News

It has been said that one should never miss an opportunity to make the most of a crisis. The steady stream of headlines announcing staff cuts, delays in drug approvals and a narrowing of R&D focus for pharmaceutical and biotech companies indicate there will be no shortage of opportunities in 2009.

‘Ultra-orphan’ diseases will alter the specialty distribution process

Establishing appropriate trade channels is crucial to the launch success of specialty pharmaceuticals

Functional (“peel-off”) labels, common in Europe for injectables, represent a significant packaging improvement for safer and more efficient drug administration

As the number of specific services associated with sample distribution has grown, so has the number of service providers a manufacturer might use. It’s time to think about consolidating these services

Latest SK&A survey finds more requirements for appointments, and more ‘no-see’ offices

15,000-sq-ft facility adds to MD Logistics’ GMP capabilities

Express Scripts subsidiary adds to pharma rep-sales support

Goal of risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) will be to reduce abuse and accidental overdosing; researchers devise an ‘abuse quotient’ for such drugs

Opening marks the second of clinics planned for airports nationwide

Meanwhile, GS1 UK touts the success of a recent track-and-trace pilot

Company imported knockoffs from Belize and sold them over the Internet

Company foresees a ‘challenging’ 2009 business environment after reporting 19% revenue growth for 2008

Province-wide pilot program to launch in spring

FDA specifies a patient registry and follow-up studies

Beneficiaries include mass-market discount stores; chains and independents are suffering

Targeted treatments for patients may yield economic benefit for payors as well as drug and diagnostics makers

CRM and analytics implementation to drive marketing consistency

Program combines retail pharmacy, in-store and onsite clinics for employer health plans

Researchers find comparable effectiveness of self-reported outcomes via cell phones and paper questionnaires among osteoarthritis sufferers.

Agency follows through on steps toward a national standard for anticounterfeiting and product tracking

Price Tag Grows for Off-label Marketing

Big Brown will take over existing Merck distribution centers, absorbing them into its international healthcare logistics unit; Merck is also selling a lab to PPD

Online service adds to a range of support tools that McKesson offers

Carolina, PR, site joins nine others in DHL’s global network

100 applicants are sought to join voluntary effort in promoting drug safety

But dark clouds for some have silver linings for others

Modeling technique analyzes how order of entry and time to market affect sales