Genzyme Corp. said Monday that it is selling its genetic testing business to Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings for $925 million so it can focus on its core growth areas.
Filed under: Pharmaceuticals
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FDA fires warning shot at e-cigarette makers
Food and Drug Administration says five electronic cigarette companies are violating federal laws by making unsubstantiated claims about the product and for poor manufacturing practices. Get the full story »
Abbott completes acquisition of India’s Piramal
Abbott Laboratories Wednesday said it closed the acquisition of Piramal Healthcare Ltd.’s generic drugs unit. In May, Abbott had agreed to buy Piramal’s healthcare solutions business for about $3.7 billion, Abbott Laboratories said in a statement.
Abbott abandons plans to sell vaccines business
Drug and medical device firm Abbott Laboratories says it has abandoned plans to sell its vaccines unit, less than three months after exploring sales talks with rival companies. Get the full story »
Walgreen boosts August sales, expands home infusion
Deerfield-based Walgreen Co. said it ended its fiscal year Aug. 31 with an 8.6 percent gain in during the month to $5.66 billion. That brought the 12-month total to $67.4 billion, a 6.5 percent gain over fiscal 2009.
The company also said it has engineered a swap with elderly-care specialist Omnicare Inc. in which Omnicare will buy Walgreens’ long-term care pharmacy unit while Walgreens will acquire Omnicare’s home-infusion business. Get the full story »
FDA urged to pull Abbott diet drug Meridia
The prescription diet drug sibutramine, sold under the brand name Meridia, should be taken off the market because it raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some patients, the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine said Wednesday.
Those risks, published in January on a government clinical-trials Web site and now in full in the journal, outweigh the modest benefits of the medication, said Dr. Gregory Curfman, the journal’s executive editor and lead author of an editorial that accompanied the study.
Sep. 1, 2010 at 5:46 p.m.
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Filed under: Consumer news, Health care, Pharmaceuticals, Policy Abbott’s diet drug raises risk of heart attack, stroke
The prescription diet drug sibutramine, sold under the brand name Meridia, should be taken off the market because it raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some patients, the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine said Wednesday.
Those risks, published in January on a government clinical-trials website and now in full in the journal, outweigh the modest benefits of the medication, said Dr. Gregory D. Curfman, the journal’s executive editor and lead author of an editorial that accompanied the study. Get the full story »
Abbott says FDA approves hepatitis B test
Abbott Laboratories said Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration cleared the company’s new hepatitis B test. The FDA approved the Abbott RealTime HBV test, which measures the amount of hepatitis B virus in a patient’s blood.
Hospira drug supply issues may delay executions
The execution room in a Texas prison. (AP)
An anesthesia drug sold by Hospira Inc. that is used by several states to execute prisoners on death row may not be available until early next year due to supply issues.
The drug, sodium thiopental, is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug administration for use in lethal injections, so it is not sold by Hospira for such uses. But like other prescriptions, physicians are known to provide drugs to patients in off-label form, and the product is known to be used as part of a cocktail of prescriptions used to put inmates to death.
USA Today reported last week that the shortage of several anesthesia drugs may delay executions in at least two states. Federal agencies and some hospitals have also reported that elective surgeries are also being delayed because of the shortage of such products. Get the full story »
FDA issues warning to Baxter over drug promotion
Federal health regulators have issued a warning letter to Baxter International Inc. for exaggerating the benefits of its lung drug in brochures to physicians.
The Food and Drug Administration letter cites the Deerfield, Ill.-based company for making “misleading efficacy claims” in promotional materials for its drug Aralast.
Genzyme rejects Sanofi-Aventis’ $18.5B offer
Genzyme Corp. rejected an $18.5 billion takeover offer from French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis, saying it dramatically undervalues the company. The Cambridge, Mass.-based biotechnology company said its board of directors met Sunday night and unanimously affirmed a previous rejection of Sanofi’s proposal. Get the full story »
Neopharm narrows losses but needs new funding
Lake Bluff biotech company Neopharm Inc. said Thursday that it had narrowed its losses in both the second quarter and first half of this year and reported progress in clinical trials for its breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer drugs.
But Aquilur Rahman, president and chief executive officer, warned that with cash dwindling to $1.8 million as of June 30, the company needs new funding to continue. Get the full story »
Abbott looks to India with latest takeover
India’s market leader in medicines will soon be based near Lake Michigan.
Abbott Laboratories will hold the biggest share of India’s pharmaceuticals market, about 7 percent, when the company closes as early as next month on a $3.7 billion takeover of the drugs business of Piramal Healthcare Ltd. After committing more than $10 billion since February on such deals, Abbott Chief Executive Miles White said he has assembled a business in fast-growing countries that the company will count on for a big part of its growth. Get the full story »
Baxter gets rights to AATD drug Glassia
Baxter International Inc. announced Tuesday that it has obtained exclusive rights to a new respiratory drug called Glassia, which treats a hereditary disease called AATD, or alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, that may lead to emphysema. Get the full story »
