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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: pharmaceutical industry

pharmaceutical industry stories: 42 news summaries

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 Drugmakers 
 Hike Prices 
 Ahead of Reform 

9% rise, in a year of falling prices, will add $10B to drug spending

Nov 16, 09 7:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Bracing for health care reform, drug companies have been raising prices at the fastest rate in almost 20 years—even as they pledge to support Washington's goal of cutting the nation's drug bill. The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to get the price base as high as possible before legislation to... More »

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Merck • pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • prescription drugs • health care reform • pharmaceutical industry

Puppetmasters

Big Pharma Lobbyists Put Words Into Reps' Mouths

We 'didn't know' where the language came from, reps plead

Nov 15, 09 8:37 AM CST
(Newser) - Yep, that's an echo you hear in the House chamber. The New York Times has obtained emails showing that language drafted by lobbyists working for biotech giant Genentech made it almost unchanged into statements and speeches made on health care—by Democrats and Republicans alike. A Genentech lawyer told staffers,... More »

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health care • lobbying • Genentech • lobbying blitz • House Democrats • pharmaceutical industry • House Republicans

OPINION

Health Industry Shakedown Imperils Reform

Obama must ignore lobbyists for insurers, doctors, drug makers

Oct 19, 09 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - In dealing with pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and the AMA, President Obama should take a page from David Letterman's book and not fall prey to blackmail, writes former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Promises the administration made to those three constituencies in exchange for staying neutral or positive about health care reform... More »

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physician • blackmail • extortion • David Letterman • American Medical Association • health care reform • Robert Reich • pharmaceutical industry • insurance industry • Obama administration • doctors • President Obama • health insurance industry • shakedown

 Drug Giants Target Cancer 

Scientific advances, potentially huge profits attract Big Pharma to cancer fight

Sep 2, 09 2:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - Major drug companies are tying their fortunes to cancer like never before, the New York Times reports. The firms—inspired by advancements in science as well as the high prices cancer drugs command—are pouring unprecedented resources into the search for new cancer drugs. The drug giants hope cancer treatments... More »

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cancer • pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • Pfizer • cancer research • prescription drugs • pharmaceutical industry • cancer drug

(Newser) - The Obama administration is thwarting poor countries' access to affordable drugs in order to win Big Pharma's support for health care reform, according to Doctors Without Borders and other NGOs. As the Los Angeles Times reports, governments from Asia to Latin America are feeling pressure from Washington on their use... More »

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drug companies • generic drugs • health care reform • Doctors Without Borders • HIV/AIDS • pharmaceutical industry • Obama administration • NGOs

Docs Debate Male Menopause

Low testosterone can make you grumpy, impotent—and a great target for drugmakers

Aug 10, 09 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - If you’re a guy in your late 40s or 50s, and you’ve been feeling unusually grumpy, borderline impotent, and all around miserable lately, you might just have male menopause, ABC News reports. Many physicians believe men experience a drop in testosterone as they get older, which can result... More »

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testosterone • pharmaceutical industry • male menopause

Pharma to Push Obama Plan in $150M Ad Blitz

Drug companies get behind health care reform, to Congress' concern

Aug 9, 09 6:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Drug companies have authorized their lobbyists to spend up to $150 million on TV ads supporting Barack Obama's health care reform plan—a surprisingly large sum that suggests the industry still has a deal with the White House on capping pharma's costs, reports the New York Times. A few spots... More »

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advertising • White House • drug companies • health care reform • pharmaceutical industry • advertising budgets

(Newser) - The number of Americans on antidepressants doubled from 1996 to 2005, a new study finds, but fewer are seeing psychiatrists, and most aren’t using the drugs to affect their mood. As of 2005, the last year for which data were available, 27 million Americans—roughly 10% of the population—... More »

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depression • advertising • antidepressant • Prozac • pharmaceutical industry • scientific study • health study

Docs Weigh Longer Chemo in Cancer Battle

Experts say tumors could be treated as chronic diseases

Jul 21, 09 10:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Instead of waiting for cancer to return, some doctors are keeping up patients’ chemotherapy even when the threat has lessened, the New York Times reports. With maintenance therapy, some in the medical and drug industries say, it may be possible to treat cancer as a chronic disease, with tumors kept... More »

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cancer • health care • chemotherapy • public health • cancer research • cancer treatment • pharmaceutical industry

Swiss Pharma Won't Donate Swine Flu Vaccine to Poor

Novartis defies WHO calls to give free doses to poor


Jun 15, 09 4:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - Swiss pharma giant Novartis is defying the World Health Organization by refusing to donate swine flu vaccines to the world's poor, despite the designation of H1N1 as the first pandemic in 40 years, reports the Financial Times. Last week the WHO's director general called on drug companies to show "... More »

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pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • GlaxoSmithKline • Novartis • World Health Organization • flu shot • Tamiflu • flu medications • pharmaceutical industry • pandemic • swine flu

OPINION

 Drug Trials a Lot Like Reality TV 


May 14, 09 12:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - Only one couple from The Bachelor has actually gotten married. No Apprentice winner has become fabulously wealthy. American Idol produced Taylor Hicks. Reality shows don’t always make good on their real-world promises, and in that way, they’re a lot like clinical drug trials, writes pediatrician Darshak Sanghavi in... More »

