Impactiviti Daily 052610 Top Pharma News

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TODAY’S NEWS:

Very big news for Vertex – 75% of hepatitis C patients never treated before achieved a viral cure after receiving a 12-week course of the company’s experimental drug telaprevir plus the current standard of care, according to results from a phase III study…more

Genzyme’s Pompe remedy approved by FDA; meanwhile, more detail on their consent decree.

More on alleged Wyeth tactics to promote Rapamune off-label. If true, yuck! Gold-in Rule at work.

Connecticut passes new pharma ethics code.

Part 2 of my interview over at MessagingLab blog (by Karl Schmieder): Pharma, Social Media, and the FDA.

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Social Media in Pharma stuff today: An “Ultimate Guide to Facebook“, from our friends over at Pixels and Pills. And, reporting adverse events on social media. More? Sure – comparing how pharma companies are using social media currently (from @healthcarengage). Even more? OK, you asked for it – Social Media and Celebrities in pharma (from John Mack’s blog)

JUST FOR FUN

Examples of Lightning Photography. Stunningly beautiful.

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Impactiviti Daily 052510 Top Pharma News

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TODAY’S NEWS:

Watson gets FDA approval to start shipping generic Valtrex.

Novartis oral MS drug – FDA extends review another 3 months – Novartis will have to wait a bit longer in its bid to get the first oral treatment for multiple sclerosis on the market after regulators in the USA put back a review of Gilenia. The US Food and Drug Administration has extended by three months, to September, its review period for Gilenia (fingolimod), previously known as FTY720…more

Genzyme: Big fine, big changes to get manufacturing back under control.

Another day, another whistleblower suit comes to light. This time, Wyeth and Rapamune promotion for unapproved uses.

Layoffs at Quintiles.

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The Three “I’s” of Tomorrow’s Successful Company. An important perspective from Dennis Urbaniak (VP U.S. Diabetes, Sanofi-Aventis). Titles, Budgets, and Staff are out – Ideas, Initiative, and Inspiration are in.

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50 Beautiful Examples of Architecture Photography.———-

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Impactiviti Daily 022510

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TODAY’S NEWS

If Shire were in Olympics, they’d now be on the speed skating short track – Shire has been boosted by the news that regulators in the USA will give a quicker review to the firm’s Fabry disease drug Replagal. The company has received fast-track designation from the US Food and Drug Admininstration for Replagal (agalsidase alfa), its enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease. The drug has also been available under an early access programme in the USA since December following the temporary shutdown of a Genzyme manufacturing plant which caused the shortage of the latter’s Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta)…more

Pfizer gets the FDA go-ahead for updated vaccine – Pfizer said Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration has approved an updated version of its best-selling infection vaccine for infants and children. Prevnar 13 is intended to reduce the risk of infection by 13 strains of pneumococcal disease in children 5 years old and younger. The disease causes ear infections, meningitis and pneumonia…more However, no standing ovation for experimental osteoporosis drug.

Scorecarding which drugs caused the most adverse events. I’m guessing Too Many Donuts trumps all of them combined…

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The Pharma and Healthcare Wiki – one year old and full of value! My friend and co-conspirator Jon Richman launched this very valuable (and quite comprehensive) collection of social media resources and examples a year ago, taking off on my initial SocialRx page and making a great resource for the industry. Need to know what’s going on in eMarketing/eHealth/Social Media? Go there!

JUST FOR FUN

The world’s 18 strangest airports. I’ll say this for my home airport, Newark – you do get to see some awfully strange sights while shuffling for hours in the security lines…

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Impactiviti Daily 012810

TODAY’S NEWS

Pfizer trimming pipeline projects after Wyeth acquisition – Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drugmaker, said Wednesday it is quitting plans to sell popular pain drug Lyrica as an add-on treatment for anxiety as it shaves about 100 projects from its combined portfolio after swallowing rival Wyeth…more

AstraZeneca: 8,000 more cuts coming. Ouch – The reduction will take place by 2014 and comes on top of approximately 12,600 jobs the drugmaker has already cut. The jobs will be eliminated from sales and marketing, R&D, and supply chain operations, along with basic infrastructure…more

Cephalon shuffling the executive leadership suite.

Enzon selling specialty pharma biz to Sigma-tau.

Apple’s new iPad – gamechanger for eHealth? I say Yes – here’s why.

