Pharma Industry Archive

You’re probably already aware that the FBI has reopened its investigation into the Tylenol cyanide poisonings of 1982, and that the probe is focused on a search of the apartment of suspect James W. Lewis. But have you checked out Lewis’s web site and seen his strange essay on how robots will one day take over the world? You can read it here. The gist of it is (spelling in the...

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Pfizer pr chief Ray Kerins said that Pfizer had an “unwritten rule” for dealing with the media: Don’t return reporters’ calls. Here’s what Ad Age says he told the Business Development Institute’s Real-Time Communications Conference: Back in 2007, on the second day of his new job as Pfizer’s global PR chief, Ray Kerins said he was told of an unwritten...

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The FDA published a list of drugs that have developed safety signals worth reviewing in its adverse event reporting system. The list doesn’t mean the drugs are dangerous, just that routine monitoring has thrown up a list of candidates that should be studied to see if there’s more danger there than meets the eye. Here’s some of the highlights, courtsey of Reuters, followed by...

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Sales reps at Restylane-maker Medicis should look anxiously at Allergan’s announcement that its earnings and revenues are down. Allergan announced a “restructuring” to deal with the downturn — that means 460 employees will get the ax, the company said. What does this have to do with Medicis? Well, both Medicis and Allergan are in substantially the same businesses, so...

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Merck CEO Richard Clark says he cannot “categorically rule out” an acquisition despite a slight uptick in net income, according to the WSJ. You bet he can’t. A look at Merck’s income statement shows that the company is increasingly dependent on a single drug — diabetes treatment Januvia — and that its overall productivity is flatlining. The decline comes in...

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Roche increased the pay of CEO Severin Schwan by nearly 50 percent — a bump of 1.6 million Swiss francs (about $1.4 million) — in 2008 even though its stock price fell 24 percent and the company failed its main strategic goal: to acquire Genentech. The company could not even line up financing for the Genentech deal during the year. Schwan’s compensation has tripled from 2006,...

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A few months ago, BNET suggested that Eli Lilly’s acquisition of ImClone was a hedge to give the company new revenue sources in the event that its application for blood thinner prasugrel was turned down by the FDA. An FDA panel today voted 9-0 to approve the drug, just not in patients with a history of stroke and those who are undergoing open-heart surgery. The FDA typically follows such...

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An Allergan employee has failed to win a legal appeal after he lost his job for sending porn on his work email address. The man, Noel Geraghty of Kilmeena in Ireland, claimed that three other Allergan employees had sent porn on their work email and were not fired, according to the Mayo News. However, Geraghty was the only one who sent the material to an outside address — creating the...

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Bristol-Myers Squibb seems to live permanently with the rumor that it is about to be acquired by Sanofi-Aventis. The last time this old saw popped up was in the fall of 2008. At that time BNET said “Perhaps it’s time to consummate this relationship.” This time around, let’s look at the worst-case scenario: BMS is suddenly more tempting than ever for buyers. It looks like Eli...

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Eastbourne Capital has proposed a five-member team of its own for Amylin’s board. Carl Icahn proposed his own slate last week. Both sets of investors are unhappy with the company that has a joint venture with Eli Lilly on diabetes drug Byetta. Eastbourne said of its move: Eastbourne is aware of Icahn Capital LP’s nomination of a slate of five directors, but does not believe that these...

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