Pharmaceutical Executive-07-01-2001

Following what he refers to as "a very smooth leadership transition," Amgen's new chairman and CEO Kevin Sharer is shaking things up. In January, he created two new executive vice-president positions and went outside the company to fill them.

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.

Carol Nacy, PHD, Has Invested Her Expertise - and her money - to fight the devastating tuberculosis epidemic.

The time is ripe to further a pharmaceutical career in the United States. The industry is full of promising opportunities for people eager to contribute and advance.

Democrats are determined to enact legislation that will ensure patient access to certain services and benefits from managed care plans.

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.

The digital revolution is knocking at the doors of the clinical research industry, and CROs are increasingly, if reluctantly, letting it in. Although the biotech industry revels in the promise of wireless solutions, Internet applications, and genomic discoveries, CROs have largely shunned opportunities for technological improvements and remain insulated from such advances in other health sectors.

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.

Is the pharmaceutical industry surrounded by its critics? Can the industry be liberated from the moral bind others want to impose on it? Those are questions I asked and attempted to answer in two recent editorials (PE April and June 2001). Actually, the simple answer was yes to both. But other answers prove more complex.

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.

Given the colossal revenue generated by just one blockbuster drug, it's no surprise that R&D always finds its way to the top of management's agenda. But now more than ever, pharmaceutical companies can't thrive on discovery alone. Price pressure from the public and private sectors drives companies to create savings through operational efficiencies. One of the biggest areas for financial gain"better management of capital assets"is often overlooked.