Author Archives: George Koroneos

Pfizer Adds FoldRx to its Specialty Care Unit

By George Koroneos | Published: September 1, 2010
Pfizer on Wednesday announced that it acquired a small rare-disease drug firm, FoldRx, for an undisclosed sum of money. Pfizer spokeswoman Gwen Fischer told Pharm Exec that the deal came together in a matter of weeks, and that FoldRx will be fully incorporated into Pfizer’s research division. All of FoldRx’s employees are expected to become Pfizer [...]
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Genzyme Snubs Sanofi Offer

By George Koroneos | Published: August 31, 2010
Less than 24 hours after offering to purchase Genzyme for $18.5 billion, Sanofi-Aventis was sent a letter of rejection from the biotech firm’s board of directors stating that the offer just wasn’t worth it. “Without exception, each member of the Genzyme board believes this is not the right time to sell the company, because your opportunistic [...]
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New Study Shows Spike in Branded Drug Prices (Updated 8/26)

By George Koroneos | Published: August 25, 2010
The retail price of branded pharmaceuticals spiked 8.3 percent in 2009, according to a new report released by AARP on Wednesday. This is the first time AARP has measured the retail price of Rx drugs. In the past, the lobby group only tracked the wholesale manufacturers’ price of generic, branded, and specialty drugs, which is traditionally [...]
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Feds Threaten to Pull ProAmatine for Lack of Postmarket Data (Updated 8/18)

By George Koroneos | Published: August 16, 2010
Image via Wikipedia FDA on Monday announced that it was looking to withdraw approval for the low-blood-pressure treatment midodrine hydrochloride because the companies manufacturing the drug failed to provide data from post-approval studies. The kicker: The drug was approved 14 years ago. FDA gave midodrine hydrochloride—branded by Shire as ProAmatine and produced by a half-dozen generics firms—the green [...]
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Alzheimer’s Test Offers Early Diagnosis

By George Koroneos | Published: August 11, 2010
Image via Wikipedia A research team in Belgium discovered a new test that has proven successful at identifying patients that are developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a report published in the Archives of Neurology on Tuesday. The study took spinal fluid from patients with varying levels of cognitive memory and looked for a specific protein signature or [...]
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