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Bristol-Myers Squibb named best large drugmaker of 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb has been ranked as the leading large drug company of 2011 in a new report from Forbes magazine.

The publication has presented the accolade based on the success of the firm's operations in the last 12 months, during which its share price rose by 32 per cent to $35 (20.60 pounds).

Bristol-Myers Squibb's chief executive officer was credited with helping to build on the successful strategy deployed by previous leader James Cornelius, which has seen the company increase its focus on core pharmaceutical operations.

Over the last year, the firm has achieved clinical and regulatory milestones for promising therapies such as Yervoy and Eliquis, while making progress in its efforts to break into the Indian market.

Forbes expects Bristol-Myers Squibb to reap the benefits of these achievements in the coming years, with Yervoy in particular predicted by analysts to be a multibillion-dollar blockbuster success.

This also comes after the company agreed two new collaborations with Gladstone Institutes and Simcere last month, which will focus respectively on Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular treatments.

Roche's Genentech subsidiary forms partnership with Vernalis

Roche Group member Genentech has entered into a new drug discovery collaboration with fellow healthcare company Vernalis.

The arrangement will see the organisations working towards an undisclosed research target using Vernalis' fragment and structure-based drug discovery platform, with financial details of the deal remaining confidential.

James Sabry, vice-president of Genentech Partnering, said: "Genentech constantly seeks collaborations like this one to develop therapies that offer the potential of advancing the standard of care and making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients."

Meanwhile, Vernalis' chief executive officer Ian Garland said Genentech's decision validates the market-leading credentials of its drug discovery platform, while reinforcing its strategy of using collaborations to support its research efforts.

Last month, Roche and Genentech published new clinical trial data from a phase III study called Cleopatra, which assessed the safety and efficacy of the drug pertuzumab against metastatic breast cancer.

The study showed that the treatment delivered a 6.1-month improvement in progression-free survival.

AstraZeneca and Targacept to progress development of Alzheimer's drug

AstraZeneca and Targacept will be moving ahead with the development of the investigational compound AZD1446 as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Targacept has welcomed the decision of its partner to advance its evaluation of AZD1446 as an adjunct treatment to donepezil in Alzheimer's patients, demonstrating the potential promise of therapies targeting the alpha4beta2 NNR mechanism.

AZD1446 is a selective modulator of the alpha4beta2 neuronal nicotinic receptor that was jointly developed by the two companies, with a collaborative research and license agreement for the drug having been signed in 2005.

Under the terms of this deal, AstraZeneca takes responsibility for conducting and funding the development and potential commercialisation of the innovative therapy.

Dr J Donald deBethizy, president and chief executive officer of Targacept, said the new plans "complement Targacept's ongoing phase IIb study of AZD3480 as a monotherapy as we and AstraZeneca strive to provide an effective treatment for this major unmet medical need".

Last month, it was announced that AstraZeneca will be providing the UK academic sector with access to its clinical compound library as part of a groundbreaking new alliance with the Medical Research Council.

Crisis Is Good Medicine for cash-rich drug firms

Wall Street Journal | Goran Mijuk
 

A lack of funding in the biotech industry, brought about by the financial crisis, is proving a boon for cash-rich drug firms. Since the outbreak of the crisis in 2008, big drug companies such as Roche Holding AG have been able to strike deals early and for less money with small biotech developers, which are struggling to fund themselves because traditional investors such as private equity, hedge funds and venture capitalists are shunning the sector. The trend has helped the big drug firms outperform the Stocks Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology index.

"We are doing around 50 to 60 partnership deals a year now, compared to around 30 deals per year before the crisis [of 2008]," said Dan Zabrowski, head of Roche's drug partnership unit. "Today, we start deals earlier with less upfront payments and share the risk with our partners."

Προειδοποίηση Λοβέρδου προς φαρμακοποιούς

Σε κατάργηση των συμφωνιών των ασφαλιστικών ταμείων με τους Φαρμακευτικούς Συλλόγους και στην κατάρτιση μεμονωμένων συμβάσεων με φαρμακεία προτίθεται να προχωρήσει η ηγεσία του υπουργείου Υγείας και Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης αν οι φαρμακοποιοί εξακολουθήσουν να μη χορηγούν φάρμακα στους ασφαλισμένους όλων των ταμείων.

Ο υπουργός Υγείας και Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης, Ανδρέας Λοβέρδος χαρακτήρισε ως «συνδικαλιστική ενέργεια έξω από τα όρια της δεοντολογίας» την απόφαση των Φαρμακευτικών Συλλόγων που υποχρεώνει τους ασφαλισμένους να καταβάλουν το σύνολο της φαρμακευτικής δαπάνης. Πρόσθεσε ακόμη ότι το θέμα των οφειλών στα φαρμακεία ρυθμίστηκε καθώς την περασμένη Πέμπτη πληρώθηκαν οι οφειλές του ΟΠΑΔ και του ΙΚΑ, ενώ στις 22 Ιανουαρίου θα καταβληθούν και οι οφειλές του ΟΓΑ και μέχρι τον ερχόμενο Μάρτιο θα τακτοποιηθούν όλες οι υποχρεώσεις των ασφαλιστικών ταμείων.