Hello, everyone, and nice to finally see you. We apologize for the delay, but we encountered various technical difficulties this morning — not to mention Boston traffic. But we are persevering, nonetheless. After all, a routine is a routine, yes? So here is an assortment of interesting items for your convenience. As always, we hope you have a successful day and, again, remind you that we gladly accept receipt of secret documents.
DalCor Pharmaceuticals has raised $150 million in venture financing to start a 5,000-patient trial of a cholesterol drug that Roche shelved, the Wall Street Journal tells us. The big drug maker walked away from dalcetrapib after the pill failed to prevent heart attacks and strokes in a Phase 3 study. DalCor plans to analyze DNA of patients in the Roche study that revealed a variation in a single gene was associated with fewer heart attacks and strokes.
Novartis chief executive officer Joe Jimenez is battling to restore investor confidence in the drug maker after its stock has dropped more than a quarter in the past year, Swiss Info writes. Sales of its new heart drug have been disappointing, and its Alcon eye care business continues to struggle. Meanwhile, authorities in South Korea and Turkey are investigating its marketing practices.
CVS is working with Curbside, a mobile commerce firm, to offer store pickup at almost all of its nearly 8,000 stores by the end of this year, Fortune writes. The company, which is also taking an undisclosed stake in Curbside, is calling the service CVS Express. Pilot programs are underway in a few markets in California, North Carolina, and Georgia and set for a national rollout by year end.
Michael Pearson, the outgoing Valeant Pharmaceuticals chief executive officer, was deposed for at least nine hours Monday by a Senate committee investigating drug pricing practices, Bloomberg News reports.
Roche reported revenue in the first three months of this year rose 4 percent to $12.87 billion, which beat analyst forecasts and sets a pace that rival drug makers may find hard to match, Reuters says.
Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street quarterly earnings forecasts and slightly boosted its outlook for 2016, citing strong prescription drug revenue and a weakening dollar, Reuters informs us.
Orexigen has again terminated a cardiovascular outcomes trial for its Contrave diet pill that was ordered by the US Food and Drug Administration, CardioBrief writes.
A federal judge ordered Warner Chilcott, which is now owned by Allergan, to pay $125 million to resolve criminal and civil claims in a health care fraud case, Reuters reports.
About the Author Reprints
