The pharmaceutical industry’s trade group ousted 22 companies earlier this week after it revised membership rules. The move comes as lawmakers in Washington have pressed the pharma industry about U.S. drug prices. The updated membership rules for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) group mandates that members spend at least $200 million each year […]
Pfizer
Pfizer collaborates to improve access to injectable contraceptive
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said yesterday that it inked a multi-year extension of its collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation to improve access to the company’s injectable contraceptive, Sayana Press, for women in developing countries. The pharma giant’s product uses Becton Dickinson‘s (NYSE:BDX) Uniject delivery system to administer a long-acting, […]
Pfizer posts mixed Q1 results
Shares in Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) fell today after the pharma giant missed sales expectations, but beat earnings estimates on Wall Street with its 1st quarter results. The N.Y.-based company posted profits of $3.12 billion, or 51¢ per share, on sales of $12.78 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 3% on sales loss […]
Mercator enrolls first patient in BTK vascular disease trial
Mercator MedSystems said today that the 1st patient was enrolled in its Tango clinical trial. The trial is evaluating Mercator’s Bullfrog micro-infusion device for the adventitial delivery of temsirolimus below the knee in patients with critical limb ischemia. The Tango trial is the 4th ongoing clinical trial using the Bullfrog device in below the knee applications […]
Hospira, Baxter subpoenaed in antitrust probe over intravenous saline
Drugmakers received grand jury subpoenas from the U.S. Justice Dept. this week in connection with an antitrust probe into companies that market intravenous saline solutions. ICU Medical (NSDQ:ICUI), which recently acquired Hospira Infusion Systems from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), and Baxter (NYSE:BAX) disclosed the subpoenas this week. Pfizer revealed that it is also wrapped up in the investigation, according […]
EpiPen manufacturer expands recall to U.S.
Mylan (NSDQ:MYL) said last week that its manufacturing partner, Meridian Medical Technologies, expanded an EpiPen recall to include the U.S. and other markets. The move comes 1 week after Mylan recalled 81,000 EpiPen devices in countries outside the U.S. following 2 reports that the allergy auto-injector failed to work in emergency situations. Get the full story at […]
Pharma stocks fall on Trump’s proposal to cut NIH budget
The Trump budget plan to slash more than 18% from the budget for the National Institutes of Health sent pharmaceutical stocks down today on Wall Street as investors reacted to the proposal. The budget proposal, released today, would cut the NIH budget by $5.8 billion, to $25.9 billion – an 18.3% cut. The proposal would also introduce […]
Trump drug pricing tweet sends pharma stocks down
Shares in Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) fell slightly this morning after President Donald Trump tweeted that he was working on a “new system” to lower drug prices. “I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry,” he wrote. “Pricing for the American people will come way down!” […]
Pfizer appeals $107m fine for anti-epilepsy drug prices in UK
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Flynn Pharma have appealed the record $107 million (£84.2 million) and $6.5 million (£5.2 million) fines imposed by the U.K. Competition & Markets Authority in December for the companies’ massive price hikes to their unbranded versions of anti-epilepsy drug Epanutin. In its appeal, Pfizer claims that the regulator did not consider market realities when […]
ICU Medical touts dosing errors study
ICU Medical (NSDQ:ICUI) said today that a multi-hospital study showed improvements in potentially catastrophic dosing errors and drug library compliance when its Plum infusion pumps and Hospira (NYSE:HSP) MedNet safety software were integrated with the hospitals’ electronic medical records. The rate of potentially catastrophic dosing errors fell by 52% after smart-pump EMR integration, the study found, […]
ICU Medical closes $900m buyout of Pfizer’s Hospira infusion pump biz
ICU Medical (NSDQ:ICUI) this week closed its $900 million acquisition of the Hospira infusion pump business from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), confirming last year’s rumors that the drug giant was looking to sell the business. The deal, which was scaled back from $1 billion last month, called for ICU Medical to offer 3.2 million new shares, or $419.3 million, and $275 million in cash, […]