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reality TV • American Idol • ADHD • pharmaceutical industry • clinical trials • Ritalin • The Bachelor • The Apprentice • Taylor Hicks

Pfizer Offers Free Lipitor, Viagra to Jobless

70 drugs available to those who lost jobs since Jan. 1

May 14, 09 10:27 AM CDT
(AP) - Pfizer is unveiling a new program that will let people who have lost their jobs and health insurance keep taking some of its medications—including Lipitor and Viagra—for free for up to a year. The world’s biggest drugmaker will provide more than 70 of its prescription drugs free... More »

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health care • health insurance • Pfizer • Viagra • unemployment • Lipitor • pharmaceutical industry • jobless • Jay-ZTV

She'd Still Rather Have the Arm, But the $6.7M Will Help

$6.7m award will make life easier, but is no substitute for arm lost in botched injection

Mar 5, 09 10:21 AM CST
(Newser) - Millions of dollars and a landmark Supreme Court victory is great—"The fact that the justice system worked, it's pretty impressive"—but it's still no substitute for a right arm, musician Diana Levine tells the AP. Levine, whose arm was amputated in 2000 after she developed gangrene from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
lawsuit • Wyeth • pharmaceutical industry • amputation • Diana Levine

supreme court

 Justices Reject Limits 
 on Drug Lawsuits 

Ruling makes pharma responsible for labels

Mar 4, 09 1:59 PM CST
(Newser) - In a strong blow to drugmakers, the Supreme Court ruled today in favor of a Vermont woman who lost her arm after taking an anti-nausea drug made by Wyeth, the Wall Street Journal reports. The court upheld the ruling of a Vermont court that awarded guitarist Diana Levine $6.7... More »

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Vermont • liability • John Paul Stevens • Wyeth • pharmaceutical industry • US Supreme Court

Glaxo to Cut Drug Prices
in Developing World

No. 2 pharma firm will open 'patent pool' to outside scientists

Feb 14, 09 11:25 AM CST
(Newser) - GlaxoSmithKline’s new boss has proposed a radical rethinking of big pharma in developing countries: He plans to cut prices, offer portions of profits to hospitals, and loosen his firm’s grip on patents that keep prices up, the Guardian reports. “I think it's absolutely the kind of thing... More »

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drug companies • GlaxoSmithKline • price • developing countries • pharmaceutical industry • patent

Scientists Map Common Cold's Genome

Makes creating a cure possible, but still
pricey and unlikely

Feb 12, 09 4:43 PM CST
(Newser) - Researchers have completed a “family tree” for the common cold, paving the way for an eventual cure to one of mankind’s most stubborn ailments, the New York Times reports. Scientists mapped the genomes of the 99 variations of rhinovirus, which causes most colds, and have cataloged the weaknesses... More »

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pharmaceutical companies • genome • virus • asthma • common cold • pharmaceutical industry • cold • rhinovirus

Seven Medications With Second Careers

Cosmetic and medicinal treatments overlap

Feb 10, 09 7:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Medications are commonly advertised for a single use, but they often gain popularity for others. Here are a few examples from ABC:
  1. Viagra: Famous for its ability to increase blood flow to a specific part of the body, Viagra also has been used to increase blood flow in patients
... More »

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treatment • Viagra • Botox • pharmaceutical industry • medication • ecstasy • glaucoma

FDA Approves Drug Made From Gene-Tweaked Goats

Landmark decision could signal start of large-scale 'pharming' for drugs

Feb 7, 09 7:07 AM CST
(Newser) - An FDA decision to approve a drug made from genetically engineered goats is being called a milestone decision likely to lead to many more "pharm animals," the Boston Globe reports. Biotech firm GTC says the milk from a single genetically modified goat can produce as much of the... More »

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genetic modification • livestock • biotechnology • prescription drugs • pharmaceutical • goats • pharmaceutical industry

MARKETS

 Dow Rebounds, Rises 142 

Banks still feel pain ahead of next bailout

Feb 3, 09 3:13 PM CST
(Newser) - Stocks bounced back in the wake of yesterday’s sell-off, with news of a rise in December existing-home sales feeding optimism, the Wall Street Journal reports. Merck continued to rise after reporting a quarterly profit, closing up 7.7% and boosting other pharmaceuticals. The Dow closed up 141.53 points... More »

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Merck • Dow Jones • Nasdaq • pharmaceutical industry • existing home sales • S&P 500 • existing-home sales

 FTC Challenges 
 Payments to 
 Delay Generics 

Deal to keep generic drug off the market is anti-competitive, regulators say

Feb 3, 09 9:25 AM CST
(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission, pledging to oppose “pay-for-delay” agreements, filed suit against a brand-name testosterone-replacement drug manufacturer for paying three competitors to delay introductions of generic versions, the Washington Post reports. Nearly half of settlements between brand-name drug-makers and their generic counterparts in 2006 and 2007 resulted in such... More »

MORE ABOUT:
pharmaceutical companies • FTC • generic drugs • monopoly • antitrust suit • pharmaceutical industry • Solvay Pharmaceuticals

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