Pharmahorizons Lifetrack

Volume 8 Issue #3 - April 2007

Story 1:

Abbott Canada Launches Oscient Pharmaceuticals' FACTIVE Tablets in Canada Fluoroquinolone antibiotic now available for the treatment of AECB

MONTREAL AND WALTHAM, MASS., March 2 /CNW/ - Abbott Canada, the Canadian affiliate of Abbott, has launched Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corporation's (Nasdaq: OSCI) fluoroquinolone antibiotic, FACTIVE(R) (gemifloxacin mesylate) tablets in Canada for the five-day treatment of acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB). Oscient granted the commercialization rights for FACTIVE to Abbott Canada in August of last year.

"As the most active member of the fluoroquinolone class of antibiotics in vitro, FACTIVE is an important addition to our anti-infective product portfolio," stated Marcelo A. Vizio, General Manager, Abbott Canada, Abbott International. "We are marketing FACTIVE, with its convenient once-daily dosing and short-course therapy, to physicians across Canada with our primary care sales force."

"With extensive anti-infective experience, Abbott Canada is well-positioned to launch FACTIVE to Canadian healthcare providers," stated Steven M. Rauscher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oscient Pharmaceuticals. "In Canada, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients typically have two to three AECB episodes a year, resulting in 1.5 million physician visits annually."

Abbott Canada plans to pursue additional indications for FACTIVE in the future and has access to the drug's entire clinical trial dossier. In 2004, FACTIVE was approved in Canada for the treatment of AECB caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis and Staphylococcus aureus. FACTIVE is approved in the U.S. for the seven-day treatment of community-acquired pneumonia of mild to moderate severity (CAP) and the five-day treatment of AECB. Oscient received a modest milestone payment from Abbott Canada related to the launch.

Source: Canadian Newswire

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Story 2:

Atrium Continues its Growth with 86% Increase in Net Earnings for Fiscal 2006 (All amounts are in U.S. dollars.)

Quebec City, Canada, February 27, 2007 – Atrium Biotechnologies Inc. (TSX: ATB) announced that it had revenues of US$306.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, up 52% from US$200.9 million for the corresponding previous fiscal year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for fiscal 2006 were US$44.7 million, up 77% from US$25.2 million for the same period in 2005. Net earnings increased 86% to US$26.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, compared to US$14.3 million for the same preceding period. Fully diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2006 were up 71% to US$0.82 per share compared to US$0.48 per share for fiscal 2005.

 “Our 2006 financial results clearly demonstrate the success of our growth strategy combining strong organic growth and strategic acquisitions in high-growth fragmented markets. The double digit organic growth delivered in both divisions shows that our business is growing faster than the markets that we are in and in addition we went through the integration process of newly acquired companies. In addition to the integration of Douglas Laboratories acquired in December 2005, we successfully integrated in 2006 two new acquisitions. First, Amisol allowed us to reinforce the Active Ingredients & Speciality Chemical Division in North America and second, Douglas Laboratories Canada increased our leadership position in the nutritional supplements market for healthcare professionals in North America”, said Luc Dupont, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atrium.

Cash flows from operations (before changes in non-cash working capital items) for the year 2006 were US$30.7 million, up 62% from US$18.9 million for the same period in 2005. The Company has a revolving credit facility with an authorized amount of US$107 million and has the flexibility to increase it up to US$172 million. As of December 31, 2006, US$81 million was drawn down under the existing facility.

“Our cash flow generating capacity of over US$30 million along with our existing credit facility, will allow the Company to continue its acquisition strategy in each of our Divisions,” added John Dempsey, Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. 2

Health & Nutrition Division
Revenues from the Health & Nutrition Division were US$114.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, representing an increase of 249.1% over revenues of US$32.9 million for the same preceding period. EBITDA was US$29.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2006 representing an increase of 144.0% over the same period in 2005 where the EBITDA was US$11.9 million. Most of this increase came from the acquisition of Douglas Laboratories in December 2005 and strong organic growth of our major brands.

“A team effort led to the successful integration of Douglas Laboratories, the acquisition of Douglas Laboratories Canada and the introduction of new products to generate the outstanding 2006 financial results observed for the Health & Nutrition Division. The acquisition of AquaCap this past January permitted us to further increase our leadership position in the United States and North America. It also enhances our capacity to develop innovative products in the future. These acquisitions not only allowed Atrium to grow its portfolio of products to over 1,300 high quality products and to achieve leadership position in the healthcare professional market but also allowed to build a strong team with seasoned management. We are definitely well positioned to grow our market share and penetrate new markets through organic growth and acquisitions,” said Richard Bordeleau, President - Health & Nutrition Division. `

Active Ingredients & Specialty Chemicals Division
Revenues from the Active Ingredients & Specialty Chemicals Division were US$191.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, representing an increase of 13.9% over revenues of US$168.0 million for the same period in 2005. EBITDA was US$15.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, representing an increase of 17.5% over 2005 EBITDA of US$13.3 million. This increase is attributable to strong organic growth and to the acquisition of Amisol in May 2006.

“The excellent results obtained clearly demonstrate the soundness of our strategy and of our execution plan. In 2006, Unipex implemented with great success the strategic plan developed with the team in Europe and the integration of Amisol with MultiChem was successfully completed in Canada. We are now ready to proceed with more acquisitions and are now in a great position both in Europe and North America to continue unrolling our strategy to focus on high value businesses to generate growth and to become a global player in our industry segment,” added Charles Boulanger, President - Active Ingredients & Specialty Chemicals.

2006 Fourth Quarter Financial Results
For the three-month period ended December 31, 2006, revenues were US$82.5 million compared to US$58.4 million in 2005, representing a 41.4% increase. EBITDA increased 83.8% to US$10.7 million, compared to US$5.8 million for the same period in 2005. Net earnings for the fourth quarter 2006 increased 75.9% to US$7.0 million or US$0.23 per share, compared to US$4.0 million or US$0.14 per share for the same period in 2005. The weighted average number of shares outstanding was 30.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to 29.4 million during the same preceding quarter.

Source: Atrium Biotechnologies Inc.

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Story 3:

Montreal Hospitals Score Low on Accessibility, Survey Says

Montreal hospitals were ranked as poor performers in a survey of patient accessibility to hospitals across the province of Quebec. L’Actualité magazine conducted the study of wait times at hospitals across the province, and found that only three Montreal hospitals rank among the top 25, with several clustered near the bottom of the ranking.

Of the 18 Montreal hospitals, seven received grades below 60 percent, including St. Luc, the Royal Victoria, Sacré Coeur, Santa Cabrini, Notre Dame, Hôtel Dieu and Maisonneuve-Rosemont. The magazine used three factors to evaluate accessibility of healthcare at the facilities: average wait time for emergency care, the percentage of patients waiting more than six months for elective surgery, and whether laboratory services are available without an appointment. The total mark was calculated by combining these scores.