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Governments, pharma, and canceling orders. I agree with Vasella’s perspective about binding contracts.

JUST FOR FUN

If you haven’t seen it before – very funny and all too true. The client-vendor relationship (video). Don’t be “that client”!

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Impactiviti Daily 010710

TODAY’S NEWS

Ouch – more NJ pharma job cuts – Call it the proverbial one-two punch. On Jan. 31, Pfizer expects to chop 400 jobs from Monmouth Junction, where Wyeth maintained research offices. And on Feb. 9, Merck will eliminate 500 jobs from Kenilworth, where Schering-Plough had its headquarters, although it’s not clear which types of jobs will be affected...more

Cephalon‘s jet lag pill not ready for takeoff – For those of you who were unaware, Cephalon is anxiously awaiting FDA approval to sell Nuvigil, a slightly modified form of its Provigil narcolepsy pill, to combat jet-lag disorder. The drugmaker had hoped for a regulatory okay last month, but the agency delayed a decision in order to review data…more. After recent airline news, maybe they should rename it NuVigilant and package it for TSA inspectors…

Anemia drugs – FDA says let’s take a look at safety. Again.

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Roll your own Future. An encouragement to actively shape your professional trajectory.

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Feeling lost? Understood…

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Impactiviti Daily 010410

TODAY’S NEWS

Novartis taking full control of Alcon – Novartis AG gained control of Alcon Inc. through the purchase of a 52% stake in the U.S. eyecare company from Nestlé SA in a $28.1 billion deal that is bringing the Swiss drug maker a big step closer to its goal of becoming a global health-care conglomerate. The deal is bringing Novartis’s ownership of Alcon up to 77%, for which it paid Nestlé a total of about $39 billion…more

FDA leaving lumps of coal in the stockings of antibiotics makers (and also being a Scrooge about Pfizer‘s Prevnar). Yes, I know Christmas is over. It just seemed like an apt analogy…!

The patent cliff – some biggies due in 2010.

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Trying to use LinkedIn better for networking? Here are some great tips from a trusted friend and professional.

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Yes, it’s cold and snowy out there. But here are some incredible examples of snowflakes (close-up photos) that you can enjoy from the warmth of your office!

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Impactiviti Daily 121409

TODAY’S NEWS

Sanofi – now laying off contract sales reps and some others.

Pfizer and compliance. That’s a lot of corporate integrity agreements (from PharmaGossip blog)

From the NYTimes: Menopause, as brought to you by Big Pharma – MILLIONS of American women in the 1990s were told they could help their bodies ward off major illness by taking menopausal hormone drugs. Some medical associations said so. Many gynecologists and physicians said so. Respected medical journals said so, too…more

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Thinking about starting (or marketing) a business? Some lessons I’ve learned over 3.5 years…

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Picture gallery from the Hubble telescope. Stunning.

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Impactiviti Daily 112309

It’s Thanksgiving week! We’ll plan on publishing the Daily on Monday/Tuesday, then take the rest of the week off from news reporting. Unless somebody buys somebody else. That, we’ll report!

TODAY’S NEWS

Sanofi chief wants to do things differently. Liked this juicy quote:  Mr Viehbacher added: “The best scientists are often lousy leaders [and] managers. You had a research and development god who hoped a blockbuster emerged. When it didn’t, you merged. The model was flawed. I think the mistake we made in our industry was, we made R&D organisations that were very big, very complex, very difficult to manage, and we killed the innovative spirit”…more

Morphine – kill pain, grow tumors?? – Two new studies add to growing evidence that morphine and other opiate-based painkillers may promote the growth and spread of cancer cells…more

Pfizer reaps one of the consequences of merging: inherited lawsuits – Two Pfizer Inc. units’ hormone- replacement therapy drugs caused an Illinois woman’s breast cancer, making them liable for at least $6.3 million in damages, a Philadelphia jury ruled today…more

B-I hoping to take a big bite out of warfarin – Just 2.4 percent of patients given Pradaxa for six months after their initial treatment developed clots in the legs and lungs, similar to the 2.2 percent rate for those given the generic drug warfarin, according to an abstract of the so-called Recover study posted on the American Society of Hematology Web site last week. There was no increased risk of major bleeding, a complication of blood-thinning treatments…more

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What about that pesky Social Media/ROI question? My thoughts…

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Sunset pics from around the world.

