And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, as you know, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is still shaping up, though. We hope to spend time with Mrs. Pharmalot and enjoy the start to a festive holiday. Of course, we also have more raking so that the corporate campus looks spiffy. But what about you? Perhaps this is a good time to catch up on your to-do list or reach out to someone special. You could also winterize your own castle, since it is getting chilly outside. Or simply plan the rest of your life. Whatever you do, have a grand time, but be safe. See you soon …
A federal government panel created to coordinate pain research plans to file a formal objection to a CDC proposal to limit opioid prescribing, which is set for release next month, DrugWonks writes, citing Politico. The proposal is a key element of the Obama administration effort to combat painkiller overdoses. But the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee believes the level of evidence cited to support the non-binding guidelines is too low.
The UK’s cost-effectiveness watchdog believes a new Alexion Pharmaceuticals drug to treat a rare inherited bone disorder is too expensive at the $550,000 per patient price, Pharma Times tells us. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence did not deny Strensiq is effective, but was not satisfied that Alexion provided sufficient justification for the high price.
Pfizer plans to close an R&D facility in Cambridge, UK, and eliminate up to 120 jobs, diminishing its presence in the UK a year after its failed takeover attempt for AstraZeneca, The International Business Times says. The move is part of a broader decision to reduce early-stage R&D investment in pain treatments. Pfizer last reduced its UK R&D presence four years ago by trimming various activities at facilities in Sandwich.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals chief executive Michael Pearson will not testify at a Senate subcommittee hearing on prescription drug pricing that will be held next week, according to the New York Post.
Philidor Rx Services, the mail-order pharmacy in the middle of the Valeant Pharmaceuticals scandal, let go 262 employees as part of its closure, according to a filing with Pennsylvania officials.
Eli Lilly plans to close a Swiss lab that runs tests on live animals, which is upsetting local animal welfare groups worried about the fate of hundreds of cats, dogs, and livestock, Reuters says.
The Food and Drug Administration told Zafgen to halt a clinical trial of an experimental drug to treat a rare obesity-related condition after two patients died, The Boston Globe tells us.
Pfizer convinced a federal judge to bar a biostatistics expert from testifying that its Zoloft antidepressant can cause cardiac birth defects, dealing a blow to plaintiffs who claim harm from the drug, Reuters writes.
Reckitt Benckiser might be interested in buying the Pfizer consumer-health unit if it comes up for sale following the Pfizer merger with Allergan, Bloomberg News reports.
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