A Sequencing Revolution Ushers in a New Era
Podcast: November 6, 2009

Complete Genomics is helping to usher in a new era of biomedical research with breakthrough technology for low-cost genome sequencing that promises to help researchers unlock the genetic mysteries underlying diseases. The Mountain View, California-based company recently announced that the Institute for Systems Biology will work with it to sequence 100 genomes in a study of Huntington’s disease, an effort that will represent the largest human genome disease association study to date. We spoke to Cliff Reid, CEO of Complete Genomics about the project, how low-cost sequencing technology promises to revolutionize biomedical research, and his company’s ambitious vision. Read More Here

A Growth Market
Novartis to invest $1 billion in China over the next five years.
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis said it will invest $1 billion in China over the next five years including a significant expansion of the company’s biomedical research institute in Shanghai. On the heels of the announcement, the company also said it agreed to acquire an 85 percent stake in the Chinese vaccine maker Zhejiang Tianyuan Bio-Pharmaceutical for $125 million in cash. Read More Here

Omnicare, Ivax to Pay $112 Million to Settle Kickback Charges
The weekly round-up of selected failed trials, missed targets and other business mishaps.
Omnicare, the nation’s largest nursing home pharmacy, and Teva Pharmaceutical subsidiary Ivax Pharmaceuticals will pay a combined $112 million to settle charges stemming from an alleged kickback scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Under the settlement, Covington, Kentucky-based Omnicare will pay $98 million, and the Weston, Florida-based drug maker IVAX will pay $14 million. About $68.5 million of the settlement proceeds will go to the United States, while $43.5 million has been allocated to cover Medicaid program claims by participating states. The settlement with Omnicare resolves allegations that the company solicited or paid a variety of kickbacks. At the same time, the United States announced that it has intervened and filed a complaint against two large nursing home chains, Mariner Health Care and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services, both of Atlanta, and their principals for accepting a kickback from Omnicare in return for pharmacy services contracts. Read More Here

Gene Lawsuit Proceeds
Court upholds right of scientists and patients to challenge BRCA patents. 
A federal district court ruled that patients and scientists can challenge patents on human genes in court, allowing a lawsuit challenging patents on two human genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer to move forward. Read More Here

Decision Day
Four companies awaiting FDA thumbs up or down in upcoming week.
Company fortunes often ride on U.S. Food and Drug Administration decisions. Just this past week, shares of GTx (GTXI) plunged almost 50 percent after the biotech received notice from the agency that it wanted additional data before it would consider approving the company’s osteoporosis drug toremifene, which is being developed to reduce fractures in men with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy. The FDA decision was no surprise to investors, however, as there were concerns about the compound’s safety and efficacy in the clinic. Some investors had bet against it, shorting the stock throughout the summer and fall. Read More Here

Falling Short
Drug company-sponsored events for health professionals fail to disclose financial ties.
Though Australia was ahead of most countries in taking steps toward greater transparency in pharmaceutical companies’ financial ties to health professionals, a new study concludes the reporting standards are inadequate. In an analysis published in PLoS Medicine, researchers at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto and elsewhere conclude that Australian reporting standards are not comprehensive enough. Read More Here

A Performance Gap
International physician survey finds even though United States spends the most, it lags in access and quality of healthcare.
An 11-country survey of physicians finds that healthcare in the United States lags behind other nations in terms of access, quality and the use of information technology. Some 58 percent of primary care doctors in the United States report their patients often have difficulty paying for medications and care, and half of U.S. doctors spend substantial time dealing with restrictions insurance companies place on their patients’ care, according to findings from the 2009 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey published online in the journal Health Affairs. Read More Here

Feeling McDown
Processed foods may put people at greater risk of depression.
People who eat a diet laden with processed and high-fat foods may put themselves at greater risk of depression, according to researchers at the University College London. In a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, the researchers also found that eating a whole food diet with plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depressive symptoms in middle age. Read More Here