Branded

BASEL, Switzerland — Roche CFO Erich Hunziker will retire from the company at the end of March, the Swiss drug maker said Monday.

Hunziker was appointed CFO and a member of the corporate executive committee in 2001, and last year took on the additional role of chief information officer.

Alan Hippe, a former executive from German tire maker Continental and manufacturer ThyssenKrupp, will replace Hunziker as CFO.

LONDON — Drug maker GlaxoSmithKline will take a legal charge of $3.4 billion related to its promotion of a controversial diabetes drug.

The British company said the charge related to an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado regarding sales and promotion of the drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) in spite of reports of the risk of heart attacks in patients taking it.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and subsidiary Barr Labs are prohibited from marketing a generic version of an Amgen drug for patients with chronic kidney disease until the drug’s patents expire, under a recent court decision.

OSAKA, Japan — Japanese drug maker Takeda Pharmaceutical  has signed an agreement with Durham, N.C.-based Zinfandel Pharmaceuticals to develop a test for assessing Alzheimer’s disease risk in adults, the two companies said.

INDIANAPOLIS — An advisory committee of the Food and Drug Administration voted last week not to recommend approval of a drug from Eli Lilly.

The FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee said it recommended that additional studies be conducted prior to the FDA's review of liprotamase, a nonporcine pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. EPI is a disease resulting from cystic fibrosis, removal of the pancreas, chronic pancreatitis and other conditions.

LONDON — A new drug application for Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca's vandetanib has been extended.

The drug maker recently announced that the Food and Drug Administration asked AstraZeneca to submit a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which accordingly extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act from Jan. 7 to April 7.

AstraZeneca will continue to work closely with the FDA to support the review of vandetanib, a drug for treating patients with advanced medullary thyroid cancer.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new formulation of a drug for treating acetaminophen poisoning.

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday that the agency had approved a version of Acetadote (acetylcysteine) injection that does not contain preservatives or stabilization and chelating agents, and will replace the currently marketed version. The drug originally was approved in 2004.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration and drug maker Sanofi-Aventis are warning healthcare professionals and patients about the possibility of severe liver injury in patients taking a Sanofi heart drug.