Pharma Industry Archive

Abbott Labs has accused the Department of Justice of failing to preserve 12 years’ worth of evidence in a massive case about whether drug companies artificially inflated the price of drugs. Abbott’s motion states: DOJ kept the lawsuit under seal for more than eleven years, conducting one-sided discovery against Abbott, but did nothing to preserve evidence in its own possession or...

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A New York federal judge ordered Andrew Bodnar, a former svp/strategy at Bristol-Myers Squibb, to write a book explaining how he ended up lying to the federal government about a deal he struck with Apotex in a patent dispute on Plavix. Bodnar (pictured) was convicted in April of making false statements to the FTC. He told the agency that BMS would compete against Apotex’s generic Plavix,...

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Pfizer may not be getting rid of its private aircraft after all. A column in The Day says that the company is re-evaluating its options in light of the Wyeth merger. BNET noted on June 2 that Pfizer’s two Gulfstreams were being sold in an online ad that featured lots of nice shots of the planes’ interiors — complete with gold-tassled cushions (click image to enlarge). David...

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It looks like full-steam ahead for Johnson & Johnson’s proposed $970 million acquisition of Cougar Biotechnology, but the big pharma’s bid to buy an oncology pipeline carries big risk. Although Cougar has some preclinical and Phase I assets, the J&J deal hinges on Phase III prostate cancer drug abiraterone acetate. Fans were crowing about the drug at ASCO: in a Reuters article, an...

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Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway have signed on to do a movie of former Pfizer sales rep Jamie Reidy’s book “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman.” The movie will be called “Love and Other Drugs.” Pfizer brass will doubtless cringe at the news. In the book, Reidy claimed he was the company’s No. 1 Viagra salesman, and that he employed a comical...

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In the vanity pharma war, Allergan continues to rely on celebrities while Medicis is relying more on price, and that could hurt Allergan. BNET noted that Medicis’ Botox competitor, Dysport, would be priced lower than the leading brand when it was approved in April. The warnings make it more difficult for both companies to advertise their products to consumers. Allergan previously used...

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Expect Enzon CEO Jeffrey H. Buchalter’s compensation to be a big issue in DellaCamera Capital’s battle to oust him. The investment group is furious because Enzon’s stock traded around $16 in 2004 but now sits in the $7 range. The company failed to make a profit last year. It’s a small outfit — it got revenues of $197 million in 2008 mainly from Oncaspar, a leukemia...

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Elan got back on the takeover merry-go-round again today, with its stock rising on rumors that Pfizer might be interested in buying the company. Elan investors had just gotten off that ride a few days ago with the news that Bristol-Myers Squibb and Lundbeck were not, in fact, trying to buy the company. As Reuters noted in an excellent piece, Elan has prevented itself from being taken over...

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Shire’s grip over the ADHD market with Adderall XR and its replacement drug, Vyvanse, appears to be weakening due to generic competition, according to CEO Angus Russell. In an interview with Reuters Russell said Shire’s share had slipped from 26 percent to 16 percent. Shire signed a three-year copromotion deal with GlaxoSmithKline in hopes of propping up its ADHD franchise, which...

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Johnson & Johnson gave an interesting clue as to how it might promote Priligy, its new anti-premature ejaculation pill, if the FDA ever approves the thing. According to Bloomberg, Joanne Waldstreicher, J&J’s chief medical officer, said that premature ejaculation causes: … difficulty in a man’s ability to manage his relationships and directly impacts self esteem. The key...

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