Author: Peter

Sam Kaufman has been named the chief executive officer of Henderson Hospital…He will also continue serving as the CEO of Desert Springs Hospital…has set two initial goals for the 142-bed, $168 million facility…"We want to be operational by late October of 2016, staffed with employees who care as much about an excellent patient experience as I do," said Kaufman. "We're also working with Ensemble Real Estate Solutions to lease and manage a medical office building adjacent to Henderson Hospital"

In a setback to AbbVie, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday warned of liver damage from its two hepatitis C treatments, setting off a chain reaction that is reverberating across the pharmaceutical industry. With as many as seven patient deaths and several liver transplants attributed to the drugs, AbbVie stock plummeted and Wall Street fortune tellers went to work betting on winners and losers…FDA review found five cases that were probably related to the drugs, called Viekira Pak and Technivie…Another five were possibly related. Of the 10 patients, seven died and each seemed to have advanced liver disease or cirrhosis before using the drug. So the FDA is not willing to rule out the possibility that “some events might have occurred even if the patient hadn’t received treatment.”

…let’s take a look at how pharmaceutical wholesalers benefit from inflation in brand-name drugs…Growing drug prices are boosting wholesalers’ top-line revenues…the twelve months ending June 30, 2015, U.S. drug distribution revenues …reached a record $353 billion… wholesalers also generate substantial gross profits as prices increase...agreements with manufacturer and negotiations with customers, however, reduce wholesalers’ ability to retain the full benefit...A wholesaler’s basic business model remains straightforward: Buy low, sell high, collect early, and pay late. These four offsets highlight how wholesalers should never promise what they can’t deliver.

• INFLATION GIVETH
• THE MARKET TAKETH

..first-in-class drug from Amgen based on a tumour-killing virus was given a green light by European regulators…paving the way for its approval within a couple of months…The decision is a further milestone for a technology that has long fascinated scientists but has previously proved difficult to harness…The European Medicines Agency said its experts had recommended approval of Imlygic, also known as talimogene laherparepvec or "T-Vec", for treating melanoma, making it another option among several new drugs for the most deadly form of skin cancer. Imlygic uses a herpes simplex virus...which has been modified to only infect cancer cells. It is injected directly into tumours where it replicates and causes cancer cells to rupture and die, also stimulating a system-wide immune response.

A panel of medical experts said…the prices of prescription medicines in the United States need to be brought in line with the value they bring to patients instead of continuing to let drugmakers set any price they choose…Americans at the same time are getting tremendously ripped off with drugs and also getting tremendous value and we almost never know when we're getting ripped off and when we're getting real value and that has to change…not in favor of solutions that remove incentives for drugmakers to spend money needed to develop important new medicines.

Eli Lilly & Co., seeking to rebound from declining sales, reported third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and raised its forecast for the year as revenue from key drugs exceeded expectations…Adjusted earnings of 89 cents a share beat the average analyst estimate of 76 cents. Revenue rose 2 percent to $4.96 billion, compared with the $4.98 billion average projection of analysts. Lilly shares climbed 3.5 percent to $79.71 in early trading. (video, John Lechleiter, CEO)

Chinese hackers linked to the mainland government attempted to gain entry into computer systems at 7 companies including two unnamed pharmaceutical companies, according to a U.S. cybersecurity researcher…the attacks began on Sept. 26, but were ultimately unsuccessful. News of the attacks came a day after President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to stop any government attempts to penetrate corporate networks to support their respective domestic industries… Pharmaceutical companies are a natural target for hackers looking to help their clients or employers shave years and billions of dollars off the time and expense of creating modern drugs.

Ron Lanton with True North Political Solutions interviews Jennifer Mallon, VP & General Counsel of NCPA (National Community Pharmacists Association) on the Health Policy Check-up segment. Ms. Mallon gives great insight on the status of PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) litigation in IA and AR that affects pharmacy.  (podcast 19 min)

James Schiffer, RPh, associate at Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLC, talks about the 18 times he was burglarized over the course of his career.

Brian Haug, President of Pharmacy and Managed Markets, Pharmacy Times (PTNN) This weekly video program highlights the latest in pharmacy news, product news, and more. (video)