The drugmaker noted that it will invest $1.5 billion in Merck BioVentures by 2015, with the goal of having at least five follow-on biologic candidates in Phase III development by 2012.

Popularity: 16% [?]

PITTSBURGH — Mylan Inc. (NYSE: MYL) today announced that it and its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., have entered into a settlement agreement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., Novartis Corp. and Novartis International AG related to Letrozole Tablets, the generic version of Novartis’ Femara®.

Mylan’s Vice Chairman and CEO Robert J. Coury commented: “We are very pleased to [...]

Popularity: 25% [?]

The financial crisis may have a silver lining for Big Pharma. Licensing deals struck by drugmakers with smaller biotechs could really take off.
With credit tightening and the market values of some smaller companies taking a beating, the terms for Big Pharma may get a whole lot more attractive, the Boston Consulting Group says in a [...]

Popularity: 25% [?]

Eli Lilly launched US legal proceedings against Novartis’ Sandoz unit, Wockhardt, Impax Laboratories and Cobalt Laboratories to prevent the drugmakers from manufacturing generic versions of its antidepressant Cymbalta (duloxetine).

The Indianapolis-based company alleged that the generic firms have filed documents with the FDA seeking permission to market the drug before the patent expires in June 2013. [...]

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Schering-Plough has kept a promise its CFO made in February of this year: To provide regular reports on how the company’s beleaguered cholesterol franchise is holding up. The latest update, filed with the SEC this morning, shows that the bleeding appears to have stopped, at least for the moment.

The figures at left show combined totals [...]

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Regarding increasing cash flow, Huet indicated that the drugmaker would attempt to achieve the goal through a “three pillars” strategy involving more efficient management of its inventory, receivables and payables.

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AstraZeneca CEO David Brennan on Monday stated that it was too early to forecast how Crestor (rosuvastatin) sales would be impacted by new study data showing that the drug significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular events and related deaths in people with normal cholesterol who had elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP).
The executive commented that [...]

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“The whole way of doing business is gone, at least temporarily. Companies that don’t have a lot of cash or assets to generate cash” are in jeopardy, said George A. Scangos, chief executive of Exelixis Inc., a South San Francisco, Calif., biotech company.

Popularity: 56% [?]

Ahead of an appearance in the Supreme Court next week, Wyeth is explaining its side of things in the closely watched case known as Wyeth v. Levine — or, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls it, the business case of the century.
The case hinges on whether FDA’s approval of drugs should shield their makers [...]

Popularity: 34% [?]

The maker of allergy and asthma treatment Singulair and cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil said it will cut nearly 13 percent of its work force, including many executives, to lower overhead and become more competitive, in its second major restructuring in less than three years.

Popularity: 36% [?]