EveryJoe » pharmaceuticals

New Drug Approved to Treat Schizophrenia

Mark Ellis — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 02:26:29 +0000

Janssen, a pharmaceutical related to Johnson & Johnson that concentrates solely on mental health, recently received good news. Its drug, INVEGA SUSTENNA, was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration to treat schizophrenia.

INVEGA SUSTENNA is an injectable drug that needs to be used just once per month. While it isn’t being billed as a schizophrenia cure, it has been cleared to manage symptoms and reduce the risk of relapse.

Image: sxc.hu

Henry A. Nasrallah, M.D., a doctor who on hand during the clinical trials of INVEGA SUSTENNA, believes the fact that the drug only needs to be taken once per month is a big positive.

Said Nasrallah: “Inconsistent compliance with medications is arguably one of the single greatest impediments to managing the symptoms of schizophrenia and delaying the time to relapse. The approval of once-monthly INVEGA SUSTENNA will provide healthcare professionals with a treatment option that is, at the same time, a definitive monitoring tool for uninterrupted medication compliance, which may help optimize clinical outcomes in schizophrenia.”

According to numerous studies, schizophrenia occurs in about 1% of the world’s population. Of those people with schizophrenia, approximately 80% experience one or more relapses in five years.

Janssen is headquartered in Titusville, New Jersey.

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New Drug Approved to Treat Schizophrenia

Lupus Drug Brings Hope to Sufferers

Mark Ellis — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:44:21 +0000

Those who suffer from lupus, an autoimmune disease notorious for being nearly untreatable, may soon enjoy much-needed relief thanks to Human Genome Sciences. According to results from company research, an experimental drug called Benlysta has proven to be much more effective than traditional lupus treatment, significantly reducing lupus symptoms.

The lupus community has not had many glimmers of hope in recent years, as every company that has devoted itself to researching lupus treatments has failed to discover any significant breakthroughs. Human Genome Sciences’ discovery brings a much-needed ray of hope to the lupus community, even though the results have yet to be extensively peer-reviewed.

Currently, lupus sufferers are treated with aspirin, prednisone, and a malaria drug called Plaquenil, each of which were approved about fifty years ago. Each can have severe side effects, making any alternative that promises better results much more desirable. Benlysta has a lower proportion of side effects compared to the rest of the drugs and these side effects have, so far, been minimal.

Image: Flickr

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Lupus Drug Brings Hope to Sufferers

Johnson & Johnson Takes Elan Gamble

Mark Ellis — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:38:14 +0000

Johnson & Johnson has decided to invest up to $1.5 billion in Irish Elan Corp., marking a costly move into the search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Elan is a biopharmaceutical company that has performed significant research on drugs that could stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and on a vaccine that would eliminate the disease completely.

The investment sent Elan’s shares up 8.6 percent, from $7.00 to $7.60. On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson’s stock fell 1.9 percent to $55.98 per share. This move will make the latter company an extremely important factor in the market of Alzheimer’s treatment and potentially bring the cure to the market faster if the research is fruitful.

Elan also stands to benefit significantly from the investment. The company has struggled as a result of the global economic crisis and the jobs of its executives are at the mercy of Elan shareholders at their July 17 meeting. Most important, though, is the possibility that Alzheimer’s patients and their families will finally find relief.

Image: Flickr

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Johnson & Johnson Takes Elan Gamble

Great News for Anemia Sufferers, AMAG

Mark Ellis — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:44:36 +0000

All too often, big business wins out over the interests of the little guy or vice versa. However, the FDA approval of AMAG Pharmaceutical Inc’s Feraheme, an anemia medicine taking by injection, has proven to be beneficial to both parties. Shares of AMAG, a relatively small business, are up 5 percent, while anemia sufferers now have a new, more convenient drug available.

Feraheme has specifically been approved for adults as part of an iron replacement treatment for those afflicted with kidney disease. According to the company, chronic kidney disease suffers at every level of severity will have what is effectively a cure for iron deficiency anemia.

Tens of millions of people around the world stand to benefit greatly from Feraheme, with AMAG going so far as to state that the drug will change lives. Instead of having to go through many inconvenient iron infusion therapy sessions, patients using Feraheme would simply need two injections that take seconds each to administer.

In a time dominated by bad news, this new development has the potential to enhance millions of lives across the globe.