Out of the 86 hospitals evaluated, the three earning the highest marks are in smaller communities: Baie St. Paul, Magog and Thetford Mines. The magazine spread includes a profile of the Centre de santé et de services sociaux de la région de Thetford, which tells how people from other communities, including Montreal, are making the trip to Thetford Mines for prompt healthcare.

The only facility on the island of Montreal that made it into the top five is the Lachine Hospital. The methodology for the study was developed by Yves Bolduc, director of professional services at the Hôtel Dieu hospital in Alma, in conjunction with the magazine. Bolduc is running as a candidate for the Liberals in the Lac St. Jean riding.

Premier Jean Charest (pictured above) welcomed the report card, saying it is a good idea to make the information public. “We have to do it if we want to be able to make the right decisions afterward.” Nor did Charest see the report card as a criticism of his government’s performance.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved in health in the last four years. We have taken courageous steps so that the healthcare system is really centred on the best service to patients. We have had four consecutive years of improvement in the health and social services system. We haven’t seen that for a long, long time. We succeeded on several levels to achieve our objectives and we will continue to make it the first priority.”

Charest said Bolduc’s work on the report was completed before he was approached to become a candidate and contributed to his decision to run for the Liberals. “Dr. Bolduc commented on the report card and he said it was because the Liberal Party took the steps that he thinks are the right actions, he will be part of this team.”

Health Minister Philippe Couillard told the Montreal Gazette newspaper that the report will help the government pinpoint areas where improvements must be made and could help institutions that are less efficient learn from those that posted better performances. Couillard, a physician by training, said one of the things that struck him was how similar-sized institutions with similar budgets performed differently.

“What was interesting is that I noticed that within the same region, with the same budgets, the same administrative rules, there were fairly different levels of performance. Which shows that organization and the way you do things are at least as important as the financial resources.”

Couillard said he was also struck by how Quebec City’s university hospital centre posted a better performance than Montreal’s, and how the performance levels varied among Montreal hospitals. “Ste. Justine was at the top of the list. The McGill hospital was fairly good – it could be better but it was fairly good. The CHUM has difficulties. The smaller hospitals are doing well. The Jewish is doing fairly well, St. Mary’s is doing very well, it had a very good score.”

Couillard said in many cases, the report confirmed what the government already suspected. In many cases, the government was already concerned and has started to intervene in some of the hospitals that received the lowest scores, such as the Gatineau-Hull hospital.

Couillard said the report done by l’Actualité was far more thorough than the one done by the previous PQ government and he hopes the magazine repeats the exercise and adds categories. PQ candidate Louise Harel issued a statement critical of the Charest government’s management of emergency room overcrowding, saying the government has not lived up to its commitments to cut waiting times.

Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

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Story 4:

Aegera Therapeutics Appoints New Chairman and Director

Press Release - For Immediate Release

MONTREAL, March 19, 2007 – Aegera Therapeutics Inc. is extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James M. Rae as Chairman of the Board and Ms. Trudie Resch as Board Director.

"Jim’s vast business and development experience will be instrumental in guiding and helping Aegera meet its clinical and business objectives in the field of cancer and pain-related therapeutics", stated Dr. Michael Berendt, President and CEO of Aegera Therapeutics. "Furthermore, Jim’s knowledge and network will be synergistic to that of our current Board members and I am looking forward to working closely with him to accelerate our company’s growth objectives."

Mr. Rae has more than 40 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has held multiple executive positions ranging from Marketing Manager to President and CEO at Searle Canada (1969-1988) and Cangene Corporation (1988 – 1996). Since 1996, as President of Remedis Consulting, he has provided strategic and hands-on M&A consulting for numerous biotechnology companies including Cytochroma, Resolution Pharma and Vaxis Therapeutics. Mr. Rae also serves as Chairman of Queen’s Scientific Breakthrough Fund, as Executive Director of Elastin Specialties Inc., and holds Board seats on three other Canadian biotechnology companies.

Also joining Aegera’s Board of Directors is Ms. Trudie Resch, a long-standing biotechnology investment professional.  Ms. Resch, currently responsible for managing the life sciences investment team at Desjardins Venture Capital, has a long and successful track record in life sciences investments across North America.  Prior to her position with Desjardins, Ms. Resch worked as a business consultant to the industry where she was involved in a number of successful M&A transactions and prior to that, held the position of Vice-President and Partner with CDP Capital Technology Ventures.  Commenting on Ms. Resch’s appointment, Dr. Michael Berendt said that “Trudie brings to Aegera’s Board of Directors significant business and financial experience that will add to and complement the expertise and networks of our other board members.”

Dr. Berendt concluded that “With the addition of Jim and Trudie, to our Board of Directors, I am very confident that we have a Board with the experience, networks and skill sets to help accelerate the growth and development of Aegera as we continue to aggressively manage the clinical advancement of our apoptosis-focused programs.”

Aegera’s Board consists of the following members:

1. Mr. James M. Rae, President, Remedis Consulting
2. Dr. Michael J. Berendt, President & CEO, Aegera Therapeutics Inc.
3. Dr. Luc Marengère, Managing General Partner, VenGrowth Equity Partners
4. Dr. Louisa Petropoulos, Principal, Multiple Capital
5. Mr. Joseph Regan, Vice-President, GrowthWorks
6. Ms. Trudie Resch, Consultant, Desjardins Venture Capital
7. Mr.  Lennie Ryer, Vice-President & CFO, ConjuChem Biotechnologies Inc.

About Aegera Therapeutics Inc.
Aegera Therapeutics Inc. ("Aegera") is a clinical stage company focused on developing drugs to control apoptosis to address major unmet medical needs. Our lead programs are in development to induce apoptosis to kill cancer cells and to prevent apoptosis to save injured neuronal cells.  AEG35156, which targets the key anti-apoptic protein XIAP, is currently in multiple human clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors and leukemia. Aegera is also developing potent small molecule IAP inhibitors for the treatment of multiple cancers and developing novel oral small molecules for the treatment of neuropathic pain and neuropathies induced by diabetes or chemotherapy.

