Press review from 10/02/09 to 12/03/09
Agreement between Guerbet and Draximage
(Les Echos online – March 12, 2009)
Guerbet, a French company specializing in the development of contrast media for the medical sector, has signed an agreement with Draximage, a Canadian company operating in the radiopharmaceutical sector. Guerbet will market Draximage products in Europe.
http://www.aboutpharma.it/notizia.asp?id=19121
Zentiva's 96.8% is from Sanofi-Aventis
(Les Echos online – March 12, 2009)
Sanofi-Aventis acquires 96.8% of the capital of Zentiva, a Czech company producing generics. The French company plans to launch a procedure for the acquisition of minority shares.
http://www.aboutpharma.it/notizia.asp?id=19120
Roche-Genentech merger agreement
(International Herald Tribune: p. 15, The Financial Times online, Les Echos online – 12 March 2009)
Roche has agreed to purchase Genentech's as yet unowned 44%. The American company has in fact accepted the Swiss company's offer of 95 dollars per share. The total value of the transaction amounts to approximately USD 46.8 billion.
http://www.aboutpharma.it/notizia.asp?id=19119
American researchers: False data in painkiller studies
(The Wall Street Journal online - March 11, 2009; International Herald Tribune: pg. 5 - March 12, 2009)
The Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts said the hospital's former head of pain, Scott Reuben, allegedly falsified data from 21 clinical trials on pain management published between 1996 and 2008 in several anesthesiology journals. The falsified data would concern the use of painkillers such as Bextra (valdecoxib) from Pfizer and Vioxx (rofecoxib) from Merck & Co.
http://www.aboutpharma.it/notizia.asp?id=19111
Sicily: 450 million euros saved in healthcare in 4 months
(Corriere della Sera: page 10 – 11 March 2009)
The Governor of Sicily Raffaele Lombardo declared: "In 4 months the expenditure of local health authorities and hospitals has already decreased by 450 million euros. Almost 100 million saved per month". This money will be used for new investments.
http://www.aboutpharma.it/notizia.asp?id=19108
Non-prescription medicines: sales stable
(Il Sole 24 Ore: page 20 – 11 March 2009 )
Market with a flat trend in 2008 for the consumption of non-prescription drugs, 11.4% of the total market, with +0.7% in values and +0.3% in packages sold. The 2008 final balance is drawn up by Anifa, the association of the pharmaceutical self-medication industries. Consumption of products for which advertising is permitted is down, with zero growth in value and -1% of packs; sales of those that cannot be advertised are on the rise, recording +2.6% in value and 1.7% in volume, while continuing to remain the smallest share in the sector.
http://www.aboutpharma.it/notizia.asp?id=19110
"Asl Napoli 1: 30 towards the trial"
(Il Mattino Naples: page 36 – 11 March 2009)
In the investigation into tenders and bribes to the ASL Napoli 1, there are 30 suspects for whom prosecutor Giancarlo Novelli has issued notices of conclusion of the preliminary investigations. Compared to the first phase, which led to the issue of precautionary custody orders by the Public Prosecutor on February 13th
