Lilly settles bribery case by, what else, paying up
Call it gilding the Lilly. For nearly two decades, the Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly is believed to have forked over bribes to officials in countries like China, Russia and Brazil. In return it pocketed millions of dollars worth of business. Now it will pay up again, but this time to the U.S. government.
Blend Therapeutics secures Mark Iwicki's talents
It's been a big week for Blend Therapeutics. The startup bagged $16 million in Series B funding and secured biotech veteran Mark Iwicki as president and CEO. Iwicki will also sit on the company's board of directors. He brings more than 23 years of experience as a pharmaceutical industry leader, having served as CEO of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals and chief commercial officer of Sepracor. And his company will use cash from the investment--led by NanoDimension--to double its staff from about 10 to 20 next year. Most of those new employees will work on two preclinical drug programs, with a novel "mono-functional" platinum cancer drug on track to complete IND-enabling work. Release | Story
> Onyx Pharmaceuticals ($ONXX) elected N. Anthony Coles as chairman of the board of directors. Coles now serves as president and CEO of the company. Release
> Amgen ($AMGN) announced that Robert A. Eckert will join the board of directors. Eckert, 58, serves as non-executive chairman at Mattel ($MAT), where he served as CEO from 2000 through 2011. Release
Drug Delivery
> BioDelivery Sciences International ($BDSI) hired George Ng as senior vice president and general counsel. He will oversee the company's legal, compliance and intellectual property activities. Ng has worked at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals ($SPPI) and Alpharma, among other places. Release
Biotech
> Aveo Oncology ($AVEO) tapped Robert Epstein to serve on its board of directors. Co-founder Ronald A. DePinho will retire from the board, effective Dec. 31. Epstein was most recently president of the Medco-UBC Division and chief R&D officer of Medco Health Solutions. Release
> Omni Bio Pharmaceutical named Bruce E. Schneider as CEO, effective Jan. 1. Schneider will also join the company's board of directors. Schneider has served as an executive adviser to several large and small pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer ($PFE). Release
Click here for more hirings and firings throughout the industry >>
Pharma stocks 2012: 5 biggest winners, 5 biggest losers
With the steady (and very loud) drumbeat of bad news this year about the patent cliff's toll on pharma sales and earnings, investing in the industry hasn't been a nonstop party. Still, the sector has outperformed major indices, and some stellar players have emerged. Of course, huge disappointments have cropped up, too.So, as we close in on the end of the year, FiercePharma decided to take a look at how the biggest players in pharma have performed. We looked at the 20 largest drugmakers by sales -- excluding Boehringer Ingelheim, which is private -- and identified the biggest winners and losers.
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Editor's Corner
How will pharma fare in 2013? It's complicated
As in years past, we're using our last newsletter issue of the year to dissect the 5 trends we expect to prove important, fascinating and perhaps both, over the next 12 months. Read more >>
NPS' Gattex gets FDA approval for SBS
NPS Pharmaceuticals got a holiday present from the FDA, which on Friday approved its orphan drug Gattex (teduglutide) to treat adults with short bowel syndrome (SBS).
Express Scripts will cover weight-loss med Qsymia
Vivus' weight-loss drug Qsymia, which has suffered from lagging uptake, has gotten a boost by pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts, which will now pay for the drug.
Australia reconsidering paying for Pradaxa
Pradaxa, the warfarin alternative from Boehringer Ingelheim, is again under fire only weeks after the FDA released information that the blood thinner was at least as safe as the drug it seeks to supplant.
India vaccine makers see China undercutting them
The World Health Organization gave Indian vaccine makers a shot in the arm by approving the industry to supply vaccines to international bodies such as it and UNICEF.
Smaller players looking for expansion deals, too
Not all drugmakers are behemoths like Pfizer, Novartis or Sanofi. Some are small companies but still face the same big problems bedeviling Big Pharma.
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The FDA has stamped an approval on NPS Pharmaceuticals' Gattex for treating patients with short bowel syndrome. The approval sets the stage for the U.S. launch of the company's lead drug and adds to U.S. regulators' impressive tally of more than 30 new drug nods in 2012.
The company plans to advance the program, which has fast-track status in the U.S., to an FDA review next year.
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