For further information:
Aegera Therapeutics Inc.
Donald Olds - Chief Operating Officer & CFO
(514) 288-5532 *295
Email: donald.olds@aegera.com
Web: www.aegera.com

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Story 5:

From a Distance There is Surgery – Thanks to Telehaptics Doctors to Reach Out to Patients Thousands of Miles Away

By: Nestor Arellano - ITWorldCanada.com  (12 Feb 2007)

Now surgery from a distance may become a more pervasive reality thanks to a touch-simulation toolkit created by a Canadian software firm. Waterloo, Ont-based Handshake VR Inc. says using its flagship product – proSENSE Virtual Touch Tool Box – developers will be able to create haptic-enabled applications that make procedures such as long-distance surgery more commonplace. And that would soon allow doctors to reach out and "touch" patients thousands of miles away, the company says. Haptics – originating from the Greek word haptikos (able to touch) –refers to working with the sense of touch.

The proSENSE haptic interface integrates tactile capabilities with computer technology, simulating the sense of touch in a variety of situations. Experts say this is a more complex application of the "vibration" feature seen in the joysticks used in certain computer games.

Tele-surgery has been around for sometime, but for the most part it is mostly aided by visual tools. Haptic devices add a dimension of "touch" that may be very valuable for certain procedures.

"For instance, if the procedure of injecting a patient is being simulated, the user will actually feel the sensation of slight resistance as the needle pierces the patient's skin," said Tim Ellis, vice-president of operations and co-founder of Handshake.

He said this feedback is transmitted by devices capable of resisting motion that are controlled by computer instructions. With appropriate programming, the device can be made to behave as if it is touching physical objects not actually present.

Handshake demonstrated this capability during a tele-surgery experiment carried out in 2004 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in an underwater laboratory off the coast of Key Largo in Florida. During the project, dubbed NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations or NEEMO, certain procedures were conducted while replicating conditions on Mars.

In one experiment, for instance, a non-medically trained astronaut set a fractured bone on a simulated patient, guided by a surgeon located at St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, Ont. Using haptic devices, linked via the Internet, the surgeon directed the astronaut through the process of attaching stabilizing metal pins on the model of a fractured limb.

The surgeon was able to receive tactile feedback from whatever the astronaut's device touched. The astronaut in turn, could feel the doctor's guiding movements transmitted to his haptic device. This ability to transmit the sense of touch over networks is what sets Handshake apart from other systems, according to Ellis.

He said Handshake has developed the TiDec time delay compensation software that significantly reduces the delay in online transmission of data packets. "When operating on a person, even milliseconds of delay could have dire consequences."

The network capability is especially useful to David Wang, professor of electronics and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo. Wang's students are working on developing a variety of haptic applications using proSENSE. "Without the network capability the technology wouldn't fly."

The Handshake system can facilitate online training of medical students on surgery procedures and rehabilitation exercises for patients. "Instructors or therapists need not be present with the student or patient," said Wang.

For instance, he said patients afflicted with Parkinson's disease can do hand coordination exercises using a haptics device called Omni stylus to trace figures, while guided by a therapist from another location. Omega stylus has been developed by a Wayburn, Mass-based haptics firm called SenseAble Technologies Inc.

Wang said the proSENSE software also drastically reduces expenses and time required to develop rehabilitation instruments, since it allows developers to build such devices virtually. "If we need a box, we don't need to construct one with wood, we simply program in the dimensions."

Patients who need to handle the "virtual box" use the haptic device to "feel" the object. "This has reduced our development time ten fold," Wang said. Ellis foresees promising proSENSE-based applications in the military aerospace, medical and entertainment sectors.

Copyright © 2007 ITworldcanada.com

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Story 6:

New Guidance for Oncology Submissions

Common Drug Review (CDR) Update - Issue 33

In a move to build more consistent cancer care across the country, a provincial collaborative is introducing an interim national process for the review of cancer drugs on March 1, 2007. The Joint Oncology Drug Review will help ensure a more timely, effective and efficient review and evaluation of cancer drugs.

Currently, the provinces have separate processes for reviewing and recommending oncology drugs to their governments. This results in variations across jurisdictions with respect to coverage, criteria for coverage, and costs for cancer drugs.

New oral oncology agents eligible for coverage by public drug plans are currently submitted to the Common Drug Review (CDR) program at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). Effective March 1, 2007, all submissions for oncology products (injectable and oral) will be made directly to the Ontario Committee to Evaluate Drugs/Cancer Care Ontario. (Detailed information about Ontario’s submission process and requirements is available on the Ontario ministry’s web site at www.health.gov.on.ca.) Through the Joint Oncology Drug Review, these submissions will be considered as a submission to all participating provinces. Final listing decisions will remain the responsibility of each jurisdiction.

The CDR has an observer seat on the Joint Oncology Drug Review Steering Committee and will be supporting the process by contributing to reviews of oncology agents at the request of the Joint Oncology Drug Review. However, CDR’s expert committee (the Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee) will not make recommendations on oral oncology agents submitted to the interim Joint Oncology Drug Review. The CDR Submission Guidelines for Manufacturers and the Procedure for the Common Drug Review will be updated shortly to reflect these changes.

The interim Joint Oncology Drug Review is being co-led by Manitoba and Saskatchewan and will be in place for one year. During this time, participating jurisdictions and other key stakeholders will be consulted as part of an independent evaluation of the success of this interim process.

See also: Revisions to the CDR Procedures and CDR Submission Guidelines

CDR Update is an e-bulletin published by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) to inform stakeholders and other interested parties of the initiatives and activities of the Common Drug Review (CDR) program.

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) is an independent, not-for-profit agency funded by Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial governments to provide credible, impartial advice and evidence-based information about the effectiveness of drugs and other health technologies to Canadian health care decision makers.

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
www.cadth.ca/index.php/en/home
600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 5S8
Telephone: (613) 226-2553
Fax: (613) 226-5392

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Story 7:

Federal Government Announces More Funding for Biofuel Initiatives

FREDERICTON (CP) - Ottawa is doubling its funding to help farmers interested in biofuel production to develop business plans or pay for feasibility studies.

Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has announced another $10 million for the federal Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative. The government initially invested $10 million in the program, which was created last July.

Up to $3 million of the most recent investment will be used immediately to fund dozens of approved projects, while the rest will be allocated in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Strahl, who made the announcement Saturday, also says the initiative will help pay for a pilot program at a refining plant in Waterville, N.B. Strahl says $294,500 will help Eastern Greenway Oils Inc. complete testing needed to produce biodiesel, fuel conditioners and lubricants from canola, mustard and soybeans.

"It's a pretty exciting prospect if they can make this all work," Strahl said in an interview.

"This is to help them do some further investigative work to see if that's possible. . . . We're hoping to get these kind of projects, both large and small, right across the country."

©The Canadian Press 2007

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Story 8:

Capital Health Launches Project to Improve Access

EDMONTON – Capital Health has announced a major initiative to improve access and reduce delays for patients, from Emergency through inpatient hospital care and community care services.

