Novartis achieves strong growth in 2011

Novartis has published its financial report for the full 2011 fiscal year, during which it experienced strong underlying business growth.

The pharmaceutical company generated net sales of $58.6 billion (37.62 billion pounds) for the 12 months, up by 16 percent year over year, while core operating income and earnings per share totals also saw increases.

Growth was attributed to the recent rejuvenation of its portfolio, with newly launched products accounting for 25 percent of sales during 2011, while significant benefits were also extracted from the acquisition and integration of Alcon.

Novartis expects its performance in 2012 to be roughly in line with last year's, with the diversification of its portfolio expected to offset the patent expiration of a number of key products.

Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis, said: "We maintained our innovation momentum this year, achieving 15 key approvals and expanding our already robust pipeline."

This comes in the same week that Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommended two Novartis therapies for approval.

Novo Nordisk named world's most sustainable company

Novo Nordisk has been named as the most sustainable company in the world in a new index published by business magazine Corporate Knights.

The pharmaceutical came top of the annual Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World index, which lists the companies that take the most proactive stance on managing environmental, social and corporate governance issues.

Novo Nordisk was rated as the best in the world when assessing performance indicators such as energy productivity and greenhouse gas productivity, as well as the link between executive pay and sustainability performance.

Lise Kingo, executive vice-president of Novo Nordisk, said this underlines the company's commitment to sustainability that has been a key part of its identity for more than two decades.

She added: "It is an encouragement to continue to find new ways of growing our business in a way that is profitable, responsible and valuable for patients, employees and society."

Last November, the company achieved another major ethical milestone after successfully phasing live animal testing out of its quality control processes.

Α device that scans a patient and renders a sophisticated medical diagnosis.

FORTUNE -- There will be no robot doctors in the future -- at least not if Scanadu can help it. Even as hospital rooms become more high tech, the Mountain View, CA-based startup wants to make sure the future of medicine remains a human-centered experience.

The company is vying to be the first to create a device that can scan a patient's body and return a medical diagnosis. The device, known in medical design lore as the "tricorder," is one of the elusive holy grails of health engineering. (Star Trek geeks will recognize the name from the fictional device from the show used for sensor scanning, recording data, and analyzing it.) Engineers have been talking about such a device for years, but the race intensified last May, when the X Prize Foundation, a Southern California-based nonprofit, and Qualcomm (QCOM) announced a contest promising $10 million to the first team to create one.

Abbott Ελλάς: Προσφορά αντιγριπικών εμβολίων στο πλαίσιο προγράμματος Εταιρικής Κοινωνικής Ευθύνης

Η Abbott Ελλάς, με στόχο την απαραίτητη πρόληψη για την εποχική γρίπη, προσφέρει 5.200 αντιγριπικά εμβόλια στους Δήμους, Αγ. Αναργύρων-Καματερού, Αχαρνών, Ικαρίας, Καρδίτσας, Καστοριάς, Λαρισαίων, Ορεστίδος Καστοριάς, Νεστορίου Καστοριάς, και Σαμοθράκης.

Η πρωτοβουλία της Abbott, σε συνεργασία με τους προαναφερόμενους Δήμους, εντάσσεται στην προσπάθεια θωράκισης της υγείας των ανθρώπων που διατρέχουν τον κίνδυνο να παρουσιάσουν επιπλοκές από την εποχική γρίπη, όπως τους ηλικιωμένους άνω των 65 ετών, τα παιδιά κάτω των 5 ετών, τις εγκύους, και τους ασθενείς με χρόνια νοσήματα, όσο και του γενικού πληθυσμού αφού η γρίπη μπορεί να μεταδοθεί εύκολα από άνθρωπο σε άνθρωπο. Ο εμβολιασμός πραγματοποιείται σε συνεργασία με το ιατρονοσηλευτικό προσωπικό των Δήμων.

European Pharma Companies Set To Surge Ahead Of US Rivals

Pharmaceutical Technology Europe | Nathan Jessop 

The next two years may see a shake up in the world's current top pharmaceutical companies, with Pfizer likely to be the only US firm to remain in the top five by sales. Although the leading pharmaceutical companies are often termed multinationals, their regional origins are still important. Several studies have suggested that the idea of a global company that transcends national boundaries is an oversimplification of how businesses operate because such companies still retain many features of their national origin when expanding internationally. 

