Associated Press | Pfizer Inc. has filed a lawsuit against a rival drug maker that plans to introduce a generic version of Viagra. Pfizer alleges in its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Norfolk that Teva Pharmaceuticals plans to roll out its version of sildenafil citrate in 2012, which Pfizer says would violate one of its patents.
Filed under: Pharmaceuticals
Visit our Filed page for categories. To browse by specific topic, see our Inside page. For a list of companies covered on this site, visit our Companies page.
FDA delays Abbott’s Certriad cholesterol drug
By Bruce Japsen | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeing problems with Abbott Laboratories’ experimental cholesterol drug Certriad, has delayed the compound’s approval.
Abbott and AstraZeneca Plc, the British drug giant also developing the capsule with Abbott said this morning the FDA issued the companies a “a complete response letter” for their new drug application. It’s unclear what the problem with the drug is, but an FDA “complete
response” letter typically means the drug has efficacy or safety
concerns and the agency was not going to approve it.
Abbott employees return after small fire in lab
By Wailin Wong and Bruce Japsen | Abbott
Laboratories reported a “small fire” in a North Chicago research lab and
said there were no injuries from the incident.
“Fire departments from the surrounding area, including Abbott’s own fire
department, responded quickly and extinguished the fire,” the company
said in a statement. “Employees have now returned to the building.”
Abbott did not provide further details on the cause of the fire. The lab
where the fire took place handles quality testing related to
pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Walgreens second-quarter profit up 4.6%
Tribune staff report | Walgreens said net earnings for the quarter ended Feb. 28 were $669 million, a 4.6 percent increase from $640 million in the same quarter a year ago. Second quarter sales up 3.1 percent to record $17 billion.
“During the quarter we continued to make progress in executing our key
strategies for growth,” said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. “We generated significant cash flow, despite the impact of a sluggish economy and lower-than-anticipated sales of flu-related products.”
Abbott completes purchase of lab data firm
By Wailin Wong |
Abbott Laboratories has completed its $123 million purchase of Starlims
Technologies Ltd., a company that specializes in analyzing laboratory
data.
Abbott announced the deal in December. The North Chicago-based drug and
medical-device company said the acquisition will bolster its position in
laboratory informatics, or managing “the increasing amount of data
generated in laboratories.” Starlims makes Web-based software
applications that store, retrieve and analyze this data, Abbott said.
Shares of Abbott rose 0.8 percent to $53.87 on Monday.
Health care companies pull stock market higher
Associated Press | Health stocks lifted the market Monday following House approval of an overhaul bill that would extend insurance to millions. Drug maker Pfizer Inc. rose 32 cents to $17.23, while insurer Aetna Inc. rose 38 cents to $34.84.
Investors had expected the health care bill would pass the House, but the approval late Sunday removed uncertainty about the rules that would govern the industry. A companion bill now goes back to the Senate. The changes could have far-reaching effects on health insurers and drug makers.
Walgreen drops bid for city drug contract
From the New York Times | Walgreen Co. said it will not bid on a mulit-million contract to manage pharmacy plans for the City of Chicago and other local government workers after a former employee took financial information submitted by bid rival CVS Corp.
Get the full story: newyorktimes.com
Hospira stock surpasses Abbott’s
From the Waukegan News-Sun | Shares of Abbott Labs’ 2004 spin-off Hospira Inc.hit their highest level ever Friday, closing at $56.66, surpassing the share price of its former parent, which closed at $53.46
Get the full story: suburbanchicagonews.com
FDA: Zocor can cause muscle, kidney damage
Zocor on the shelves of Walgreen’s. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Associated Press | The Food and Drug Administration says the highest available dose of the
cholesterol drug Zocor can cause muscle damage as well as severe and
potentially lethal kidney damage.
The agency says statin drugs like Zocor are known to cause muscle damage
in some patients, but the risk is more severe when patients are taking
80 milligram doses of Zocor. The risks include rhabdomyolysis, a form of
muscle damage that can lead to kidney damage or failure, and death.
NeoPharm burned by auction-rate securities
By Ameet Sachdev | The collapse of the auction-rate securities market burned NeoPharm Inc. of Lake Bluff.
The pharmaceutical company said it lost $735,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009 on an auction-rate securities put option. The one-time loss made up half of NeoPharm’s $1.5 million net loss in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
Walgreens expanding in Memphis
By Ameet Sachdev | Walgreens will expand in Memphis, Tenn., by buying prescription files and other assets from 17 Ike’s and Super-D drugstores, the Deerfield-based drugstore chain said.
Mead Johnson to buy back $300M in stock
By Ameet Sachdev | Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. said Wednesday it plans to buy back $300 million in stock. The repurchase program is primarily intended to offset future dilution expected from shares that will be used for executive compensation in the next three to five years, Mead Johnson said.
The Glenview-based infant formula company also increased its dividend to 22.5 cents a share, up from 20 cents a share,
for the quarter ending March 3.
Akorn 4Q loss higher as it winds down vaccines
By Ameet Sachdev | Akorn Inc., a generic pharmaceutical company, said its fourth-quarter loss increased slightly from a year ago, as the company wound down its vaccine business.
The Lake Forest company reported a net loss of $2.5 million, or 3 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $1.9 million, or two cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales fell 30 percent to $18.1 million, from $26 million. Get the full story »
Abbott Labs CEO gets 3% raise, $3.9 million bonus
By Bruce Japsen | Abbott Laboratories chairman and chief executive officer Miles White was paid salary, stock awards and a bonus of more than $18.2 million in 2009, the company’s annual proxy statement filed this afternoon said.
His pay included a 3 percent salary increase to $1.85 million from $1.8 million in 2008. He was also paid $12.4 million in stock awards and a $3.9 million “performance incentive plan bonus” that Abbott’s compensation committee said was given “to recognize his strong leadership in guiding the company’s stock performance.”
Impax Labs challenges patent on Abbott’s Trilipix
Associated Press | Impax Laboratories Inc. said Monday it is challenging the patent on Abbott Laboratories’ cholesterol drug Trilipix, and plans to bring its own version to market.
Impax is looking to sell a generic version of Trilipix in 54 milligram and 135 milligram capsules. Abbott and Fournier Laboratories Ireland responded by filing a patent infringement lawsuit against Impax. Because of the lawsuit, the FDA will not approve Impax’s drug until there is a federal court ruling on the patent’s validity or the companies settle the litigation.