Image: Flickr

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Great News for Anemia Sufferers, AMAG

Caraco Confident Despite FDA Raid

Mark Ellis — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:21:01 +0000

Having the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raid your pharmaceutical company and seize over thirty types of drugs seems like genuine cause for concern, but Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. has expressed optimism instead. According to the generic drug producer, the third-party drugs that the government did not seize will generate enough profit for the company to stay afloat.

The FDA initiated the raid because it found that Caraco had been putting drugs with a variety of defects on the market. Although the company makes several popular medications and consumers may not even be aware if the medicine they take was made by Caraco, the FDA has confirmed that nobody needs to stop taking any medicine, even if it is made by Caraco.

Investors seem to share Caraco’s confidence, launching shares 31 percent to $3.14 today. However, many health officials have expressed their concern of a decline in quality in generic drugs due to careless manufacturing practices. This development only serves to bolster the accusations of those who would like to see stricter regulations on drug manufacturing.

Image: Flickr

Post from: EveryJoe

Caraco Confident Despite FDA Raid

Pfizer Plans Venture into Middle East

Mark Ellis — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:40:13 +0000

It is already the world’s biggest pharmaceuticals company, but Pfizer is planning several key acquisitions in the Middle East that would allow it to further expand its hold in the global pharmaceutical industry. According to the company itself, the region is perfect for such a venture, and a senior executive in the company predicts “double-digit growth” in the years to come.

This move symbolizes the growing trend among drug companies to expand into emerging countries across the world as areas like North America and Europe begin to feature declining sales. Pfizer, specifically, plans to add $3 billion to its revenue by 2012 through expansion into developing countries.

So far, Pfizer has expressed interest in the Middle East as a whole, not any specific countries. It has stated that it will be looking into the more developed countries in the region, relatively speaking, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Syria, Iran, and Iraq have also been mentioned as possibilities.

Image: Flickr

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Pfizer Plans Venture into Middle East

Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41.1B

Stephen Kersey — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:34:36 +0000

On Monday it was revealed that Merck & Co., Inc. is set to acquire Schering-Plough Corporation for $41.1 billion. The deal will unite the makers of the cholesterol drugs Zetia and Vytorin.

Merck and Schering-Plough both cut a large number of jobs last fall and this deal would eliminate even more employees. It is said about 15% of their combined workforce would be eliminated with the deal. Most of the job cuts would happen outside of the U.S., however.

Just two weeks ago it was announced that two other large pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer and Wyeth, are also involved in a major deal. On January 26, the announcement came that Pfizer will buy Wyeth for $68 billion in cash and stock. About 20,000 jobs will be eliminated in that transaction.

Zetia and Vytorin - Image: Wikimedia Commons

Both companies have seen profits and share prices decrease in the past year due to plunge in sales. However Merck has deep pockets and would be able to assist in funding some of Schering-Plough’s research on blood clotting and hepatitis C drugs.

Watch the video to learn more about this mega drug deal.

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Merck to Buy Schering-Plough for $41.1B

Test Your Tech Vendor’s Ability to Value Their Solution

Bob Turek — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 11:32:00 +0000

CIO magazine seems to think that comparing TCO (total cost of ownership) and ROI measures reflects on the maturity of a company:

“When you think TCO you don’t see IT as a business driver or an asset that can increase revenue, profit or customer value,” says Anthony Giannino, a consultant at Cornerstone Solutions , a value-added reseller in Chicago. Giannino was CIO at pharmaceutical distributor Alliance Wholesale from 2002 to 2007.

TCO seems to be a way to compare alternative technology projects whose scope is the same. I heard a lot of this in the selling of hardware because the comparisons of the product were more easily arrived at. I don’t think TCO is useful when the “product” becomes more of a technology solution which has variations in scope, software cost, services costs, and solution fit with the business that tend to cloud comparisons. In these cases I think that a clear criteria ought to be the vendors ability to do a “hard dollar” value assessment that means something to the company. This should be done with plenty of ownership by the potential client and agreement on the business processes that are technology enabled along with the value.

It doesn’t take any fancy calcultation or a mountain of value points to make the financial point. The best value statements are those that focus on a few key bottom line areas that are high value- a simple cost versus benefit analysis over time is all that is needed as long as the project is relatively short – 1-2 years.

What do you think? Can you give an example of a simple value assessment and value statement that you worked with a technology vendor on? Did the vendor’s ability to do this with you score points? Let me know about your technology solution evaluation experiences.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Test Your Tech Vendor’s Ability to Value Their Solution