EuroPharma Today

Ireland Attracts Investments By Pfizer, Merck; But No Good News From Spain

The U.S. pharmaceutical industry has been kind to Ireland and its Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny this week. It has announced investments of more than Euro300 million ($400 million) in the country, which is starting to show early signs of economic recovery.

Pfizer's axe falls on jobs across Europe

One after another, Pfizer's European subsidiaries are implementing the company's strategy of reducing its global headcount. In the past week, company employees in France, Germany and Belgium have been given the bad news.

InterMune Gets Ready To Go Commercial With Esbriet Launch In Europe

InterMune, one of several biotechs transitioning from drug developer to commercial marketer, is gearing up for the European launch of Esbriet (pirfenidone) for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in Europe in September. Investors will be closely tracking the success of the European launch, especially as InterMune is funding a new Phase III trial for pirfenidone in its pursuit of U.S. approval.

Portugal Prepares Reference Prices For Generic Atorvastatin

Portugal's medicines pricing authority, Infarmed, has created a series of reference price groups for Pfizer's atorvastatin now that the lipid lowerer has generic competition in the country; the new prices will come into effect April 1.

Novo Nordisk Comes to Terms with German Wholesalers

The German subsidiary of Novo Nordisk AS has resolved an ongoing dispute with pharmaceutical wholesalers concerning allegations by the wholesalers that the drug manufacturer was unable to supply a sufficient amount of its products ('Wholesaler Discounting Dispute In Germany May Drive Novo To Court,' 'The Pink Sheet' DAILY, Sept. 1, 2010).

(This article is reprinted from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY –Sept 15, 2010)

Actavis eyes Acquisitions in the Middle East and Niche Products in the U.S.

Possibly acquiring development expertise in biosimilars from the Swiss firm BioPartners is one of several strategic moves that newly appointed chief executive Claudio Albrecht is now making at the generics company Actavis.

(This article is reprinted from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY–Sept 8, 2010)

Merck And Works Council At Oss Look For Ways To Preserve Dutch Jobs

Merck & Co and the employee works council at its facilities in Oss, the Netherlands, have stepped back from a courtroom row over the company's plans to lay off more than 2,000 domestic workers, including more than 1,000 researchers and 1,000 manufacturing employees.

  (This article is reprinted from "The Pink Sheet" DAILY – Sept 3, 2010)

Medco's European Ventures Continue to Build: Partnership with Celesio to Focus First on Germany

Medco's efforts to expand its clinical services to budget-strapped health care payers in Europe will begin to contribute "meaningfully" to its bottom line by 2015, according to CEO David Snow.

Reporting Net Loss, GSK Execs Tout Restructuring, Stay Mostly Mum on Avandia

In the wake of its diabetes drug Avandia's stay of execution last week at the hands of an FDA advisory committee, GlaxoSmithKline reported a second-quarter loss on July 21, but its chief executive Andrew Witty choose to highlight progress in R&D restructuring that has generated a "tailwind" for GSK's business.

Class 1 Alert To Recall Hospira UK's temozolomide capsules

A class 1 drug alert, the highest warning level in the UK, has been issued on four batches of Hospira’s generic anticancer, temozolomide capsules.