Sanofi Job Cuts Continue
Sanofi ($SNY), which has spent the last year trimming manufacturing and R&D operations around the globe, has taken aim at another U.K. facility. Looking forward, it says it will close by 2015 a U.K. plant in Fawdon where it makes the blockbuster blood-thinner Plavix and other drugs for the U.K. and Europe. The 450 workers […]
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FDA releases draft of guidance on drug-safety issues
The FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) released a new draft guidance on how it develops and classifies drug-safety issues. The guidance, Drug Safety Information – FDA’s Communication to the Public, describes how CDER communicates emerging drug-safety information. “In recent years, CDER has begun making information on potential drug risks available to the […]
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FDA considering waiving some prescription requirements
Will U.S. consumers soon be able to buy popular cholesterol-lowering prescription drugs over the counter? That’s looking more possible, based on statements made by U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulators reported in a March 8, 2012 CBSNews.com article, “FDA mulls bringing popular prescription drugs over-the-counter.” The article said, “The Food and Drug Administration is mulling […]
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Drug shortages could mean 1890s-style surgery
Canadians will face medicine from the 1890s or no surgery at all if a shortage of injectable drugs continues, the head of the Canadian Medical Association says. “I’m a general surgeon,” CMA president Dr. John Haggie said in an interview from Winnipeg on Tuesday. “You come to me with acute appendicitis, you need antibiotics, you […]
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Generic Lexapro Approved by FDA
The FDA approved the first generic version of the popular antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) today. Like the brand-name drug, the generic is approved for the treatment of both adult depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Escitalopram was approved in 2002, and it has been manufactured and marketed by U.S.-based Forest Laboratories Inc., in partnership with the Danish […]
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Professor asks FDA to investigate Texas company involved in Rick Perry’s stem cell procedure
The Food and Drug Administration has received a complaint against a company that stored adult stem cells from Texas Governor Rick Perry for use in an experimental procedure to treat his back pain. A University of Minnesota professor is calling on the FDA to investigate the safety and legality of services offered by CellTex Therapeutics, […]
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Bristol-Myers CEO Gets 27% Pay Increase After Cancer Drug Sales Start Fast
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) Chief Executive Officer Lamberto Andreotti received a 27 percent increase in total compensation after a new skin cancer drug gained approval and contributed to higher sales and profits. Andreotti’s total compensation rose to $14.9 million in 2011 from $11.8 million a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. The pay included […]
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Pharmaceutical firm Sanofi axes 450 Newcastle UK jobs
French-based Sanofi, which specialises in vaccine development and diabetes treatments, said the posts were going at its facility in Fawdon, Newcastle. The company, which briefed staff about the decision on Wednesday morning, said the drug manufacturing plant would close down in 2015. The company blamed the closure on the growing use of low-cost generic drugs […]
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Rodent import ban in UK alarms drugmakers
Source: Pharmalot A clutch of UK trade associations that represent drugmakers, researchers and laboratories are expressing alarm over a decision by ferry operators to ban all imports of mice, rats and rabbits. The move came in response to pressure from animal-rights groups, which have previously succeeded in convincing airlines and airports to avoid transporting assorted […]
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North Carolina Town May Rescind Pfizer Tax Breaks After Layoffs
Recent cuts at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s Sanford, NC plant has some Lee County leaders rethinking already-contracted economic incentives with the company. Lee commissioners talked this week over roughly $36 million in tax value reductions at the local facility that, on top of hundreds of layoffs expected by 2015, has officials mulling whether to halt incentive […]
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