Pharmaceuticals

August 11, 2008 -- LANSING - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox today announced that funds from a settlement with the pharmacy benefits management company, Caremark, will be used to promote Michigan's drug cost website, www.michigandrugprices.com. Michigan was part of a 28 state settlement with Caremark.

Caremark engaged in deceptive business practices by encouraging doctors to switch patients to different brand name prescription drugs and representing that the patients and/or health plans would save money. Doctors were not adequately informed of the effect this switch would have on costs to patients and health plans.    » read more »

Jerusalem, Israel, July 23, 2008 -- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA) announced today that it has commenced commercial shipment of its generic version of Lamictal® (Lamotrigine) Tablets, 25mg, 100 mg, 150 mg, and 200 mg. Teva's Lamotrigine tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal® Tablets, and are indicated as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial seizures and the generalized seizures of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, for conversion to monotherapy in adults with partial seizures who are taking certain other antiepileptic agents, and for maintenance treatment of Bipolar I Disorder.    » read more »

TYSABRI's Benefits Continue to Drive Product's Growth with More Than 31,800 Patients Receiving Treatment

Cambridge, MA and Dublin, Ireland, July 22, 2008 -- Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) and Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN) today announced the two-year anniversary of TYSABRI® (natalizumab) as a treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), marking the reintroduction of the product in the United States (US) and the first international approval. The companies estimate that as of the end of June 2008, more than 31,800 patients worldwide are receiving TYSABRI treatment.

Specifically, as of the end of June 2008:

* In the US, more than 17,800 patients are on TYSABRI commercially and more than 3,100 physicians have prescribed the therapy;    » read more »

XIENCE V, Only Drug Eluting Stent to Demonstrate Superiority Over Market-Leading Stent in Clinical Trials, Now Available in United States for Treatment of Coronary Artery Disease

Abbott Park, Illinois, July 2, 2008 -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the XIENCE™ V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease. XIENCE V is the only drug eluting stent to have demonstrated superiority over Boston Scientific's TAXUS® paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system in two randomized head-to-head clinical trials. XIENCE V will be launched in the United States immediately.    » read more »

06/17/2008 -- BOSTON – Senator John Kerry today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explain the long delays in getting new generic prescription drugs out on the market.

People across Massachusetts and throughout the nation are facing rising costs for medications they depend on every day. For some, especially the elderly and low-income families, affordable generic drugs can be the difference between life and death.

The FDA is currently required to review a generic drug application within 180 days. However, the median approval time for a generic drug application now takes longer than 21 months - well beyond the 180 day requirement. These delays create a serious backlog of applications.    » read more »

Expired Milk, Eggs, Medicines, and Baby Formula Found in Scores of CVS and Rite Aid Stores Statewide

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- June 12, 2008 – New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced his office is taking legal action against CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies after a statewide investigation into retail drug stores found the companies sold expired products - including milk, eggs, medicines and baby formula - at stores across New York.    » read more »

May 29, 2008 -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced a lawsuit against McKesson Corporation, a pharmaceutical distributor, for artificially inflating drug costs incurred by Connecticut consumers and state-funded health care programs.

Blumenthal sued on behalf of Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Michael P. Starkowski and Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr.

The inflated costs affected several top-brand drugs, including Allegra, Azmacort, Celebrex, Flonase, Lipitor, Neurontin, Nexium, Prevacid and Valium. These drugs are used to treat a variety of ailments such as asthma, allergies, pain, arthritis and cholesterol.    » read more »