Pharma Industry Archive

Pfizer should be investigated under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its role in an alleged “bribe” to stave off a price-control law in the Philippines, according to a politician from the archipelago nation. Although this controversy is riven with politics — virtually everyone involved seems to have some kind of electoral ax to grind — it’s worth asking: Could...

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A comparison of Merck and Schering-Plough’s Q2 2009 results shows that both companies’ sales force productivity is flatlining, but that Schering is the weaker partner going into their merger. The basics: Merck sales were down 3 percent to $5.9 billion; net income was  down 12 percent to $1.6 billion. Schering’s sales were down 6 percent to $4.6 billion; net income was $671...

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I wonder if there are any memos circulating at big pharma today that look like this: CONFIDENTIAL MEMO TO: High-Powered Big Pharma Business Development Exec FROM: Higher-Powered Big Pharma CEO RE: Time to sh*t or get off the pot on obesity Seriously, unpartnered late-stage biotech assets are hard to come by these days. So it’s surprising that all three of the leading experimental drugs for...

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Thomas Farina, the Pfizer sales manager convicted for his role in leading “The Highlanders,” a team of rogue drug reps who promoted Bextra for off-label use in Brooklyn, N.Y., was sentenced to home confinement and electronic monitoring — probably via ankle bracelet — for six months. He will remain on probation for three years. No monetary fine was imposed beyond a $100...

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Walmart today axed half the branded drugs it covers in an employee health benefit plan, according to a letter leaked to BNET. UPDATE: Walmart confirmed the move. See the official statement below. Previously, Walmart’s health benefits covered about 260 brand name drugs — from Abilify to Zyprexa – according to a Walmart “Quick Reference Preferred Brand List” from...

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The Philippines Department of Health said that Pfizer’s offer to distribute discount “Sulit” cards to Filipinos prior to a maximum retail price law coming into effect in the archipelago nation was not bribery, according GMA News. In fact, the Pfizer card may not be used in lieu of a discount, the DOH said. Under a list of drug prices published in GMA, Pfizer’s Norvasc,...

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In Merck and Schering-Plough’s settlement with the state attorneys general over Vytorin contains a set of provisions that are fast becoming the new normal for large drug companies: Government control of drug advertising, including pre-approval of ads and years-long compliance reviews. Most people focused on the tiny sum that the two companies will have to pay: Just $5.4 million. The...

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Wall Street analysts at Leerink Swann are betting that Abbott Labs’ Niaspan did indeed beat Merck/Schering-Plough’s Zetia in the ARBITER 6 imaging study. That was the study that was suddenly and mysteriously halted without explanation, causing a rash of speculation. Leerink Swann consulted its proprietary network of docs and consultants, put some jigsaw pieces together, and then...

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GlaxoSmithKline believes that the newly aggressive FDA may have handed it a marketing opportunity on its floundering weight loss drug, Alli. GSK began running an Alli ad in People magazine with the headline, “Lose weight the FDA approved way.” The words “FDA approved” are picked out in red. The FDA and the FTC have “woken up” under the Obama administration,...

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The biogenerics legislation that died in the last congress is slowly, painfully making its way through the current bunch of bureaucrats, as most folks expected it would when the Democrats took control. The main issue raising everyone’s hackles is exclusivity: how many years of protection should biotech drugs have before the generic makers get to piggy-back on their data and bring cheaper...

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