This effect is observed in the work culture that reflects operational decisions and a perceived preference for home-country nationals at the top of the organisation. This position is illustrated by GlaxoSmithKline, which originated in the UK. Although the company generates 96% of its sales elsewhere in the world, its British CEO, Andrew Witty, has reiterated that the company remains British and that it will maintain its main base in the UK despite the difficult operating environment (1).

Για να δείτε αναλυτικά τα περιεχόμενα του βιβλίου ή να το παραγγείλετε πατήστε εδώ…

Τι είπαν στη συνάντηση τους ο Υπουργός Υγείας και οι εκπρόσωποι των φαρμακευτικών εταιριών

Ο περιορισμός της κατανάλωσης φαρμάκων από τους Ασφαλιστικούς Οργανισμούς και κατ' επέκταση της φαρμακευτικής δαπάνης συζητήθηκε εκτενώς κατά τη διάρκεια της συνάντησης του υπουργού Υγείας κ. Α. Λοβέρδου με εκπροσώπους των φαρμακευτικών επιχειρήσεων το απόγευμα της Τρίτης.

«Κάναμε άλλες φορές σε συνεργασία μαζί σας, μια προσπάθεια το 2010 και το 2011 να περιοριστεί η κατανάλωση του φαρμάκου στα Νοσοκομεία και στα ασφαλιστικά Ταμεία με πολύ μεγάλη επιτυχία. Σε πάρα πολλά μέτρα είχαμε την υποστήριξή σας. Σε άλλα όχι. Φτάσαμε σ' ένα σημείο, η συνάντηση η δική μου με την τρόικα το Σάββατο, να έχει λυμένα όλα τα θέματα που αφορούν τις δαπάνες της Κεντρικής Διοίκησης της Υγείας στην Ελλάδα, αλλά και των Νοσοκομείων, μέσα σ' αυτά και το φάρμακο των Νοσοκομείων, αλλά να έχει σε εκκρεμότητα και πολύ ανοιχτό θέμα για το 2012, την κατανάλωση των φαρμάκων από τα Ασφαλιστικά Ταμεία», τόνισε ο υπουργός Υγείας.

Εντυπωσιακή η έκταση της χρήσης των “Social Media” από τα νοσοκομεία

Η διείσδυση των νοσοκομείων στα “Social Media” αυξάνει συνεχώς με ταχύτατους ρυθμούς τόσο στις ΗΠΑ όσο και στην Ευρώπη. Ολοένα και περισσότερα νοσοκομεία αξιοποιούν τη δύναμη που προσφέρει το Facebook, το Twitter και άλλα «Κοινωνικά Μέσα» για να μεταφέρουν μηνύματα και πληροφορίες σε ασθενείς, επαγγελματίες της υγείας και το ευρύ κοινό.
Σύμφωνα με στοιχεία που αντλήσαμε από πηγές του διαδικτύου η χρήση των “Social Media” από δημόσια και ιδιωτικά νοσοκομεία των ΗΠΑ και ενός αντιπροσωπευτικού δείγματος Ευρωπαϊκών χωρών παρουσιάζει την παρακάτω εικόνα:

Sales Rep vs. Ε-Detail: Consider the Practice Area

PharmExecblog | Ben Comer

For some medical practice areas, digital details haven’t sufficiently stepped in where their human sales rep predecessors have stepped (or have been pushed) out, according to a survey of U.S. physicians.

 Responses on the value of eDetails compared with in-person details differed significantly across the four practice areas covered – family medicine, oncology, cardiovascular and allergy/immunology – and suggest that biopharmaceutical companies have an opportunity to adjust the promotional mix for stronger returns.

Over the last two years, in-person visits to oncologists decreased by 14%, but eDetails for the group only increased by 4%. Allergy/Immunology docs saw a 5% decrease in rep visits, but eDetailing grew by 8%. Still, allergy/immunology docs only received 1.8 eDetails per week, on average, but would like to see 3.3 eDetails per week, according to the survey results.

8th Annual World Health Care Congress Europe

Τhe 8th Annual World Health Care Congress Europe will convene in Amsterdam (3-24 May 2012) gathering health care leaders from Europe and the globe to share top insights and best practices for health care business innovation and develop actionable strategies to improve care delivery and outcomes. The 2012 WHCC Europe will feature more than 60 presenters from government, hospitals and health care systems, insurers and payer organizations and academia who will share best practices on: