J&J to pay $2.2b in pharma kickback probe – source by Reuters on NBCNews
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson will pay $2.2 billion to the U.S. government to end civil and criminal investigations into kickbacks to pharmacists and the marketing of pharmaceuticals for off-label uses, a person familiar with the settlement said on Monday. The settlement with the company and its subsidiaries covers the marketing of schizophrenia treatment Risperdal and of heart drug Natrecor, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity…[ Read More ]Pharma giant Roche does deal to develop superbug killer by channelnewsasia on channelnewsasia.com
Pharmaceuticals giant Roche said on Monday that it had joined forces with fellow Swiss company Polyphor to develop an antibiotic to fight a superbug that has taken hold in hospitals. Hospital-acquired infections are a major global concern, causing 25,000 deaths a year in the European Union alone.They are blamed on factors such as sloppy hygiene practices, the inappropriate use of drugs which has enabled resistant bacteria to thrive, and contact between humans and animals, either directly or via the food chain… [ Read More ]Vertex Failure Shows Biotech Is Not Immune To Big Pharma-Type Layoffs by John LaMattina on Forbes
A couple of weeks ago, I was standing in a conference room in a building near the South Boston waterfront waiting for a meeting to start. I was near a window, admiring the view of the harbor, when a colleague came up to me and pointed out two new gleaming buildings built along the waterfront. He said: “Those two buildings are the new headquarters and labs for Vertex”. Previously, Vertex colleagues had been scattered across Cambridge. Now everyone is able to work together in an $800 million campus… [ Read More ]Generic drugs don’t necessarily mean low prices by Megan Thompson on pbs.org
NewsHour Weekend’s Megan Thompson reports on the surprising disparity in pricing for generic drugs. Generics, generally thought to be cheap, can actually vary widely in price from pharmacy to pharmacy, causing some to skip medications altogether… [ Watch the report ]