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What a Judge's Ruling Means to Healthcare Reform
Podcast: December 20, 2010

On December 13, a Federal judge in Virginia struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the healthcare reform legislation passed earlier this year. Judge Henry Hudson of the Federal District Court in Richmond said the law's mandate that people get insurance exceeded the powers granted to Congress under the Commerce Clause. We spoke to Tevi Troy, former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Bush Administration and a visiting senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, about the ruling, what it means for the future of healthcare reform, and what the decision will do to ongoing efforts to dismantle the legislation. Read More Here

Outgoing EMEA Chief Criticizes Pharma's R&D;
European Medicines Agency's Lonngren says research and development efforts yield inadequate results and often fail to target areas of greatest need.
The outgoing chief of the European Medicines Agency delivered some harsh criticism to the pharmaceutical industry saying its annual $85 billion in research and development doesn't get enough bang for its buck and often fails to put enough effort into developing drugs where there is the greatest need for new therapies. Read More Here

Sanofi Taps Former NIH Head to Lead R&D;
Retooling aligns leadership with new development model.
Sanofi-Aventis has named former National Institutes of Health head Elias Zerhouni to replace Marc Cluzel as head of its global research and development efforts in an effort to further advance an aggressive overhaul of its product development engine. Read More Here

FDA to Revoke Avastin's Approval as Breast Cancer Treatment
Off label use will be allowed, but insurance companies likely won't pay for it.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it is recommending removing breast cancer as an indication for the use of Genentech's Avastin from the drug's label because data have failed to demonstrate it is safe and effective for that purpose. Read More Here

Amgen Drug Slows Cancer's Spread to Bones
Expanded use could significantly boost market.
Amgen's recently approved cancer drug denosumab delayed the spread of prostate cancer to men's bones by an average 4.2 months, stalling the occurrence of fractures, pain, and other skeletal problems according to a new late-stage study that surprised investors and boosted the company's share price. The drug, however, did not improve the length of time men taking it can survive the cancer. Read More Here

Charles River Makes Additional Cuts
Investor pressure inspires planned asset sale.
Clinical research giant Charles River says it will further slash operating costs and unload money-losing assets to placate shareholders who claim the company underperforms its peers and manages its assets badly. Read More Here

Worries Freeze Lilly Melanoma Trial
Trials of tasisulam for other cancers will continue.
Safety concerns at Eli Lilly convinced the company to suspend a late-stage trial of its investigational melanoma treatment, tasisulam, adding to a string of clinical disappointments for the company this year. Read More Here

Intercell Slashes R&D; After Vaccine Failure
The weekly round-up of failed trials, missed targets, and other business mishaps.
Intercell said its experimental patch-based Travelers' Diarrhea vaccine failed to meet efficacy endpoints to protect against enterotoxigenic E. coli mediated diarrheal infections in pivotal, randomized and placebo-controlled efficacy mid- and late-stage studies. The company noted that because it will not receive an expected $52.7 million milestone payment in connection with the program, its year end loss for 2010 will be substantially higher than previously expected. Intercell will reduce R&D; expenses by approximately 40 percent in 2011 compared to 2010 and will realign its organizational structures. Read More Here

Soda Taxes Fall Flat
Modest impacts predicted for the middle class waistline.
Taxes targeting soda and other sugary drinks in the United States' war on obesity would generate plenty of revenue, but fail to slim down people earning high and low incomes, a new study finds. Middle income Americans would lose the most weight of any group, but the results would still be modest at best. Read More Here

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