In this periodic feature, PharmAsia News Bureau Chief Vikas Dandekar provides his latest analysis on the India pharma industry courtesy of CNBC-TV 18 Mumbai.
In this interview, Vikas decodes one of the biggest mysteries this year to hit the pharma world: Why did Ranbaxy team up with Teva on generic Lipitor (atorvastatin), and what are the terms of that relationship?
Salix Pharmaceuticals has submitted a new drug application for Crofelemer for treatment of HIV-associated diarrhea to FDA. The company has exclusive rights to the indication in North America, Europe and Japan from Napo Pharmaceuticals. Napo is seeking to terminate the license, alleging Salix has failed to develop the drug and breached their collaborative agreement.
Biosimilar user fee agreement allows for reliance on foreign clinical data, FDA official says.
More Insulin Innovation To Come, Says Novo CEO Sorensen / Diabetes treatment leader Novo Nordisk AS faces increasing pricing pressure on even the most innovative end of its broad-ranging insulin portfolio. But management nevertheless confidently predicted plenty more innovation to come – innovation that could still, it argued, lead to premium pricing. "We're not going to lose all our patients [to cheaper insulins] because we know we're going to come up with innovation, both in the form of Degludec and Degludec Plus, and in even more startling innovation going forward," asserted CEO Lars Rebien Sorensen on the sidelines of the FT Global Pharmaceuti...
Cubist finalizes Adolor takeover for $221 million upfront / Cubist Pharmaceuticals paid $4.25 per share in cash, or about $221 million, for Adolor. Cubist also agreed to give Adolor shareholders approximately $233 million in additional fees contingent on milestones for ADL5945, a drug candidate for constipation induced by opioids. / Mass High Tech (Boston) Dec. 12, 2011
Jazz shareholders OK merger with Azur / Shareholders of Jazz Pharmaceuticals approved a takeover of Azur Pharma. The all-stock deal, expected to be complete next month, will create a specialty drugmaker in Ireland. / Yahoo! Dec. 12, 2011
Ono and Receptos will co-develop GPCR drugs / Ono Pharmaceutical and Receptos will jointly develop small-molecule modulators against an unidentified G-protein coupled receptor target as part of a research and development agreement. Receptos will create high-resolution protein crystal structures of the GPCR target using its GPCR structure technology, and this will help Ono with its structure-based drug design. Receptos will obtain an upfront fee, research funding and milestone payments based on the progress of the partnership. / Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News Dec. 13, 2011
Setbacks force AVI BioPharma to eliminate jobs / AVI BioPharma CEO Chris Garabedian said the company is eliminating 35 positions, or 28% of its workforce. The move comes after AVI failed to secure a federal contract, valued at $500 million, to develop an RNA-based flu treatment. In addition, AVI also lost a bid to reverse Prosensa's European patent claim regarding Exon 51, a therapeutic program for muscular dystrophy. / Xconomy Dec. 12, 2011
Don't blame generics for drug shortage, group says / More than 251 drugs experienced a shortage this year, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Some experts blamed industry consolidation and generic-drug makers, but the head of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association disagreed. "It's to our advantage not to have shortages and to keep the products flowing," CEO Ralph Neas said. "We sell affordable medications at a very good prices. We have to do more of that, not less." / The New York Times (tiered subscription model) Dec. 12, 2011
The global healthcare market is broken and a key issue is the gap between innovators who need money and big players who have money but need innovation.
The Global Leaders is proud to host its 2nd annual healthcare forum on Tuesday, January 10th in San Francisco at the historic Marines’ Memorial Club. The theme for the 2012 event is “Eliminating the Gap Between Innovation & Resources.” The conference will focus on connecting CEOs and other senior executives with institutional investors and business development executives who can help bring the pieces together in a rapidly changing landscape.
• Matching innovation with capital • How to mitigate risks; both financial and regulatory • The future of healthcare in a changing global market
Under the overarching theme of “Optimizing Opportunities”, the ninth session of the most awaited global forum on Biotechnology - BioAsia 2012 – is, this year, geared to be bigger, wider and experientially more dynamic a platform than ever before. Of course, it will certainly be both the business-face and the knowledge repository of the Biotech world, bringing together key industry stakeholders across categories.