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If I were Directing Social Media at Pfizer…

Today, Pfizer is in the news for completing its acquisition of Wyeth. It’s a big day for the company, marked with the standard press releases and all the usual communications methods.

On Twitter? One boring tweet with a press release link.

The fact is, Pfizer has not been very aggressive with their social media presence. While they have a dynamic communications guy (Ray Kerins) who is shaking up how they relate to journalists and others, I’m not seeing a whole lot of progress on-line. Ray is a great guy; but I’m seeing other companies moving forward more purposefully.

Pfizer is a leading pharma company. They should be leading here, not trailing. What would I do if I was setting direction there?

1. Tweet in a more human fashion. The Pfizer twitter stream is mostly formal one-way communications, with the occasional clarification aimed at resident on-line provocateur, John Mack. Companies like J&J, Boehringer, and some others have gotten past the formal stage and are regularly interacting with other folks, putting a more human face on their companies via social media.

2. Fix the Twitter background. It’s not scaled properly for various monitor resolutions. And start using that sporty new Pfizer logo IMMEDIATELY. Shouldn’t there have been some announcement of that on-line? (I had to break the news of the updated logo, for crying out loud!)

3. Launch a company blog. Yesterday. Follow Marc Monseau‘s lead over at J&J. There’s a lot to talk about – start putting your voice out there in the relatively safe confines of a blog. Right now, with the new combined company, is exactly the time to do it.

4. Launch a YouTube channel. Next week. Start telling company and patient stories. Make interesting and engaging videos. You don’t have to have comments or ratings enabled. It’s safe and straightforward. Other pharma companies have already taken this baby step – why not Pfizer?

5. Show up more. Start sending people to pharma eMarketing/social media conferences. If you have a team with more than Ray, then start circulating. Trust is built that way. Communication is enhanced that way. I communicate regularly with pharma networkers whom I see both on-line and off-line. The off-line matters.

These are simple, straightforward steps that any pharma company should take, especially a market leader. This is Social Media 101 stuff – not the more advanced and interesting things that also should be underway.

There are much smaller companies who are being quite pro-active in this space. This would be a very good time for Pfizer to seize the mantle of leadership…

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Impactiviti Daily 101609

Note: Impactiviti Daily is going to be published somewhat irregularly over the next 4 weeks, as we’re in the heart of “conference” season and I’m attending/speaking at several events over the next month. We’ll do our best to keep you updated!

TODAY’S NEWS

Pharma sales reps should be paid overtime? This is getting interesting – Novartis sales reps fighting for overtime pay just got a powerful ally. The US Department of Labor filed an amicus brief with a federal appeals court contending that a lower court was wrong to toss their lawsuit…more

AstraZeneca: KY says pony up $14.7M for marketing the spread – The ruling is the latest legal setback for AstraZeneca over the way its pricing. The drug maker was ordered by a jury in Alabama last year to pay $215 million for overcharging that state’s Medicaid program (back story). A judge later reduced that to $160 million, and AstraZeneca is appealing. In 2007, a federal judge in Boston ordered the drug maker to pay $12.9 million for overcharges, and an appeals court last month upheld the decision…more

BMS cuts 25% of Abilify sales force: any insiders have the actual number? – Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. cut the sales force for its second best-selling drug, the antipsychotic Abilify, six months after extending its contract to market the product with Tokyo-based Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. About 25 percent of the positions were eliminated, Brian Henry, a spokesman for New York-based Bristol-Myers, said yesterday in a telephone interview. The move happened this week, he said. He declined to give the number of jobs cut…more

Pfizer completes acquisition of Wyeth; cuts/closings coming; also slips updated logo into the mix!

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Managed Care/Account Manager training. Impactiviti’s partner network has a broad range of offerings for managed care training, from off-the-shelf to custom workshops, and more. Contact us (stevew at impactiviti dot com, or phone at 973-947-7429) for brainstorming and recommendations.

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Time. Talent. And Magic. Be sure to “set your own table” as you develop your career. From the StickyFigure blog.

JUST FOR FUN

Got orange wine?

Coming up this month:

Oct. 26-27 – Kru Research’s e-Patient Connections conference, Philadelphia, PA. I’ll be speaking and live-blogging. Here’s a discount code to save $500 off your registration: SW500

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