The “Emergency Services and System Capacity” (ESSC) project aims to improve coordination and make better use of hospital beds and other resources, says Michele Lahey (pictured), Capital Health Executive Vice President. “In the past three years, we’ve added 300 hospital beds and nearly 1,000 long-term care spaces. But the pressures on the system continue to grow, including delays in admitting patients from our Emergency Departments. So we’re taking a fresh look at how to better use all of the resources and expertise in the system to take care of all our patients on a given day.”

The ESSC project is a multi-part initiative, rolling out in stages over the next 12-18 months. It includes ongoing efforts within the Emergency Departments to improve throughput and support patients while they wait, such as the successful “Triage Liaison Physician” role. It also complements ongoing work with EMS providers to improve ambulance turnaround times.

The core issue is system-wide capacity, and so the core of the plan is centralized management of beds and care spaces to increase capacity across the system. In January, “bed managers” at the four major hospitals and the community sector began assigning beds within their sites and coordinating across the region on a daily basis, to speed up admission.

They also balance the load across the system by coordinating with the Regional Transport Office to transfer patients between sites anywhere in the region.

Systematic bed management is already getting patients admitted faster and beginning to reduce the numbers of admitted patients waiting in Emergency, according to the region. Over time, it will free up more hospital beds by moving patients out of hospital faster when they are waiting for long-term care or other community care spaces.

The new bed-management system is also the critical infrastructure for the “full capacity protocol,” which began implementation early this year.

Under the “full capacity protocol,” admitted patients waiting in Emergency in any of the four major hospitals will be moved onto designated flex areas on inpatient units whenever the number exceeds 25% of the available stretchers. The protocol will also include moving patients out of hospital to flex capacity in long-term care.

“The ESSC project is the most comprehensive change we’ve made in 10 years as a region,” says Lahey. “It represents a new approach to healthcare management in Canada – making the system really work as a system. But there’s no magic bullet; this work will help us manage the pressures on the system, not eliminate them. We have an aging population and epidemics of diabetes and other chronic diseases; we need to keep adding beds and other resources, but at the same time we can and will make better use of all those resources.”

About Capital Health
Capital Health in Edmonton is Canada’s largest health region and is affiliated with the University of Alberta, providing integrated health services to one million residents in Edmonton and the surrounding area. Capital Health acts as a referral centre to central and northern Alberta, the North and the Prairies, providing specialized services such as trauma and burn treatment, organ transplants and high-risk obstetrics.

Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

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Story 9:

Saskatchewan Researcher Turns Waste Straw Into Construction-Quality Material

ABT has acquired and refurbished a mill in Kamsack, Saskatchewan that serves as ABT’s Research and Development facility. The mill is designed to produce structural panels that compete with plywood and oriented strand board (OSB) products. The objective of the Research and Development facility is to allow ABT to introduce their product to the market and refine the production process for use in a large-scale mill. The generic product name designated by the International Codes Council in February, 2005 is Oriented Structural Straw Board (OSSB).

The patented technology allows, for the first time, straw fibre to be used to produce a panel that will have certified structural qualities (UBC PS-2). Until now, straw fibre based panels have been for non-structural uses and sold in the particleboard market, where prices are often 30-40 percent lower than the structural panel market. In this low-value market, the cost of purchasing straw fibre made it difficult for producers of straw-based particleboard to compete with the wood industry, who could produce on a larger scale, using free, waste feedstock from manufacturing.

The key to ABT’s patent-protected technology is the splitting of the hollow plant stalk to maximize the surface area on the straw fibres. The increased surface area allows the individual fibres to bond when mixed with an isocyanate resin, which is then subjected to heat and pressure. This process causes the individual fibres to inter-weave, creating a panel equal in strength to wood based OSB products.

Currently the panels produced at the Kamsack mill are being tested and are successfully passing the early rounds of the compliance process. They can be stamped with a trademark that will allow the panels to be sold in the structurally rated panel marketplace.

ABT’s products will be completely tree-free, bringing to market for the first time a truly sustainable structural panel. Their patented production process, combined with the cost advantage of using waste cereal straw versus wood fibre will keep production costs competitive with wood-based alternatives when produced on a comparable scale.

With the acquisition of the Kamsack facility, ABT has started the process of product commercialization. The company has committed over $10 million to the refurbishment of the mill, expanding the facility from 22,000 to 33,000 square feet, substantially replacing the existing production line and installing the patented machinery. Construction and product development is expected to be completed by the end of 2007. At capacity, the mill will produce five million square feet of 7/16" structural panels per year.

Source: Ag-West Bio Inc, Bio Bulletin: Vol 2, Issue 2

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Story 10:

Some US Employers Are Offering Free Drugs

By Milt Freudenheim - The New York Times

For years, employers have been pushing their workers to pay more for health care, raising premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses in an effort to save money for the company and force workers to seek only the most necessary care. Now some employers are reversing course, convinced that their pennywise approach does not always reduce long-term costs. In the most radical of various moves, a number of employers are now giving away drugs to help workers manage chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and depression.

Major employers like Marriott International, Pitney Bowes, the carpet maker Mohawk Industries and Maine’s state government have introduced free drug programs to avoid paying for more expensive treatments down the road. Companies now recognize that “if you get people’s obesity down, cholesterol down, asthma down, you save a lot of money,” said Uwe E. Reinhardt, a health economist at Princeton University.

Despite the Bush administration’s efforts to promote “consumer directed” health care, many companies are recognizing the limits to shifting too much of the cost of medical care to employees. Experience, Professor Reinhardt said, is contradicting the theory that “patients will be more prudent shoppers for health care if they ache financially when they ache physically.”

Another motive for the business world could be to stave off a greater government involvement in health insurance, now that most presidential candidates and other politicians are promoting health care reform. Big drug makers like Pfizer and Merck, which could benefit politically and financially from the employer drug programs, are also supporting the effort.

Richard T. Clark, the chief executive of Merck, made the political connection in a recent trade journal article. “If we all don’t do a better job, the private employer-based market will continue to weaken and the country will move forward toward rationing of care and greater government control, with greater pressure for a single-payer model with price controls,” Mr Clark wrote in the American Journal of Managed Care.

One clear motive is to help workers stay well, averting expensive emergency room care and hospital stays. As health coverage has grown more costly, many people have been skimping on care, and millions of Americans are going without health insurance altogether.

Employers are reacting to a disturbing trend. As most employer-sponsored health plans have raised co-payments sharply for drugs in recent years, employer drug spending has slowed. But total health care spending by employers has nonetheless continued to rise: 7.7 percent last year, or more than double the general inflation rate, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The free drug programs are being adopted in hopes of countering the rising costs, taking their place alongside other steps by some employers that have included opening or expanding health clinics in their factories and offices, and offering checkups and medicines at no cost or for a modest co-payment.

