 2009

Prescription drug import amendment divides Senate Democrats

The Senate is battling over a proposed amendment that would allow prescription drugs to be imported from other countries where prices are lower.

15 Dec 2009

Kidney drug plan divides transplant and dialysis supporters

The New York Times: "A Congressional proposal to help pay for drugs needed by transplant recipients to prevent rejection of donated kidneys has run into opposition from dialysis providers, drug companies and the National Kidney Foundation." The groups support extending Medicare drug coverage but say the measure would cut funding for dialysis

15 Dec 2009

Magellan Health Services announces projected 2010 revenue and earnings growth

Magellan Health Services, Inc. today announced that, for 2010, it expects to generate net revenue in the range of $3.0 billion to $3.2 billion, net income in the range of $95.5 million to $115.0 million, and earnings per share in the range of $2.73 to $3.29 on a diluted basis.

15 Dec 2009

First Edition: December 15, 2009

A glance at today's health policy headlines offers a common theme: Senate Democrats are likely to abandon the Medicare buy-in plan, which just last week was heralded as part of a compromise plan in that chamber's health bill.

15 Dec 2009

CHPA comments on NIDA's Monitoring the Future survey

Following is a statement by Linda A. Suydam, D.P.A., president of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), regarding today's release of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) Monitoring the Future survey:

15 Dec 2009

TV and video games can provoke violence among school students

Middle-school students are expressing their views on the key factors affecting youth violence, with more than 30 percent of them indicating that television, video games, movies and music provoke violence.

15 Dec 2009

Bend Research makes available Type V DMF for HPMCAS concerning FDA regulatory filings

Bend Research Inc. announced today that its clients may now reference a key safety file for HPMCAS, an excipient used in technologies developed by the firm to enhance the oral bioavailability of clients' low-solubility drugs.

15 Dec 2009

Drug abuse continues to be a pervasive problem

The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study (MTF) -- the largest survey on teen drug abuse tracking over 46,000 8th, 10th and 12th graders -- underscores that teens' intentional abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines continues to be a cause for concern, with an alarming number of young people abusing medicines they obtain from friends and relatives.

15 Dec 2009

Nanoprobes deliver drugs directly to the right tumor cellular compartments

Tiny nanoprobes have shown to be effective in delivering cancer drugs more directly to tumor cells - mitigating the damage to nearby healthy cells - and Purdue University research has shown that the nanoprobes are getting the drugs to right cellular compartments.

15 Dec 2009

Enrolment for pivotal Phase II/III trial of C-Cure completed ahead of schedule

Cardio3 BioSciences, a leading Belgian biotechnology company specialising in cell-based therapies for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it has completed, two months ahead of schedule, enrolment in the first stage of its pivotal Phase II/III trial of C-Cure, a unique stem cell therapy for heart failure.

15 Dec 2009

RORalpha protein revealed as an essential regulator of inflammatory factors

How do the brain cells called astrocytes ensure the protection of neurons? By studying the protagonists in the protection and satisfactory functioning of neurons, scientists at the Laboratoire Neurobiologie des Processus Adaptatifs (CNRS/UPMC) have found a mechanism that clarifies the role of astrocytes.

15 Dec 2009

New study to help researchers develop highly effective drug for MLL

A new study could point the way to the development of better drugs to fight a deadly form of childhood leukemia called mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL).

15 Dec 2009

Seattle Genetics announces collaboration to globally develop and commercialize brentuximab vedotin

Seattle Genetics, Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company with its parent company Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited today jointly announced that Seattle Genetics and Millennium have entered into an agreement to globally develop and commercialize brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35).

15 Dec 2009