ChronicleMONDAY
From the publishers of THE CHRONICLE OF CANCER THERAPY, THE CHRONICLE OF CARDIOVASCULAR & INTERNAL MEDICINE, THE CHRONICLE OF NEUROLOGY & PSYCHIATY, THE CHRONICLE OF SKIN & ALLERGY, THE CHRONICLE OF UROLOGY & SEXUAL MEDICINE, PHYSICIANS’ CHRONICLE, THE CHRONICLE OF HEALTHCARE MARKETING, LINACRE’S BOOKS, and chronicl*e group
FALLING IN WITH A BAD CROWD
“TORONTO IS VERY CLEAN and has streetcars and nice restaurants, and now it occurs to me that I’ve never been there.” When Bristol-Myers Squibb sent Andrew G. Bodnar up north two years ago to meet with Apotex executives in a reported attempt to clear up their clopidogrel (Plavix) patent misunderstanding, it was unlikely that anyone could foresee where the trip might ultimately end: in the Big House. Last week US authorities indicted Dr. Bodnar on charges that he lied to federal investigators about whether the meetings with the Toronto generics-maker occur-red—which, if they did, would have contravened a consent decree between BMS and the US Federal Trade Commission. Dr. Bodnar, a physician by training, says he’s innocent. He’s looking at a possible $250,000 fine and a five-year locum behind bars. According to a new study, branded drug-makers are concluding that the only way to co-exist with the generics faction is to join them. Noting that the US market for knock-offs is growing at a com-pound annual rate of 12.6 per cent and hit $36.18 billion last year, an analyst for the Kalorama consultancy says: “To defend their turf, companies such as Novartis, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim are seeing the benefit of incorporating a generic unit.”
LONELY AT THE TOP
PFIZER went further to the dogs last week, acquiring Schering-Plough’s European animal health business. Terms weren’t disclosed, but as the Pfizer press release hilariously adds, the products “cover all major animal health species including cattle, swine, equine, and companion animal.” For some reason, that seems to lead us to Pfizer’s annual shareholder meeting, which occurred last week in Memphis, Tenn. Company helmer Jeff Kindler answered the brays and grunts of dissatisfied investors, who have difficulty understanding why Pfizer shares have moved nearly 30 per cent in the wrong direction since Mr. Kindler took over. Side-stepping shareholder resolutions to split his job into separate CEO and chair’s functions, and ducking critic-ism of executive compensation (the boss’s annual paycheck was $12.6 million last year), Mr. Kindler re-assured the gathering: “Of course, we are far from done.” Isn’t that for shareholders to decide?
M&A MACHINATIONS
GLAXOSMITHKLINE last week paid $720 million for Massachusetts-based Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, which is noodling out a diabetes Tx based on resveratrol, derived from red wine. The price-tag was considered generous by analysts, since it represents an 80 per cent premium on Sirtris’ publicly traded shares. GSK R&D boss Patrick Vallance describes the deal to Forbes magazine: “It’s high-risk. It’s an area of science that’s fascinating,” adding the pact provides a “real opportunity for transformational medicines.” Meanwhile, incoming GSK supremo Andrew Witty tells Reuters his first choice is not to acquire companies. Says he: “Where we are able to strike collaborations and partnerships, that tends to be a direction we prefer. Sometimes we have to do an acquisition and other times we are able to do it a different way.”
WATCHING THE FUTURE GO BY
SLOW, HESITANT and largely ineffective. That’s how the Datamonitor consultancy describes Big Pharma’s uptake of online marketing in a new re-port. While other sectors, such as travel and retail, have emerged from a 10-year transformation to Internet-driven methods, pharmaceutical marketers appear to remain clueless, depending on the failing models of over-detailing and blind sampling, the re-port says. The inherent conservatism of the drugbiz threatens the industry’s future, since physicians, payers and stakeholders have left drugmakers behind in embracing the interactive world, according to Datamonitor analyst Sandra Reynolds. Says she: “The ever-growing popularity of social media could also be better utilized by pharma, including live video detailing and social network sites.” And when we finally decide to use online marketing, look what happens. The US FDA last week told Pfizer to remove its “Viva Viagra” campaign for ED Tx sildenafil from the Internet, noting that the whim-sical videos didn’t carry any disclosures or information about contraindications. Merely a technical glitch, explained Pfizer, pressing the delete key on the ads.
WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?
HE WON’T START HIS CORNER-OFFICE job until Thursday (05/01,) but Biovail’s incoming CEO Bill Wells knows what’s wrong with the biggest Canadian Rx outfit: too many lawsuits. He tells Reuters news agency: “We have an extraordinary amount of legal fees. As we resolve those, our legal fees will go down and our cash base will improve.” In a rare bit of good news, Biovail last week got thumbs up from the stateside FDA for an o.d. formulation of antidepressant bupropion (Aplenzin.) The company, which wound down its US marketing operations, is hunting for a sales partner.
FROM OUR WEST AFRICAN CORRESPONDENT
ALL THE TALK LAST WEEK in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was genito-urological. Specifically, citizens in the capital of Kishasa (Pop.: 8 million) were agog over a spate of so-called penis snatchings, as 14 victims charged their organs had been removed or shrunken by sorcerers. “I’m tempt-ed to say it’s one huge joke,” police chief Jean-Dieudonne Oleko tells Reuters news agency. Not funny for 13 accused perpetrators, who were placed in police custody for their own protection, according to reports. During similar circumstances in nearby Ghana during the 1990s, alarmed mobs killed a dozen suspected penis-snatchers.
IT WAS A BAD WEEK FOR…
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, the US presidential candidate, who was defeated by Sen. Barack Obama as stateside drugbiz employees cast ballots in a mock election staged last week. Voting took place during the annual DTC National Conference in Washing-ton, DC, where the Illinois Democrat bested the Arizona Republican by a seven per cent margin. Said a spokesman for the event: “Given the Republican leanings of the drug industry, it is somewhat surprising to see Barack Obama so handily defeat John McCain. Of course, that could be an indication that McCain’s frequent anti-industry comments have made him unpopular with drug company marketers. Or, it could reflect that drug industry marketers do not vote with their employer interests as their primary concern.”
IT WAS A GOOD WEEK FOR…
CHRONICLEMONDAY, which today publishes its 500th edition. Since its inception in 1995, this news-letter has risen to its recognized position as North America’s leading supplier of vital industry news and unnecessarily sarcastic insights, as proudly de-fined by its mission statement: “Authoritative. Informed. Say, which one of you thieves took my diet Pepsi?” Contacted in their secure compound some-where in the 416 calling area, the ChroMo team acknowledged congratulations from readers and well-wishers upon the achievement of this milestone, and threatened to continue producing one newsletter every week until the authorities agree to take all their demands seriously.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I SHARE YOUR PAIN.” —Merck CEO Richard Clark, at the company’s annual meeting last week, answering a shareholder’s question about why Merck stock has fallen more than 30 per cent since January.
(c) 2008 Chronicle Information Resources Ltd. Not for redistribution.
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