Monthly Archives: November 2010

Roche Joins the Roll Call of Pharma Layoffs

By Julian Upton | Published: November 17, 2010
So, Roche is the latest industry giant to announce seismic job cut plans — 6 percent of its global workforce — or 4800 jobs — will go by 2012.  The Swiss company aims to generate annual cost saving of 2.4 billion Swiss francs in the process. But don’t be swayed by the European currency — [...]
Posted in Europe, Global, Strategy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Wins and Losses from Risk-Sharing Agreements

By William Looney | Published: November 17, 2010
Can you manage the external market impact? Risk-sharing agreements – where companies contract with reimbursement or assessment authorities to guarantee a new drug’s performance, often against specific outcomes measures, in return for access to patients – are among the latest innovations in managing health care costs. Use of the tool is standard in Australia, is [...]
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The Potential Pain in Deficit Reduction

By Jennifer Ringler | Published: November 17, 2010
The US National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility’s draft report report signals US embrace of a fixed annual global budget for health care spending — experience in other countries suggests this will add to pressure for further cost controls on medicines beyond what is ordered up in Obamacare. Last week, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, co-chairs for [...]
Posted in Regulatory, healthcare | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Justice to Pharma: "Do the Perp Walk!"

By Walter Armstrong | Published: November 17, 2010
Former GSK counsel is the first target in government’s executive-liability crackdown. Could J&J be next? The US Department of Justice filed criminal charges last week against Lauren Stevens, a former VP and assistant general counsel at GlaxoSmithKline. Going after pharma execs marks a seismic shift in the government’s efforts to stem the tide of fraud and [...]
Posted in Legal, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Drug Payment Reform in China: Now That's a Mass Market

By William Looney | Published: November 10, 2010
The task of building drug access for one billion new customers in China is probably this decade’s grandest public policy experiment.  It is taking place largely behind the scene in a series of often tense exchanges between Beijing and local governments – the dialogue is worth watching for the long-term commercial implications in what all [...]
Posted in Emerging Markets, Global, Strategy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment