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Citing concerns about bioterrorism preparedness, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association has discouraged the extension of several prescription drug patents currently being discussed by Congress. Congress is currently being lobbied by drug companies to extend the patents on some drugs, but…
BioMed Realty Trust Inc. recently acquired two new properties, one in San Diego and one in the San Francisco area.The company’s new site in San Diego is it ninth in that area. It purchased the 28,704 square-foot facility for $8.5 million from Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Isis, a public…
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota was recently awarded a contract with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to offer Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage through its Northern Plains Alliance, a group of six Blue Cross plans throughout the upper Midwest. It will extend drug coverage…
Responding to a growing demand for automated testing tools by life-sciences companies, Genilogix LLC recently released its Validation Accelerator with e-Signature. The device is designed to work with Mercury’s TestDirector for Quality Center product, which enables clients to leverage optimal power…
The balance of trade in medicines for the United Kingdom dipped over the first half of 2005. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry reports that there was a 14-percent drop in the trade balance over the first six months of 2005 as compared with the first half of 2004—from 1.693…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America reports that PhRMA member-companies are helping world governments prepare for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic.An important line of defense in the event of an outbreak will be antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu, a Roche product, and…
The Optimize Clinical Trial Data Collection and Exchange conference will be held Oct. 24–25 at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Kelly Vaillant, Amgen Corp. global head of clinical data management, will serve as the conference chairman. Valliant and Tim Dietlin, Campbell Alliance…
Because of the great confusion about restricted access barrier systems (RABS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering have released a definition paper to elucidate industry professionals on the topic.The paper includes key elements of RABS…
American pharmaceutical companies have donated millions of dollars in cash and medicines to the Gulf Coast region for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The assistance is being sent to both public and private relief organizations. The donations include:
$2 million in cash and $4.5 million in…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America recently launched a new, more patient-friendly Web site. The new site includes stories of patients who are successfully fighting serious illnesses, provides information about the research and development of new medicines, details facts and…
TÜV America recently announced its ability to offer medical device certifications to the new Japanese Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (PAL). Effective since April 1, PAL monitors how medical devices are marketed and regulated in Japan. It regulates and classifies medical devices by their level of risk.…
A recent companywide registration to ISO 13485 marked Accellent Inc.’s commitment to continuous improvement and zero defects, company officials recently reported.The standard applies specifically to the medical device industry and requires continuous improvement and reliable product quality. “This…
The Accreditation Commission for Health Care Inc. and SGS Systems & Services Certification will jointly perform the health care industry’s first audit that combines clinical best practices with ISO 9001. The audit will be performed on Southern Pharmaceutical Corp. in October. The organizations…
Medical Consultants Network Inc. recently announced a different approach to pricing and delivering its interactive lessons. By offering flexibility, its users can access any specific training course with a la carte options.MCN Training Solutions represents a new business model for training, with…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) recently adopted a new set of guidelines for its members’ direct-to-consumer advertising activities. PhRMA’s board of directors gave final approval to the Guiding Principles in July, but they only become effective in January 2006. The…
Jacqueline Crew was recently appointed vice president of pharmaceutical sciences quality at the Schering-Plough Research Institute. In her new role, Crew is responsible for leading worldwide quality assurance activities for SPRI in support of global clinical supplies manufacturing, pre-approval…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently released its first online version of Quality Compass, a health plan comparison tool. Quality Compass includes accreditation and HEDIS results on more than 250 commercial health care plans. It allows employers, health plan administrators and…
Research and Markets, an Irish market research company, recently expanded its offerings to include pharmaceutical and biotech research.“Compound Management Trends” summarizes the results of a global benchmarking Web-based survey of pharmaceutical and biotech-compound management groups. The…
A new service offering is designed to help medical device companies ensure the success of their innovations. Foster-Miller Inc.’s new Innovation Express is a series of services designed to help companies identify, target, design and manufacture innovative products. It uses the expertise of Foster-…
Policy Manager, Medical Consultants Network Inc.’s new comprehensive software, includes the company’s entire content library. Policy Manager represents MCN’s first-ever marriage of its 16,000 policies and procedures with Compliance 360 software. Together, the offering provides hospitals a complete…
Mollie Shields-Uehling is SAFE-BioPharma Association’s new president and CEO, company officials recently announced. Shields-Uehling was principal of Shields-Uehling Associates, an international public affairs company. She previously served in various leadership positions with Bristol-Myers Squibb,…
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America recently launched an advertising campaign aimed at America’s senior citizens about the safety risks of importing prescription drugs from foreign countries. The campaign includes the launch of a new Web site, www.buysafedrugs.info, which acts…
The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently added clinical performance information to its online Health Plan Report Card. The “Living with Illness” report addition shows how effectively health plans treat patients in four areas: diabetes, cardiac care, asthma and mental illness. The…
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced of a national private-public collaboration to advance the use of electronic health records and interoperability through established standards. The American Health Information Community will aid in the nationwide transition to…
P-Wave Inc. and Promium recently formed an alliance to offer environmental labs a unique document and data management solution. The partnership integrates LabCORE, P-Wave’s laboratory document management system, with Promium’s ELEMENT data system, a laboratory information…