Branded

PHILADELPHIA — The specialty pharmacy market is set to reach $90 billion this year, so it’s clear that managed care organizations have a lot at stake.

That was the overarching theme at a symposium organized by specialty pharmacy provider ACRO Pharmaceutical Services, in conjunction with Armada Health Care, last Thursday at the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A drug made by Amgen maintained blood platelet counts in patients with an autoimmune bleeding disorder, according to results of a five-year study released Sunday.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — An investigational drug made by Watson Pharmaceuticals and Columbia Labs reduced the risk of premature birth, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial.

The two companies announced results Monday of a phase-3 trial of Prochieve (progesterone), a vaginal gel, saying that it produced a significant reduction in the number of preterm births. The trial was conducted under a collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

NEW YORK — Pfizer president and CEO Jeffrey Kindler has retired from the company, the drug maker said Sunday. Ian Read, who currently heads Pfizer’s global biopharmaceutical operations and has worked for the company since 1978, will succeed him.

Kindler cited personal reasons for retiring, saying his around-the-clock work schedule had been “extremely demanding” on him personally, and that he would take time to spend with his family before making his next moves.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A biotech drug made by Roche subsidiary Genentech allowed patients with a blood cancer, who did not show symptoms, to delay starting on chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and decreased the risk of their disease worsening, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial.

BETHESDA, Md. — Good results from an investigational diabetes drug made by Spherix may result from higher body mass indexes among U.S. patients, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced Thursday.

Spherix said results of the phase-3 trial conducted among American and Indian patients indicated that D-tagatose may be more effective in lowering HbA1c levels due to Americans having higher BMIs on average than Indians.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., and BEVERLY, Mass. (Dec. 2) Merck announced on Thursday it has inked a deal to acquire an insulin maker.

JERUSALEM — Oramed Pharmaceuticals, a developer of oral drug delivery solutions, has published an article in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology’s November issue describing evaluation of the company’s glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) analog formulation (ORMD-0901) in regulating glucose excursions in animal models.