The Burrill Report


Par Pharmaceutical said it settled a drug-pricing lawsuit against it for $153 million, Reuters reported. The lawsuit, brought by Ven-A-Care of the Florida Keys and attorneys general of Alaska, South Carolina, and Kentucky, charged that Par caused government entities to pay inflated rates of reimbursements. Par was named a defendant along with other pharmaceutical manufacturers in the lawsuits. Par denied the allegations.

Eisai said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified its partner Teikoku Pharma USA that it would not approve the Aricept Patch as a weekly treatment for mild, moderate, and severe stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The company did not say what additional information the FDA was seeking to act on the application or whether additional clinical studies would be necessary. Eisai says it will work with Teikoku Pharma USA to determine next steps. Eisai holds the marketing rights in the United States and will co-promote the Aricept Patch with Pfizer if approved. The Aricept Patch is a weekly transdermal patch that was developed to provide an alternative formulation for Alzheimer’s patients. Eisai has a long-standing commitment to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and is dedicated to supporting the Alzheimer’s disease community.

Shares of InterMune fell more than 5 percent after the company denied press speculation that it was the target of a possible acquisition. In a press release issued April 28 announcing the company’s first quarter results, the company said “the management and board are very enthusiastic about the company's business plans and the company is not currently in discussions regarding a sale of the company.” Bloomberg reported April 27 that InterMune was working with Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the company. The story was attributed to three people with knowledge of the matter.

A Virginia jury ordered Allergan to pay $212 million to a 67-year-old man who said he got permanent brain damage after being injected with Botox to treat cramps and tremors in his hand in 2007, reported Bloomberg. In its verdict, the jury said Allergan failed to warn the plaintiff, Douglas Ray, that injections could trigger an autoimmune reaction leading to brain damage. Caroline Van Hove, an Allergan spokeswoman, denied a failure to warn and said the company hasn’t decided whether to appeal. Under Virginia law, the $200 million in punitive damages are capped at $350,000. Botox, commonly used as a wrinkle-filler, was approved last year for use as a treatment for chronic migraine headaches. It is also approved to treat muscle stiffness in the fingers and arms and upper limb spasticity. Allergan sold $1.42 billion worth of Botox last year, contributing 29 percent of its total revenue, according to Bloomberg data.

German pharmaceutical Bayer has lost an appeal in Switzerland to block a series of television shows about side effects attributed to its blockbuster birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin, according to blog posts in Pharmalot and BNET. Swiss Television has reported about 190 death associated with use of the contraceptives in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s adverse events database. Bayer sued Swiss TV for libel but lost in a lower court ruling, which it appealed to a Swiss federal court. The federal court agreed with the lower court, saying that although the television coverage contained critical viewpoints, they were correctly identified as such, according to BNET.


April 28, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-par_pharmaceutical_settles_drug_pricing_lawsuit_for_153_million.html