All GLG News Analyses Filed Under: Business of Medicine

The purchase of a controlling interest in Alcon by Novartis is a brilliant move by Novartis.  To bring the leading contact lens disinfectant together with Ciba's contact lenses is a wonderful marketing opportunity for Ciba.

Stem cells have a great potential for a wide range of medical treatments.  Laying out the direction to allow for clinical studies is an important step. Cancer Stem cell research is a new area where modulation of stem cell activity may prevent metastatic events.  The FDA's concern for embryonic...

2 Texas U.S. Reps think that physcian owned hospitals are OK?

The infractions cited by the FDA are minor, and the Warning Letter is anything but "harsh."  The implications for Glaxo are likely to be nil, with the exception that the Warning Letter will be used by plaintiffs' attorneys in Avandia-related litigation.

Co payments which had been $5/10/20 in the past are now a %age of the cost. When the cost may be upwards of $50-100K and you have a 20% co pay you can see the costs that are transfered back to the insured.

The proposed PTO rules, while logical on the surface, suffer from the all too common defect of over-generalization. In patent applications, as in so many other fields, there is usually not a one size fits all approach.

It often takes several attempts to finalize the Patent Claims and language to satify the examiner.  The limitation of such attempt would place an undue burden on companies and would certainly result in loss of coverage of Intellectual Property (IP). Loss of IP results in reduction of a company...

1. PHRMA's R&D budget may have grown by a smaller percentage and positions have been cut due to mergers and acquisitions. 2. Biotech and non-PHRMA pharmaceutical company growth with increasing headcount , growing budgets and improved cost efficiencies may account for a portion of these...

Exubera is long longer being promoted by Pfizer. The drug id dead. The bigger question will be the safety of any inhaled insulin that will try to come to market.

Physicians themselves with pt request will likely be the driving force in the decrease use of Vytorin till this issue is settled. This in turn will likely change coverage patterns.