German authorities busted a counterfeit-drug ring yesterday selling fake Viagra (Pfizer, New York) via Internet pharmacy websites, according to an Agence France-Presse report. After a months-long investigation involving 60 customs officers, seven prosecutors and 25 tax investigators, raids in five cities produced 46,000 counterfeit Viagra tablets, frozen bank accounts in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, France, and Turkey, four confiscated luxury vehicles, 15,000 euros ($21,000) in cash, and four people in police custody. Read more »

We’ve all seen trademarked skeletons, wall charts, calendars, paperweights, and supplies in doctors’ offices. And it’s blatantly clear that these items came from pharmaceutical companies—their names are written all over them. But soon, those long waits in the examining room before the doctor comes in may be quite boring because there won’t be much to look at. Read more »

Pfizer announced this week that following a successful completion of its $68-billion acquisition of Wyeth, it will divide its research activities into two separate organizations, one for small molecules and one for biologics and vaccines. The reorganization is but a microcosm of Big Pharma’s larger strategic interest to strengthen its position in biologics with the hopes of improving its return on research and development (R&D). But is the calculus of intensifying R&D into biologics correct? Read more »

Eli Lilly & Co. (Indianapolis) CEO John Lechleiter earlier this week told the Financial Times that he is not interested in becoming part of the recent mega-merger trend (see Pfizer+Wyeth, Merck+Schering-Plough and Roche+Genentech). Rumors and speculation have had some thinking Lilly+Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) would be the next big thing, but Lechleiter specifically ended rumors of that combination and remained critical of Big Pharma’s recent big deals. Read more »

ImClone and Eli Lilly announced Monday that Lilly offered to buy the company for $6.5 billion. Lilly turned out to be the $70-per-share mystery suitor, as was rumored last week. The acquisition will strengthen Lilly’s oncology portfolio, which includes “Gemzar” and “Alimta,” and now, ImClone’s “Erbitux.” Read more »

When it rejected both of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s bids of $60, then $62 per share, ImClone said it had been approached by “a large pharmaceutical company” offering $70 per share, or $6.1 billion, subject to due diligence. Some wondered whether this was a bluff. Now, it seems the mystery suitor may be closer to owning the New York-based biotech company. Read more »

Last week’s post highlighted pharma deals that haven’t been working out due to rejected bids and stalled negotiations. On a more positive note, the past several months have also seen some successful acquisitions. This past week produced updates to some of Big Pharma’s pending pacts. Read more »

“The Physician Payments Sunshine Act” (see my previous post), introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), would require drug companies to disclose their payments to physicians. Besides showing how the pharmaceutical industry can influence the way doctors practice medicine, the act would also illustrate how industry payments might influence university research about drugs. Read more »