Given the millions of Americans who suffer from heart disease, depression, asthma or diabetes — about one in four working-age adults — the movement toward free drugs and preventive care has the potential to help many people, said Craig Dolezal, a health care specialist at Hewitt Associates, a consulting firm. Co-payments of $10 to $20 a prescription have become typical, while the co-pay for some expensive drugs can be $50 or more for a month’s supply. The new employer programs are waiving those fees.

For people with serious health problems, free medicine is an incentive not only to stay with their prescribed regimens, but also to keep in touch with nurses and pharmacists who monitor changes in their weight, blood pressure and other vital signs.

At the Mohawk Industries carpet factory in Dublin, Ga., about 200 of the 750 employees signed up for free blood pressure and heart drugs last summer after the company held meetings to describe the benefits of lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

Alan Christianson, Mohawk’s benefits administrator, said that the company recognized a few years ago that it could eventually face health costs so high that employees could not afford insurance. “We felt we had to do something about it,” he said. Peggy Cauley, 36, who supervises a customer service unit at Mohawk’s factory, said she was 30 pounds overweight and had spent $40 a month on blood pressure and heart drugs before she started the program.

Now the drugs are free, and Charles Posey, an independent pharmacist stationed at the plant, monitors her blood pressure and gives advice on “how to maintain my weight,” Ms. Cauley said. She has lost 20 pounds, she said, but is “still 10 pounds over my goal.”

Eastman Chemical, which is based in Kingsport, Tenn., and has offered free mammograms for its workers and free vaccines for employees’ children, now also provides free drugs and supplies for diabetics under its health plan. The company is trying “to drive value and to target where care is most needed,” said David H. Sensibaugh, the director of integrated health.

The state of Maine found that it was spending more than $20 million a year on treatment for about 2,000 diabetes patients in the state’s health plan, which covers 40,000 employees, retirees and dependents. About half the diabetics had at least one additional serious problem like heart disease, said Frank Johnson, the Maine plan’s administrator.

Working with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a unit of Wellpoint, the state has started offering free drugs and supplies to employees with diabetes who take part in a face-to-face interview with nurse educators and agree to a year of follow-up telephone sessions, Mr. Johnson said.

Benefits executives at dozens of large companies are weighing the initial costs and potential savings of free co-pay programs and other health-plan incentives at seminars, including one last week at the Midwest Business Group on Health in Chicago and another scheduled for next month <>There can be perceived drawbacks for employers, according to a recent academic article that was generally favorable toward the programs.

Companies with high rates of worker turnover may believe that they will not get their share of the eventual savings from a free drug program, while smaller employers may fear attracting too many workers with chronic illnesses, according to the article by Michael E. Chernew, a health care policy professor at Harvard, and Dr. Allison B. Rosen and Dr. A. Mark Fendrick, both of the University of Michigan.

Their report was published last month in the online edition of the journal Health Affairs.

Later this year, a Marriott executive is to make a presentation at the University of Michigan, where researchers are analyzing Marriott’s move to waive co-payments for generic drugs related to heart disease, diabetes and asthma.

“We can see in the preliminary numbers that employees taking part have improved their compliance,” said Jill Berger, the vice president for health and welfare at Marriott, which covers 160,000 hotel and resort workers and dependents.

Active Health Management, a health data technology unit of the Aetna insurance company, has been helping to identify Marriott workers who are eligible to volunteer for the heart, diabetes or asthma programs.

Protecting the privacy of employees is an “enormously important and sensitive issue” in these programs, said Dr. Lonnie Reisman, Active Health’s chief executive.

“We don’t share the health plan members’ data with physicians or anyone else, unless a member explicitly gives permission,” Dr. Reisman said. Only “if we see something that is a real health issue, we will call the doctor without getting permission,” he said.

Dr. Reisman said his company scans records of millions of drug purchases and refills and other medical claims in search of high-risk patients who are candidates for free drugs and other incentives to get their health priorities in order. Perhaps the oldest free drug program was started 10 years ago with diabetes drugs for city workers in Ashville, N.C. Since then the city has added free drugs for asthma, blood pressure, cholesterol problems and depression.

Patients in the Asheville program agree to meet regularly with pharmacists who advise and encourage them to take their medicine and adopt healthy habits. The program has been emulated by more than 30 employers nationwide. Frank Street, 63, a retired employee of the tax collectors office of Polk County in Florida, said he had been getting six free drugs from the county for diabetes and blood pressure for about two years.

“At one point, my blood pressure was so out of whack that they started monitoring it on a daily basis,” Mr. Street said. The program’s records are managed by Thomson Medstat, a health care information firm. Now his blood pressure is “down to target level,” and he reports once a month to his doctor and Liz Berndt, the program’s pharmacist.

Without the county program, his drug co-payments would total $110 a month, Mr. Street said. As employers grapple with rising health costs “and we become more aggressive about cost-shifting to patients,” said Dr. Reisman, the Active Health executive, “it will be important to have this kind of safety net.”

© The New York Times

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Story 11:

Thailand Plans to Break Patents on 14 Drugs: Firms

Reuters Health - Feb. 14, 2007
By Nopporn Wong-Anan

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand is planning to break the foreign patents of 14 HIV/AIDS, cancer and heart drugs, a move that may prompt companies to withhold new drugs from the Thai market, pharmaceutical firms said on Wednesday. "This action is completely unprecedented anywhere in the world," said Teera Chakajnarodom, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers' Association of Thailand, which has 43 member drug firms.

The 14 drugs targeted by the Health Ministry also included antibiotics, Teera said in a statement. The ministry has announced compulsory licences for three of the 14 drugs, allowing it to buy or make generic versions of the two HIV/AIDS drugs and a heart disease medicine.

Ministry officials were not immediately available to comment. On Monday, Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla told Reuters a ministry panel was studying drugs Thailand needed and could make or buy copies while haggling for best prices of patented versions. He did not name the drugs being studied. Foreign drug makers say Thailand's military-appointed government gave no notice to the affected companies before issuing the compulsory licences.

"When governments resolve to take away the property of the private sector, they need to begin with consultation and end with the consent of the property owner," Teera said.

Last month, the Health Ministry issued compulsory licences for the heart disease drug Plavix, made by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis and Abbott Laboratories' Kaletra to treat HIV/AIDS, after a similar move on another AIDS drug last year.

The licences, which Thai health officials said would save the country up to 800 million baht ($24 million) a year, drew praise from AIDS activists but flak from Washington and the drug industry, which are urging the ministry to rescind them. Teera said the Thai government was using the licences as a tool to negotiate cheaper prices that did not reflect the high cost of developing new medicines.

