Kevin Gopal

Geneva-The usually quiet International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations (IFPMA) leapt to Pfizer’s defense after Oxfam International criticized the US company about access to medicines in the developing world.

Berlin-The German healthcare system is ailing, and politicians are too timid and inefficient to do anything about it, according to the Verband Forschender Arzneimittelhersteller (VFA), Germany’s pharmaceutical industry trade association.

European Union-Both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) industry sectors have welcomed the long-awaited proposals to overhaul EU pharma legislation.

Singapore—Lilly’s decision to set up a Singapore R&D center to focus on systems biology is the latest in a series of moves that have put the Far East island on the biotech map.

London-GlaxoSmithKline is proposing to cut more than 2,000 jobs from its worldwide workforce of 100,000 as it seeks to generate the promised savings from its merger.

Brussels-Lack of intellectual property protection is not causing the erosion of European pharma, reports the European Generics Association.

Lucerne, Switzerland-At the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Associations’ (EFPIA) recent annual meeting, new president Jean-Francois Dehecq reiterated the association’s view that no single factor prevents access to essential medicines in developing countries.

London/Sodertalje—AstraZeneca’s decision to drop Viozan (AR-C68397AA) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could be GlaxoSmithKline’s gain.

London, United Kingdom-The UK OTC trade association supports the Community Pharmacy Action Group (CPAG) in its decision to withdraw a court case regarding the price-fixing of OTC drugs after the judge said there was little evidence that abolition of price maintenance would harm community pharmacists. The withdrawal brings an end to a long-running court battle pitting the pharmaceutical industry against an equally powerful corporate enemy, the supermarkets.

Basel, Switzerland -Novartis plans to provide its malaria drug, Coartem (artemether/lumefantrin), at cost to developing countries in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO). The effort is only the latest in a series of moves intended to increase access to essential medicines after Big Pharma’s South Africa debacle.

Basel, Switzerland—Roche, which recently slashed its work force by 3,000, maintains that it will remain independent even after the sale of 20 percent of the company to Novartis. Franz Humer, the troubled company’s chairman, says the founding family supports Roche’s strategy.

European Union-The European Commission’s ban on GlaxoSmith–Kline’s dual pricing policy in Spain halts one of Big Pharma’s attempts to prevent parallel imports in Europe.

Epsom, Surrey, United Kingdom—Pharmaceutical companies struggle to be taken seriously when they talk of facing pressures. A quick look at the bottom line often suggests they are overstating their worries. But new evidence shows they are being squeezed by generic competition and falling R&D output.

Hosbjor, Norway-Away from the media glare in South Africa, a three-day workshop sponsored by the World Health and World Trade organizations sought to improve access to life-saving medicines in developing countries. Also backed by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Global Health Council, the workshop brought together 80 experts from 23 countries and highlighted the use of differential pricing as a means of improving access.

Washington, DC-An FDA advisory committee voted overwhelmingly to recommend that Claritin (loratadine), Allegra (fexofenadine), and Zyrtec (cetirizine) be changed from prescription to over-the-counter products. Although the vote is not binding, FDA usually follows such panels’ recommendations.

Berlin, Germany-Putting the US market at the heart of its bid to maintain double-digit growth, last month Schering began to relocate its therapeutics headquarters to an existing facility in Montville, New Jersey.

Schering’s commitment to biotechnology in the early 1990s was a landmark decision for the company, says Dr. Guiseppe Vita, who is stepping down as chairman of the Berlin-based company. The result of that commitment was Betaferon (interferon beta-Ib), one of the first biotech products on the market in Germany. It is now Schering’s biggest product and one of the top ten best selling biotech therapies in the world.

Buckinghamshire, UK-The pharma industry may be countercyclical, but it’s not immune to market trends. Nycomed Amersham recently postponed a partial US stock flotation of its life sciences company, ABBiotech, because of market weakness.

London-Government and industry have agreed there should be no weakening of patent protection in the effort to speed access to medicines in the developing world.

A new task force will examine European pharma}s competitiveness, innovation, and commitment to public health. The "G10" is not, as it may sound, an enlarged grouping of the world}s leading industrialized countries. It}s actually far more important than that.

Bagsvaerd, Denmark-Niche players with good exposure to US markets are showing strong growth, bucking the notion that size is everything in the pharmaceutical industry. And, if it is true that the industry is recession-proof, that situation is unlikely to change, even in the event of a US downturn.

Brussels-Two types of mutual recognition procedures are necessary to ensure that generics get to market as quickly as possible, according to the European Generics Medicines Association.

Pretoria, South Africa-Few people noticed that the ground had begun to crumble under Big Pharma when, after the failed World Trade Organization talks in Seattle, Washington, the Clinton administration indicated that it would take note of the effects of its trade policies on healthcare in developing countries. Multinational companies had hitherto been able to take the support of governments for granted when it came to policing intellectual property, but Clinton's move indicated a major shift in policy. Few noticed, because the rhetoric wasn't immediately matched by reality. In fact, the US government continued to pressure countries whose intellectual property protection seemed too weak. Then the new Bush administration, thought to be an unwavering ally of the pharmaceutical industry, indicated it would continue the Clinton policy.

Uniondale, New York, USA-Thirty-eight companies submitted proposals to develop OSI-774, OSI Pharmaceuticals' lead cancer candidate, making it the most sought-after compound of 2000. The statistic was revealed with some satisfaction by Myrtle Potter, chief operating officer of Genentech, the joint winner-along with Roche, its majority stockholder-at the Economist Conferences' annual pharmaceuticals conference.

London-The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided that Roche's Xenical (orlistat) should be available from the National Health Service for managing obesity and its related problems, but it should not be viewed as a slimming pill.

London, UK-Changes to the law on human embryo research could herald a new era for UK biotech research. The government feared its proposals to allow the cloning of embryos as sources for stem cells for research would be thrown out by the House of Lords-where a powerful body of opinion holds that they represent a slippery slope toward reproductive cloning-but the proposals passed by a surprisingly large majority.

Sodertalje, Sweden-After two consecutive years of robust postmerger growth, AstraZeneca is facing a tough 2001. The company recorded a 16 percent increase in pretax profits for 2000, but CEO Tom McKillop advises that this year}s growth will be in the 5}6 percent range when Losec/Prilosec (omeprazole)-the world}s best-selling medicine-goes off patent and the US launch of its successor Nexium (esomeprazole) is delayed.

Huntingdon, UK-Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract research organization under siege by animal rights activists, secured its short-term future through a refinancing package offered by overseas institutions.

Stirling, UK-Scotia became the first public UK biotechnology company to seek protection from creditors after the European Medicines Evaluation Agency rejected Foscan (temoporfin), the anticancer agent on which its fortunes were pinned.