Tribune staff report | Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has filed a lawsuit against Hospira Inc. in the Delaware Court of Chancery to compel Hospira to complete a merger agreement signed in April among Javelin, Hospira and its Discus subsidiary.
Filed under: Pharmaceuticals
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Americans prefer drugs to therapy for depression
Reuters | Americans prefer drugs to talk therapy for depression,
with nearly 80 percent taking a pill for the condition, Consumer
Reports said on Tuesday. The most popular class of drugs remain the
so-called SSRIs such as Prozac, the group found. People found newer,
pricier antidepressants less desirable because of side-effects.
Patients benefited just as much from therapy — almost any kind of
therapy, the consumer group found in its survey of 1,500 readers.
Baxter loses to Glaxo in UK swine flu test
From Bloomberg News | In a side-by-side test involving 900 British children, Baxter’s Celvapan swine flu vaccine for children was found to produce fewer antibodies than GlaxoSmithKlein’s Pandemrix.
Get the full story: businessweek.com
FDA: J&J knew about problems year before recall
Associated Press | Johnson & Johnson learned of potency
problems with its Motrin formula in 2008, but instead of issuing a
recall, hired an outside contractor which began buying up the defective
products, according to congressional investigators.
Abbott to file FDA application for carotid stent
Dow Jones Newswires | Abbott says it plans to file FDA application by year-end seeking approval to use Acculink carotid stent system, used to prop open plaque-filled neck arteries, in patients considered at “standard risk” for surgery.
FDA puts liver warning on alli weight loss pill
Associated Press | Federal health officials are warning
consumers that the weight loss pill alli may cause severe liver damage
in rare cases. The Food and Drug Administration says it has added a
warning about the risk to the label of the drug, which is sold
over-the-counter by GlaxoSmithKline. A prescription version called
Xenical is marketed by Roche.
Actor Quaid sues Baxter again over twins’ overdose
Actor Dennis Quaid (right) with wife Kimberly Quaid on May 19, 2010. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
Reuters | Actor Dennis Quaid has sued a drug maker over an accidental overdose of
the blood-thinner Heparin that threatened the lives of his newborn twins
in 2007.
The star of movies “The Rookie” and “The Big Easy” filed the lawsuit in
Los Angeles Superior Court last Friday on behalf of his children.
It seeks unspecified damages against Baxter Healthcare Corp, a unit of
Baxter International Inc, alleging that the overdose was due to a mix-up
over similar labeling in different doses of Heparin.
NovaMed OKs 1-for-3 reverse stock split
By Tribune staff | NovaMed announced Tuesday that its shareholders approved a one-for-three reverse split of the company’s outstanding shares of common stock.
The Chicago-based operator of ambulatory surgery centers said the split will take effect before the markets open June 1 for shareholders of record at the close of business May 28. Shareholders also authorized a reduction in the total number of shares the company is authorized to 33.33 million shares of common and preferred stock from 100 million shares, which will become effective with the stock split. Its shares closed at $3.55 Monday, up 20 cents in Nasdaq trading.
Abbott heart valve clip shows promise in Europe
Dow Jones Newswires | An Abbott Laboratories device designed to
clip together leaky heart valves without major surgery showed similar
performance among patients with different causes of valve problems in
new study data, Abbott said Tuesday.
The company said these results suggest the MitraClip, sold in Europe and
under review by the Food and Drug Administration, could benefit a broad
swath of patients. Other data from the company-funded “Everest II”
study showed that clip and traditional surgery patients didn’t see any
difference in the need for additional surgery at two years.
Abbott Labs announces 3-part debt offering
Dow Jones Newswires | Abbott Laboratories, which recently has
taken steps to buy big parts of Solvay Pharmaceuticals of Belgium and
Piramal Healthcare of India, said Monday that it plans to sell a
three-part benchmark-size offering of senior unsecured notes.
The offering, which according to people familiar with the deal could
range from $3 billion to $4 billion, comes none too soon, as investors
seeking high-grade bonds have found very little new issues of late.
Anemic weekly volume has totaled just $17.79 billion in new supply for
May, according to data provider Dealogic, which ranks this month as one
of the lowest on record. Just under $5 billion in new paper was sold
last week.
Abbott agrees to buy India’s Piramal for $3.72B
By Bruce Japsen | Abbott Laboratories said it will pay $3.72 billion for a unit of drug
giant Piramal Healthcare, a maker of popular generic medicines in
emerging markets, in a deal that will establish it as the largest
seller of prescription drugs in India.
The North Chicago-based drug giant said the move to buy Piramal’s
Healthcare Solutions business allows Abbott to tap into the
second-largest country and one of the fastest growing markets in the
world. Pharmaceutical sales alone in emerging markets are growing three
times the rate of developed countries, say industry analysts.
Walgreen shares fall on downgrade
Dow Jones Newswires | Shares of drug-store chain Walgreen Co.
fell 5.4 percent to $32.93 in recent action Thursday, hit by a
downgrade from Credit Suisse, which lowered its stock rating to neutral
from outperform and cut its 2010 profit target.
FDA OKs Abbott blood sugar test strips
By Bruce Japsen |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an Abbott
Laboratories’ blood sugar test the agency hopes will eliminate
inaccurate results in certain diabetic patients taking other
medications.
The FDA has been working with the makers of certain glucose-testing
strips from Abbott, Roche Diagnostics and other companies to prevent a
potentially deadly problem the agency said for years put at risk
diabetic patients who received drugs containing certain sugars other
than glucose.The FDA said certain dialysis and other biologic drugs
contain “non-glucose sugars,” which can falsely elevate results and
increase the risk of overdose from insulin.
Pfizer to cut 6,000 jobs, close 8 plants
Associated Press | Pfizer says it will cut 6,000 jobs as it
trims its manufacturing capacity worldwide after acquiring smaller
rival Wyeth last year.
CVS to delay sale of genetic tests
By Bruce Japsen | CVS
Caremark Corp. will join rival Walgreens in holding off on carrying
genetic test kits in its stores after the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration last week began an investigation of the supplier of the
product.
Deerfield-based Walgreen Co. had planned to be the first to sell the
Pathway Genomic home test kit on Friday but last Wednesday reversed its
decision to carry the kits. Now, CVS confirms it will hold off on its
plans to begin selling the kits in August.
