Branded

MILWAUKEE — Local programs in Wisconsin that help people living with diabetes are getting a big boost in funding from a Danish drug maker.

Novo Nordisk announced Wednesday that it would start accepting applications for Novo Nordisk Community Care Madison/Milwaukee, setting aside $100,000 for local programs that educate people with Type 2 diabetes. The partnerships are part of the company's Novo Nordisk Community Care program.

HORSHAM, Pa. — A subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson is hoping to gain Food and Drug Administration approval for a new formulation of one of its drugs.

Janssen Biotech announced that it had filed an application with the FDA seeking approval for an intravenous formulation of Simponi (golimumab) in adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, which affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans.

MONTREAL — Valeant Pharmaceuticals CFO Howard Schiller has been appointed to the drug maker's board of directors.

Schiller joined Valeant as EVP and CFO in December 2011, following a 24-year career at Goldman Sachs. Schiller also serves on the New York board of Teach for America and on the board of the Cancer Research Institute. In addition, he also is on the business advisory council of the University of Chicago Law School.

2012 is turning out to be a pretty important year for generic drugs, important enough that some of the things happening over the past several months have begged comparison to 1984, probably the biggest milestone year for the industry.


For branded drug makers, the pharmaceutical patent cliff has never loomed higher or steeper. The exposure of so many of the world’s biggest-selling medicines to generic competition for the first time is redefining the pricing model for many of the most widely prescribed classes of pharmaceuticals — reducing costs for health plans, payers and patients; scrambling drug makers’ balance sheets; and potentially boosting both drug utilization and adherence rates as reduced out-of-pocket costs induce more patients to fill their prescriptions.


CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a treatment for a disease that causes brittle nails.

Innocutis announced the FDA approval of Nuvail (poly-ureaurethane) nail solution in the 16% strength. The drug is used to treat nail dystrophy, which causes fragile and brittle nails that crack and split.

One of the most common forms of nail dystrophy is brittle nail syndrome, which affects about 20% of the population, with women disproportionately affected. Patients with the condition report that their nails are painful and impair daily activities.

NEW YORK — Generic drug makers Hospira, Sagent Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have launched generic versions of a chemotherapy drug made by Sanofi, the three companies said last month.


RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals has launched a drug for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the company said Tuesday.

BI Pharmaceuticals announced the launch of Combivent Respimat (ipratropium bromide and albuterol), calling it a propellant-free inhaler that uses a slow-moving mist to deliver the same active ingredients as the Combivent metered dose inhaler, requiring one inhalation per dose, compared with Combivent MDI's two inhalations.