This week, vaccine manufacturers won increased protection from liability in a closely watched case before the US Supreme Court. In Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, the Court ruled that federal law prohibits patients who claim to have been injured by a vaccine from suing the manufacturer. Pfizer hailed the decision as a victory for public health, but its effect is to diminish patients’ recourse when they suffer harm from taking faulty products. Read more »

It’s not too often that a pharma facility closure tops the TV news headlines but that was the case in the UK this week following Pfizer’s announcement that it is to close the UK-based R&D centre that achieved worldwide fame as “the home of Viagra”. Read more »

This week, another pharmaceutical executive has stepped down, Elmar Schnee, head of the pharmaceutical division of Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany). His departure follows other high-profile changes among the pharmaceutical executive ranks, namley Jeffrey Kindler leaving as head of Pfizer (New York) and Richard Clark turning over the helm of Merck & Co. (Whitehouse Station, NJ). These former executives and their successors face an all-too familiar challenge—the pressure for successful product development in light of looming patent expirations and the need to implement new strategies for revenue growth. Read more »

Wall Street analysts gave Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, IN) executives the third degree last Thursday when the company presented its third-quarter results. Lilly’s revenue had increased only 2%, mostly because it had raised its prices. Although demand for its products had stayed flat, the company boosted its profits by 38% mostly through layoffs and cost-cutting measures. The patents on many of the company’s top drugs (e.g., Zyprexa and Actos) will expire in the next few years, however, and no new drugs seem poised to replace them. Analysts wanted to know how Lilly would weather the storm. Read more »

Pfizer announced this his week that it had entered into a strategic global agreement for the worldwide commercialization with the Indian biotechnology company Biocon (Bangalore) for biosimilar versions of insulin and insulin analog products (e.g., recombinant human insulin, glargine, aspart, and lispro). The move signals Pfizer’s strategic interest in entering the biosimilars market as well as a continuing focus of building its position in emerging markets. Read more »

Does federal law shield the makers of vaccines from product-liability lawsuits? Last week, the US Supreme Court began considering this question, which is the heart of a lawsuit against Wyeth, now a part of Pfizer (New York). Read more »

Healthcare-reform legislation is not the only federal initiative that is affecting pharmaceutical manufacturers these days. US Attorney General Eric Holder is cracking down on healthcare fraud, including false claims against Medicare and Medicaid. AstraZeneca (London) felt the sting of Holder’s campaign when it agreed last week to pay $520 million to resolve accusations that it marketed its atypical antipsychotic Seroquel illegally. Read more »

Patients rely on doctors to make impartial decisions about the most effective treatments for their conditions. In recent years, public advocates have agitated for restrictions on pharmaceutical companies gifts’ (e.g., meals, honoraria, or entertainment) to medical professionals on the grounds that they could unduly influence prescribing habits. In what seems like a fight against transparency, Pfizer (New York) sent employees to Connecticut’s capitol to protest a state bill that would restrict such gifts and require reporting. Read more »

These days, mandatory furloughs and staff cuts have employees in all industries nervously glancing over their shoulders. The pharmaceutical industry is no exception. Last week, Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ) revealed plans to reduce its workforce by 15% by the end of 2012. Read more »

Last week we saw more signs that pharmaceutical megamegers bode ill for New Jersey workers. Business Week reported that Pfizer (New York) planned to close six research and development (R&D) facilities—some of its own, and some of Wyeth’s (Madison, NJ). Many of the 400 employees at Wyeth’s research offices in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, could be laid off. And last Wednesday, Richard Clark, CEO of Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ), told attendees at a Goldman Sachs conference that research jobs at Schering-Plough’s (Kenilworth, NJ) headquarters could be eliminated to reduce costs. Read more »