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Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

Sermo, the world's largest online community for physicians, today announced a Sermo Event Report titled "Is there any Threat to Anti-TNFs from Newer Biologic DMARDs?" In the past year, the FDA has approved four new biologic DMARDs – Actemra (Genentech), Orencia (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Simponi (Centocor Ortho Biotech), and Cimzia (UCB). According to the report, Orencia leads the pack among physicians as the next line of treatment for patients who fail two or more TNF antagonists.

2 Apr 2010

Strong demand leads to 5.1% growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals

IMS Health today reported 5.1 percent growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals and insulins through retail and non-retail channels, reaching $300.3 billion, compared with growth of 1.8 percent in 2008.

2 Apr 2010

U.S. Court finds Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Seasonique patent valid and enforceable

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has granted Teva's Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to the validity of U.S. Patent No. 7,320,969. In March 2008, Duramed, now Teva Women's Health, brought suit in the District of Nevada against Watson alleging infringement of Teva's patent as a result of Watson's filing of an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Seasonique®.

2 Apr 2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Gemzar patent litigation: U.S. court issues decision

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued a decision yesterday on two patents for Gemzar® (gemcitabine); the compound patent expiring on November 15, 2010, and a method of use patent expiring on May 7, 2013.

2 Apr 2010

Sunshine vitamin cures common health problems

What do obesity, heart disease, depression, diabetes, and fibromyalgia have in common? The answer is vitamin D deficiency. More than 200 million Americans lack this essential vitamin and as a result suffer from a host of daily annoyances, chronic conditions, and even life-threatening illnesses.

2 Apr 2010

Hospira reaches legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis over oxaliplatin injection patent litigation

Hospira, Inc., the world leader in generic injectable pharmaceuticals, today announced it has reached a legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis to resolve patent litigation concerning Hospira's U.S. sales of its oxaliplatin injection, a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis' oncolytic agent, Eloxatin®.

2 Apr 2010

Bloomberg examines potential benefits, drawbacks to PrEP

"Gilead Sciences Inc. may learn this year whether its drugs for treating HIV can also stop people from catching the virus in the first place," Bloomberg writes in a piece that examines the potential benefits and drawbacks to using low-doses of HIV/AIDS medications to reduce a person's risk of becoming infected with HIV. According to the news service, the initial results of 10 trials including more than 20,000 people could be available as early as July.

2 Apr 2010

UK NICE recommends Eli Lilly's ALIMTA as maintenance therapy for nonsquamous NSCLC

Eli Lilly and Company announced today that its chemotherapy ALIMTA® (pemetrexed for injection) received a positive "Final Appraisal Determination" from the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).

2 Apr 2010

Pfizer discloses $35 million in payments to doctors, hospitals for research and promotion

Pfizer, the largest drug maker in the world, disclosed 35 million in payments during the second half of 2009 to doctors who consulted or spoke on behalf of drugs and to the medical centers that tested them, The New York Times reports. This is Pfizer's first disclosure of this nature. "While other pharmaceutical companies have disclosed payments to doctors, Pfizer is the first to disclose payments for the clinical trials. The disclosure does not include payments outside the United States" (Wilson, 3/31).

2 Apr 2010

International, four-year study finds dutasteride reduces risk of prostate cancer diagnosis in men

A drug already prescribed to shrink benign, enlarged prostates has been shown to reduce the risk of a prostate cancer diagnosis by 23 percent in men with an increased risk of the disease, a large international trial has found. Results are reported April 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Apr 2010

Schering-Plough HealthCare Products commences promotion of ZEGERID OTC in North America

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., the consumer healthcare subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., has commenced promotion of ZEGERID OTC™ (omeprazole 20 mg/sodium bicarbonate 1100 mg capsules) under its licensing agreement with Santarus for the over-the-counter (OTC) market in North America. The OTC heartburn market in the U.S. is estimated at approximately $1.8 billion based on data from market research firm Information Resources, Inc. and Santarus estimates.

2 Apr 2010

Ricerca Biosciences, Life Science Partner announce business development agreement

Ricerca Biosciences, a preclinical contract research drug development company, is pleased to announce a business development agreement with Life Science Partner (LSP) Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan. Ricerca offers a unique spectrum of services for the areas of agrochemical registration, environmental analysis and pre-investigational new drug (IND) biopharmaceutical registration.