"Individual pharmaceutical companies will certainly consider the very significant risk this policy poses when deciding whether to bring their latest medicines to the Thai market," he said.

"Far from providing poor patients with the best medicines, the compulsory licence policy might block access to new treatments in Thailand."

Under World Trade Organisation rules, a government is allowed to declare a national emergency and license the production or sale of a patented drug without the permission of the foreign patent owner.

The World Health Organisation has said developing nations should try to negotiate with drug companies before overriding patents. ($1=33.40 baht)

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Story 12:

Angered U.S. Firm Excludes Thailand from New Drugs

By Darren Schuettler - Reuters

BANGKOK (Reuters) - U.S. drugs giant Abbott Laboratories said it would stop launching new medicines in Thailand in protest at the army-backed government's move to override international drug patents. The decision will not affect Abbott drugs already on sale in Thailand, which declared a "compulsory license" in January allowing it to make or buy generic versions of Abbott's Kaletra to treat HIV/AIDS.

"Thailand has chosen to break patents on numerous medicines, ignoring the patent system. As such, we've elected not to introduce new medicines there," Abbott spokeswoman Jennifer Smoter told Reuters. There was no immediate reaction from the Health Ministry, which argues it needs cheaper, copycat drugs to ensure wider access for Thailand's 63 million people, including 580,000 living with HIV/AIDS.

About 30 AIDS activists and patients protested outside Abbott's office in Bangkok, calling for a boycott of the company's products. Paul Cawthorne of Medicins Sans Frontieres called Abbott's decision an "immoral act." Other critics accused Abbott of depriving Thailand's poor of lifesaving medicines, particularly a new formulation of Kaletra.

"Abbott has the hubris to blacklist a courageous country like Thailand simply trying to do the right thing for its people. Astounding," Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said in a statement.

The seven withdrawn drugs include the new version of Kaletra, an antibiotic, a painkiller and medicines to fight blood clots, arthritis, kidney disease and high blood pressure. Abbott is believed to be the first pharmaceutical maker to withhold new drugs from Thailand since the government shocked drug makers late last year with its first compulsory license, for Efavirenz, an HIV-AIDS treatment made by Merck & Co.

Thailand has also issued one for Plavix, a heart disease medicine made by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis, the first time a developing nation as done so for such a treatment.

Although legal under world trade rules, the licenses, which allow governments to make or buy generic versions of medicines needed for public health measures, stunned drug makers who received no prior warning. Malaysia and Indonesia were the first in Southeast Asia to issue such licenses for AIDS drugs three years ago, but Thailand has gone farther in challenging Big Pharma by targeting other drugs.

Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla told Reuters last month he was studying whether to issue compulsory licenses for other "essential medicines" to fight cancer, heart disease and other leading causes of death in Thailand.

© 2007 Reuters

Editorial Comment:The Wall Street Journal reported in an editorial that Abbott’s new move not to sell drugs in Thailand is a move to preserve intellectual property rights. “The paper called on the World Health Organization to declare at its next board meeting it supports IP rights, reversing a recent statement by its director-general backing the Thai government.” See the The Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2007 for details.

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Story 13:

Doctors Without Borders MSF Denounces Abbott's Move to Withhold Medicines From People in Thailand

BANGKOK/NEW YORK/GENEVA, 15 March 2007 — The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today denounced Abbott Laboratories' decision not to market its new medicines in Thailand. The Chicago-based multinational pharmaceutical company has cited Thailand's use of compulsory licenses as a reason for taking the drastic measures. MSF notes that the use of compulsory licenses to improve access to essential medicines is consistent with international laws, and is concerned that patients will bear the brunt of Abbott's harsh decision.

Among the drugs the company is refusing to sell in Thailand is the new, heat-stable version of the medicine lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), marketed by Abbott as Kaletra. The drug is a vital component of treatment for a growing number of people living with HIV/AIDS who no longer respond to their first set of medications. In the US, Abbott no longer sells the old version of the drug, which requires refrigeration. The company will continue to sell it in Thailand, though, where tropical temperatures make it highly impractical to use.

"Our patients in Thailand, who still use the old version of the medicine, have been waiting for this new version for a very long time," said Dr. David Wilson, of MSF in Thailand. "The drug was registered in the US in October 2005, but still cannot be used in Thailand and many other countries where it is desperately needed. Refusing to sell the drug here is a major betrayal to patients."

MSF currently provides treatment to more than 80,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in over 30 countries. In one MSF project in Khayelitsha, South Africa, 20% of patients needed to be switched to a second-line regimen after being on treatment for five years. While the needs for second-line regimens are likely to increase in the coming years, medicines used for second-line therapy are mostly unavailable or unaffordable in developing countries.

Since November 2006, Thailand has issued compulsory licenses for three medicines, including the AIDS drugs efavirenz and lopinavir/ritonavir. The director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan and the director of UNAIDS, Peter Piot have both spoken in favor of governments using all flexibilities of the World Trade Organization's agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). MSF is calling on WHO, UNAIDS, governments, and other international bodies to denounce Abbott's move.

"Thailand's move to issue compulsory licenses is an important way to help bring prices down and increase availability of medicines," said Ellen 't Hoen, Policy Director at MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. "In light of this, Abbott's move is appalling."

Nearly one year ago, Abbott announced a price of US$ 500 per patient per year for Africa and least-developed countries. In August 2006, the company announced a price of US$ 2,200 per patient per year in low-income and low-middle income countries, such as Thailand, which far exceeds what people can afford. Today's standard three-in-one first line AIDS treatment in developing countries is currently available for US$ 140 per patient per year.

Abbott has failed to provide any information in response to MSF's repeated requests for a registration status update. MSF and other groups have consistently been calling upon the company to register the new version of the drug in developing countries, so that it can be used by patients in resource-poor settings.

"These discounted prices from Abbott exist only on paper, because the company has been dragging its feet about registering the product in many countries," said Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer, Director of MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. "And now they have gone even further by withdrawing registration from Thailand, a tactic that effectively holds patients hostage."

Source: Pharmalive

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Story 14:

AstraZeneca to Cut 850 More Jobs in Sweden

©Reuters Health

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Anglo-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca Plc said in February it would cut 850 jobs in Sweden as part of sweeping group-wide cost cuts to safeguard earnings in the face of competition from generic products. The firm said the staff cuts, part of a planned reduction of around 3,000 jobs or nearly 5 percent of its work force, will take place over the next three years as it seeks to boost productivity at its Swedish production unit by 30 percent.

