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There is a great need (and an opportunity) to help younger physicians during the crucial beginning of their careers.

Managed care medical directors named Philadelphia-based GlaxoSmithKline the top pharmaceutical company for overall service, according to the spring 2001 Managed Care Medical Director Promotional Audit from Newtown, PA-based Scott-Levin.

According to a study conducted by Columbia University economist Frank R. Lichtenberg, pharmaceutical innovation is paying off for American consumers by improving the quality of their lives, and for payers by lowering total healthcare expenditures.

Thirteen editors of some of the world's most influential medical journals have announced that they will be developing new standards to address possible conflicts of interest between journal authors and third-party groups like drug companies and medical device manufacturers.

Government and industry have shown they can work together to deal with a national disaster.

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-Merck’s pharmacy benefit arm, Merck-Medco, is under fire for switching patients to more expensive pharmaceuticals.

Rio de Janeiro-The Brazilian health ministry will use its $35 million a year in savings on Roche’s newly discounted AIDS therapy to fund a program aimed at providing non-AIDS medicines to low-income families.

t's 4 pm on Friday. The board of directors has just made an important decision and wants to announce it over the weekend. The challenge? Publish an English-language version on the company's global Web portals immediately. The problem? It's the weekend and offices around the world are about to close. In the past, that meant hunkering down for a weekend of e-mails to coordinate the effort, but now there is a better solution. After writing the document in Microsoft Word, the sender simply clicks on a special menu item, "Publish to Portals," and off it goes. Confirming dialogue boxes allow

Lagos, Nigeria-FDA refused to confirm or deny that it was launching a criminal investigation into Pfizer’s conduct during a 1996 clinical trial for Trovan (alatrofloxacin) in Nigerian patients.

Efforts to craft a Medicare pharmacy benefit may be sidelined by repercussions from the September attack.

During the next few years of economic and political turbulence, the pharmaceutical industry should cut through the waves like a sturdy ship, creating very little disturbance to its occupants. Some rough water- a prescription drug benefit and generic competition for blockbuster products-is expected, but the industry's ability to expand its markets in a steadily aging population will drive continued growth.

Driven somewhat by the HRT controversy and the growing population of postmenopausal women, the expanding osteo market made room for Eli Lilly's Evista (raloxifene), the first-in-class SERM. According to Dr. Leo Plouffe, Lilly's medical director of US women's health and reproductive medicine, the company has launched a series of clinical trials examining Evista's preventive effects against breast cancer and heart disease in women. And in another bold move, Lilly recently launched its groundbreaking Evista Alendronate Comparison (EVA) study, a head-to-head clinical trial comparing Evista with Fosamax for osteoporosis prevention and treatment and their relative efficacy in reducing risks of heart disease and breast cancer.

Basel-A series of product approvals in recent weeks could go some way to compensate for setbacks in Novartis’ pipeline. The approvals came as the Swiss company reported healthy half-year figures and an 11 percent sales increase.

New York City—In response to the recent terrorist attack in its home city, Pfizer pledged nearly $10 million in aid.

PMs must be ready to speak to the media at a moment’s notice—and have something to say.

London-European cancer patients are losing out because current processes for reviewing treatments are "dire," says the Cancer Research Campaign.

Coined in the early 1940s, the hybrid term "biotech" has sustained its save-the-world aura and futurist allure. During the industry's nascent years, Amgen, Genentech, and other barrier-breaking companies were mere fledgling operations with products still in the pure science phase and their only "revenue" the hope of curing some of the world's ills.

Mumbai, India—The controversy over pharma companies’ incentives to pharmacists in India highlights just how competitive the Indian pharma industry has become.

In the world of pharmaceutical names, the trademark has always been the star, and every other word has played a supporting role. But recent developments at FDA-and the industry's response to those developments-have set the stage for a new approach to nomenclature.

Not only did Shakespeare know a great deal about human nature, he knew something about brand equity: a name has value. Four hundred years later, marketers grapple to understand the association between brands and profitability.

Menlo Park, California-Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance jumped 11 percent from spring 2000 to spring 2001-the biggest increase since 1992-and payers blame that huge spike on pharmaceutical expenditures.

"My father had some great sayings, and one of them was: 'Never do a deal that's not a good deal for the other guy.'" So remembers Donal Geaney, chairman and CEO of Ireland-based Elan. Geaney's new American colleague Daniel Welch, president of Elan Pharmaceuticals, smiles in agreement from the other side of the table.

I heard the first bird of the morning whistling to his lover. Their small wings owned the sky again while the people fled for cover.

At least 10 million Americans at high risk for type 2 diabetes can sharply lower their chances of getting the disease with diet and exercise, according to the findings of a major clinical trial announced by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson at the National Institutes of Health.

Demands on physicians aren't just coming from reps.

The worldwide market for pain management therapeutics is expected to grow from $22 billion in 2000 to $30 billion in 2007, according to "Pain Management: A Strategic Market Analysis," a new report from Foster City, CA-based Front Line Strategic Management Consulting Inc.

Where should the drug store of the future be located? Adjacent to doctors' offices, according to 56% of respondents in the second AmeriSource Index, a nationwide, quarterly survey released today by AmeriSource Health Corporation, Valley Forge, PA. Shopping malls were a distant second, with 19% of respondents selecting this choice. Trailing behind were the Internet (5%), office buildings (3%), health clubs and gyms (2%), and restaurants (1%).

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examines women's use of ambulatory medical care in 1997 and 1998, and finds that their care differs from men in many significant ways. Even excluding pregnancy-related visits, women were 33% more likely than men to visit a doctor, although this difference decreased with age. The rate of doctor visits for such reasons as annual examinations and preventive services was 100% higher for women than for men, and medication patterns differed significantly. Women were not only more likely to receive hormones, but also dramatically more likely to have an antidepressant prescribed.

What do you do when given only a small amount of time to detail your product?

The Washington-based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a new Florida law that seeks to offset a $214 million reduction in the state's Medicaid prescription drug budget by creating a new state Medicaid formulary.