1 Apr 2010

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Ferring Pharmaceuticals sign co-promotion agreement for Zipsor

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company with both development and commercial capabilities focused on women's healthcare and pain management, today announced that it has signed a co-promotion agreement for Zipsor™ (diclofenac potassium) Liquid Filled Capsules with Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc., a global bio-pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Switzerland.

1 Apr 2010

NSF panel to discuss advances in vaccine development and production in Asia/Australia

How did China and Australia develop and produce swine flu vaccine months before North America and Europe? A panel of U.S. experts will try to answer this question and report on other comparative findings in a workshop at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, VA, on May 5, 2010.

1 Apr 2010

Health care law: Planned, well-financed lobbying strategy leads to impressive list of wins for U.S. drug industry

Emerging Healthcare Solutions, Inc.. The U.S. drug industry fended off price curbs and other hefty restrictions in The President's health care law even as it prepares for plenty of new business when an estimated 32 million uninsured Americans gain health coverage. Lobbyists beat back proposals to allow importation of low-cost medicines and to have Medicare negotiate drug prices with companies.

1 Apr 2010

Data of focusing on Rebif and Cladribine Tablets to be presented at AAN Annual Meeting

EMD Serono, Inc., an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, today announced that new data from the company's multiple sclerosis portfolio of approved and investigational treatments will be presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology taking place April 10 to 17, in Toronto, Canada.

1 Apr 2010

Pramipexole ER uptake to be inhibited by availability of generic version

HealthLeaders-InterStudy and Fingertip Formulary find that the uptake of Boehringer Ingelheim's pramipexole ER, the once-daily formulation of its market leading dopamine agonist Mirapex that was approved earlier this month, will be inhibited by competition from generic pramipexole which became available earlier this year.

1 Apr 2010

Common remedies can make ocular symptoms worse: MOA

The Minnesota Optometric Association offers advice for the thousands around the state who suffer from the itchy, watery eye symptoms associated with seasonal Spring allergens. The culprits exist indoors and out: pollen, mold, dust mites and pet dander.

1 Apr 2010

Pfizer admits paying $35 million to doctors over last 6 months

Pfizer among other large pharmaceutical companies recently disclosed payments to doctors and other medical professionals for consulting and speaking on its behalf and also some sponsorship of clinical trials. On Wednesday in an announcement the company spokesperson revealed that they had paid a whopping $20 million to 4,500 doctors and other medical professionals in the last six months of 2009. Pfizer also accepted that they paid $15.3 million to 250 academic medical centers and other research groups for clinical trials in the same period. This disclosure is only about payments made within the US.

1 Apr 2010

Four studies of bavituximab and PS-targeting antibodies to be presented at AACR 2010

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and viral infections, today announced four studies of bavituximab and its other PS-targeting antibodies have been accepted for presentation at the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research to be held April 17-21, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

1 Apr 2010

Pharmaceutical News

Physicians increase prescription of new biologics

Strong demand leads to 5.1% growth in 2009 U.S. sales of ethical pharmaceuticals

U.S. Court finds Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Seasonique patent valid and enforceable

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' Gemzar patent litigation: U.S. court issues decision

Sunshine vitamin cures common health problems

Hospira reaches legal settlement with Sanofi-Aventis over oxaliplatin injection patent litigation

Bloomberg examines potential benefits, drawbacks to PrEP

UK NICE recommends Eli Lilly's ALIMTA as maintenance therapy for nonsquamous NSCLC

Pfizer discloses $35 million in payments to doctors, hospitals for research and promotion

International, four-year study finds dutasteride reduces risk of prostate cancer diagnosis in men

Schering-Plough HealthCare Products commences promotion of ZEGERID OTC in North America

Ricerca Biosciences, Life Science Partner announce business development agreement

Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, Ferring Pharmaceuticals sign co-promotion agreement for Zipsor

NSF panel to discuss advances in vaccine development and production in Asia/Australia

Health care law: Planned, well-financed lobbying strategy leads to impressive list of wins for U.S. drug industry

Data of focusing on Rebif and Cladribine Tablets to be presented at AAN Annual Meeting

Pramipexole ER uptake to be inhibited by availability of generic version

Common remedies can make ocular symptoms worse: MOA

Pfizer admits paying $35 million to doctors over last 6 months

Four studies of bavituximab and PS-targeting antibodies to be presented at AACR 2010

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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