"The work on handling the cuts has begun. However, the conditions for how to handle the reductions from 2008 and onwards are not yet clear," it said in a statement. AstraZeneca has said its three-year scheme to cut jobs would focus on factories and that cost savings are needed due to growing competition and a maturing market for its top-selling anti-ulcer drug Nexium. The company said it did not think retirements and voluntary departures would be sufficient to address the needed Swedish staff reductions, adding it would consult with unions.

The latest cuts come on top of a planned reduction of 450 jobs in Sweden this year, which the firm has said it expected to be able to handle without resorting to layoffs. The firm has around 12,800 employees in Sweden, of which 4,500 work in production.

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Story 15:

International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Warns of Counterfeit Medicines Flowing into Many Countries

Action needs to be taken to curb unregulated market, Board warns in Annual Report

VIENNA, March 1, 2007-The Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) today warned that the flood of counterfeit medicines now available in many countries could have fatal consequences for consumers. In its Annual Report released today (1 March 2007), the Board also called on member States to enforce legislation to ensure that narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are not illegally manufactured or diverted from licitmanufacture and distribution channels to unregulated markets.

The danger of unregulated markets is the theme of chapter one of the Annual Report. The Board is calling for it to be addressed on a priority basis. The existence of unregulated markets means that substandard, and sometimes even lethal medication is sold to the unsuspecting consumer. Unregulated markets are often supplied with stolen and diverted drugs, illicitly manufactured pharmaceuticals or through illegal sales on the Internet and distributed through the mail and courier services.

Apart from consumers who purchase pharmaceuticals containing controlled substances on the unregulated market because of limited access to health care facilities or lower prices, persons dependent on and abusing such medicationsmake use of unregulated markets to obtain them without prescription.

“Besides the fact that the existence of unregulated markets, the sale of diverted and counterfeit drugs and the purchase of drugs containing controlled substances without prescription contravenes international treaties on drug control, it is important for consumers to realize that what they think is a cut-price medication bought on an unregulated market may however have potentially lethal effects whenever the consumed drugs are not the genuine product or are taken without medical advice. Instead of healing, they can take lives,” said Dr. Philip O. Emafo, President, INCB.

This danger is real and sizeable. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 25-50 per cent of medicines consumed in developing countries are believed to be counterfeit. The problem is further compounded by the fact that counterfeit drugs are easy to manufacture – they can resemble genuine drugs in packaging, and labelling. Unknowing clients have experienced serious health or even lethal consequences; for instance, in Africa, the use of counterfeit vaccines in 1995 resulted in 2,500 deaths.

Narcotics, benzodiazepines, amphetamines and other internationally controlled drugs are easily available in streetmarkets in several developing countries. In developed countries, these drugs are sold via illegal Internet pharmacies, without the mandatory prescriptions.

“The problem of counterfeit medication and abuse of pharmaceuticals containing controlled substances bought without prescriptions, has been in existence for some time. However, the rapid expansion of unregulated markets has dramatically worsened the situation,” said Dr. Emafo.

Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria
UNIS Tel.: (43-1) 26060-4448 Web address: www.unis.unvienna.org
INCB Tel.: (43-1) 26060-4163 Web address: www.incb.org

The unregulated market broadly covers two scenarios: unlicensed individuals and/or entities conducting illegal trade of pharmaceutical products containing controlled substances – for instance, a street vendor selling a controlled drug, such as a narcotic drug, a stimulant or a sedative in a village fair; and, licensed individuals and/or entities contravening laws to sell controlled drugs, such as a pharmacist who sells controlled drugs without asking for a prescription. The Board has called on member States to enforce existing legislation, to impede this menace, and also take appropriate measures to increase the availability of medicinal drugs through legitimate channels, particularly in areas where there is lack of access.

© Pharmalive

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Story 16:

FDA Chief Suggests `Junior' Status for Copies of Biotech Drugs

Associated Press WorldStream - Mar. 15, 2007

WASHINGTON_Copycat versions of pricey biotech drugs may be relegated to a junior status, below that of generic versions of traditional chemical drugs, the Food and Drug Administration's chief suggested.

FDA commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach told pharmaceutical executives such knockoffs would be considered only "similar" to brand-name drugs, which he later clarified to The Associated Press as meaning they would not be interchangeable or substitutable.

That definition mirrors that used by the European Medicines Agency, the FDA's European counterpart. It also would draw a distinction between biotech knockoffs, which the FDA says it still lacks the legal or scientific framework to approve, and generic versions of traditional drugs already available.

Today, traditional drug replicas or generics are identical to their brand-name versions and can be swapped or substituted for one another. That would not be the case with a knockoff biotech drug deemed only "similar," even though its effect on patients would be the same.

"We recognize that the end point would be what could be best described as similarity. Similarity in the sense that when a doctor gives you the product _ delivered it to a patient _ it will achieve an effect that is similar to the effect that we expected from the innovative ... compound," von Eschenbach told the annual meeting of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry group also known as PhRMA.

Unlike traditional chemical-based drugs, biotech drugs _ also called biologics or biopharmaceuticals _ are made from proteins taken from living cells. Generally, biotech drugs are far more costly and complex than traditional drugs both to make and to copy.

Because of that complexity, the FDA and the brand-name drug industry both maintain it would be difficult to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the knockoffs, sometimes called follow-on protein products.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently renewed the push to give the agency that legal authority. The FDA meanwhile says it continues to develop scientific guidelines required to consider applications from would-be manufacturers of the copycat biotech drugs.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association maintains the FDA already has the scientific knowledge to approve knockoffs, just as it now can sign off on changes made by brand-name biotech companies in how they produce their drugs.

"The commissioner is acknowledging that when brands make changes to their products, they are no longer identical to the approved product, but FDA follows sound science to review and approve these changes. This same sound science will be used to review biogenerics for safety and efficacy," said Kathleen Jaeger, the generic drug industry group's president and chief executive officer.

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Story 17:

Lipitor Significantly Reduced the Risk of Serious Cardiovascular Events Compared With Simvastatin in an 80,000-Patient Analysis of a Real-World Managed Care Database

Real-World Implications for Patients, Providers and Healthcare Systems Seeking Quality Care; Pfizer to Further Explore These Benefits in Partnership with Others

News Release Issued: March 2, 2007 12:40 PM EST

BUENA VISTA, Fla., March 2  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A retrospective analysis of a large U.S. managed care database showed that patients who took Pfizer's cholesterol-lowering medicine Lipitor® (atorvastatin calcium) Tablets had a significant 14 percent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, compared with patients who took simvastatin.

Today, physicians and healthcare plans are switching patients between what is believed to be comparable LDL-lowering doses of statins and assuming that this will result in similar cardiovascular benefits.

