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NEW YORK — Pfizer completed its acquisition of a drug maker that focuses on the development of skin scarring treatments.

Pfizer said its acquisition of Excaliard Pharmaceuticals will allow the company to develop "new and innovative treatments to address unmet medical needs," noting that there currently is no excessive skin scarring treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

HOBOKEN, N.J. — A drug for treating immune system disorders is available again following a voluntary market withdrawal last summer.

Octapharma USA said Wednesday that Octagam (immune globulin intravenous [human] 5% liquid preparation) again was available for purchase. The Food and Drug Administration approved its reintroduction on Nov. 3.

INDIANAPOLIS — Many people with Type 2 diabetes have managed to integrate the treatments they must take into their daily lives, but many do not reach their blood-glucose goals after they start insulin therapy.

Drug maker Eli Lilly is partnering with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in a study that started in July and has enrolled 4,500 people in 17 countries to find out why many people with the disease resist a progression of insulin therapy.

NEW YORK — Pfizer's efforts to protect the sales of its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor have attracted scrutiny from members of Congress, according to published reports.

The New York Times reported Thursday that three senators — Max Baucus, D-Mont.; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and Herb Kohl, D-Wis. — had asked Pfizer and five other companies to provide details of their agreements to prevent dispensing of generic versions of Lipitor (atorvastatin) and dispense only the branded version.

NEW YORK — While sales figures for pharmaceuticals are frequently reported on, drugs for people's four-legged friends also are a money maker.

According to Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, retail sales of pet medications — including sales through retail stores, online retailers and veterinarians — will reach $6.7 billion this year.

NEW YORK — Ranbaxy Labs was supposed to launch its generic version of the world's top-selling drug Wednesday, but a competitor beat it to the punch as the former waits for final Food and Drug Administration clearance.

NEW YORK and PRINCETON, N.J. — A drug designed to prevent stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation has been accepted for review by the Food and Drug Administration.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer said their investigational compound Eliquis (apixaban) was accepted for review and granted a priority-review designation. The companies submitted the application to the agency after completing two phase-3 trials, which examined the efficacy and safety of Eliquis among about 24,000 patients.

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — Bayer HealthCare and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals have started a late-stage clinical trial in China to evaluate a drug for eye disorders, the companies said Monday.

The drug makers announced the start of the phase-3 "SIGHT" trial of Eylea (aflibercept) injection for the treatment of the neovascular form of age-related macular degeneration, also known as wet AMD. The companies said the trial, which will include about 300 patients, will be the largest retinal trial conducted in China.