And so, another working week is about to draw to a close. Not a moment too soon, yes? This is, as you may recall, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. And this will be a long weekend on this side of the pond in order to celebrate dead presidents. Our plans, nonetheless, are quite modest. We hope to catch up on our reading, take a few naps, and spend time with our short person. And what about you? Keeping warm on a bone-chilling day is a good indoor sport. You could stimulate the economy by shopping. And of course, Valentine’s Day is approaching, so if you have a sweetie to hug, this would be a good time. Whatever you do, have a grand time, but be safe. See you soon …
“The days of unfettered pricing are long gone,” GlaxoSmithKline US President Jack Bailey tells Bloomberg News. “There is still price [increases] being taken, but in all likelihood it’s going to continue to come under deep, deep scrutiny.” Without the benefit of price hikes, he adds, drug makers will have to “make sure we do everything faster, better, cheaper.”
Valeant Pharmaceuticals uses an accounting tactic to obscure details of its acquisitions, MarketWatch reports. The drug maker often pays a premium for other companies and books that as goodwill, but has not retroactively adjusted net income and expenses when later revising balances calculated at the time of the deals. But accounting principles require companies to adjust the amounts recognized at the acquisition date when new information is obtained.
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals is laying off 25 percent of its workforce, or about 70 employees, largely due to increased competition for its Juxtapid pill for a rare genetic form of very high cholesterol. The drug maker last week hired a new chief executive officer. Last summer, the former chief executive resigned following allegations of illegal drug use that were raised in divorce proceedings involving a Jefferies & Co. banker. The allegations were denied.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has initiated a procedure that could lead to a vote to confirm Dr. Robert Califf as Food and Drug Administration commissioner, BioCentury tells us.
Sandoz bought the rights to Pfizer’s biosimilar version of the Remicade arthritis treatment in the 28 countries that form the European Economic Area, Pharma Times says.
Drug makers may be accelerating efforts to develop a Zika vaccine, but the World Health Organization says it will be at least 18 months until the first candidates are ready for trials, according to InPharma Technologist.
A move by Indian authorities to withdraw customs duty exemptions on 76 drugs has prompted doctors and drug makers to claim the move will make the medicines more expensive, The Economic Times reports.
The FDA ordered CTI BioPharma to halt a Phase 3 trial of a cancer drug after patients died from “intracranial hemorrhage, cardiac failure and cardiac arrest,” The Seattle Times writes.
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