To replicate real-world physician and payor behavior, this study was rigorously designed to adjust for expected differences of Lipitor and simvastatin LDL lowering based on dose.  Lipitor patients achieved a significant additional 14 percent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular events compared with patients taking simvastatin, even after the dose adjustments.

"This analysis is important for physicians, employers and formulary directors at managed care companies who are making real-world treatment decisions for patients," said Dr. Robert Vogel, an author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Maryland.  "This further supports the cardiovascular benefits previously seen with Lipitor."

"This study is significant because it calls into question whether statins should be prescribed interchangeably through simple dose adjustments," said Dr. Michael Berelowitz, senior vice president of Pfizer's global medical division.

The analysis was presented at the American Heart Association's 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

Confirms Previous Study

Netherlands analysis: In a previously published real-world study of a general practice database with approximately 3,500 patients in the Netherlands, characteristics such as age and cholesterol levels were measured and adjusted to account for differences among statins.  This analysis demonstrated a similar finding to the analysis presented at the meeting. Patients taking Lipitor had a significant 30 percent reduction in the risk of total events compared with those taking other statins combined.  Other statins included simvastatin, pravastatin, fluvastatin, and cerivastatin.

Given the results of these two studies, Pfizer will work with managed care organizations and other healthcare networks to further understand the benefit of Lipitor compared to simvastatin after adjustments to cholesterol levels.

Further Studies Planned

"Based on these important findings, it would be appropriate for health organizations responsible for lipid lowering formulary and treatment decisions to evaluate their own data and determine if they see similar findings," said Dr. Berelowitz.  "We expect that there will be upcoming publications and expanded medical information that will continue to contribute to this important discussion around the benefits of Lipitor."

Key Points of the Analysis

Following are details of the analysis that showed the 14 percent event reduction:

* Patients in the analysis (61,324 taking Lipitor and 19,585 taking simvastatin) had not used statins in the previous six months.

* The primary endpoint was defined as hospitalization due to a heart attack, stroke, mini-stroke (transient ischemic attack), chest pain (angina) or coronary artery disease, vascular disease, or certain types of heart surgery.

* The primary endpoint was assessed after patients had been taking either statin for at least three months.

* The median observation time was 177 days.

* To provide a rigorous comparison, the analysis adjusted for differences in expected LDL lowering, prior cardiovascular events and baseline characteristics between the treatment groups.

Additional Findings

In a secondary analysis, which looked at event reduction from day one of Lipitor therapy, patients achieved a significant 26 percent cardiovascular risk reduction compared with patients who took simvastatin.

The differences in benefit for patients who took Lipitor was apparent early within the first three months and increased at a proportional rate during the observation period compared with patients who took simvastatin.

About Lipitor

Lipitor is the only statin with all the following criteria most important for many physicians, patients and payers: significant and proven cardiovascular event reductions, impressive average LDL lowering of 39 percent to 60 percent, and a proven safety profile across a broad range of patients.

Lipitor is the most prescribed cholesterol-lowering therapy in the world, with nearly 133 million patient-years of experience. It is supported by an extensive clinical trial program involving more than 400 ongoing and completed trials with more than 80,000 patients.  There have been more than ten cardiovascular outcomes trials with more then 50,000 patients

Important US Prescribing Information

Lipitor is a prescription medication.  It is used in patients with multiple risk factors for heart disease such as family history, high blood pressure, age, low HDL ("good" cholesterol) or smoking to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, certain kinds of heart surgery, and chest pain.  When diet and exercise alone are not enough, Lipitor is used along with a low-fat diet and exercise to lower cholesterol.

Lipitor is also used in patients with type 2 diabetes and at least one other risk factor for heart disease such as high blood pressure, smoking or complications of diabetes, including eye disease and protein in urine, to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Lipitor is not for everyone.  It is not for those with liver problems. And it is not for women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant.

Patients taking Lipitor should tell their doctors if they feel any new muscle pain or weakness. This could be a sign of rare but serious muscle side effects.  Patients should tell their doctors about all medications they take.

This may help avoid serious drug interactions.  Doctors should do blood tests to check liver function before and during treatment and may adjust the dose.

The most common side effects are gas, constipation, stomach pain and heartburn. They tend to be mild and often go away. For additional product information, visit http://www.lipitor.com/. Source: Pfizer Inc See also: Lipitor Receives FDA Approval for Five New Indications in Patients With Heart Disease

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Story 18:

Bayer HealthCare Announces Concrete Plans for the Global Synergy Goals and Job Cuts

Bayer HealthCare announces concrete plans for the global synergy goals and job cuts Savings in the order of EUR 700 million annually from 2009 / 6,100 jobs to be cut globally, 1,500 of these in Germany / Headquarters in Berlin to remain the largest global location of Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Germany

BERLIN, March 2, 2007- Bayer HealthCare today published concrete plans regarding the previously announced synergy goals. The integration of the activities of the former Schering AG, Germany, with the Pharma division of Bayer HealthCare will result in annual savings of EUR 700 million from 2009. Adjustments to personnel requirements and the consolidation of processes and systems will each contribute about half to the targeted global synergy effects.

As announced in 2006, reducing the overlap between the two companies will result in approximately 6,100 job cuts worldwide. There is to be a reduction of 3,150 jobs in Europe. In addition, 1,000 jobs in the USA, 750 jobs in the Asia, Pacific and Japan region as well as 1,200 jobs in Latin America and Canada are affected.

Of the 6,100 jobs worldwide there will be a reduction of 1,400 in the global research and development functions and 1,850 in production by 2009. Approximately 2,850 positions from central administration as well as local and regional structures will be reduced.

"We want to create an internationally successful pharmaceutical company with competitive cost structures," said Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Bayer AG Group Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Bayer Schering Pharma. "We said right from the start of the integration that job cuts would be necessary in order to achieve the synergy targets. These essential streamlining measures are to be fairly implemented in a socially acceptable process - balanced across the globe. This includes the reduction of the number of locations, cutting down on structural and personnel overcapacity, the concentration of research and development activities as well as the harmonization of structures and processes in marketing and administration."

Of the 6,100 jobs worldwide a total of approximately 1,500 will be shed in Germany. Berlin will remain the largest location and the headquarters of Bayer Schering Pharma AG. Key global functions and business areas will be consistently drawn together in Berlin.

"The integration process at Bayer Schering Pharma is well on track", said Arthur Higgins, Chairman of the Bayer Schering Pharma AG Board of Management and of Bayer Healthcare AG. "We are creating the basis for future growth and building an organization that will be competitive in the international marketplace."

The measures announced today are to be realized in a fair and transparent process and take account of the local employment regulations in the respective countries. They are intended to create slimmed down and efficient structures and do away with double functions and overlaps. The goal is thus to strengthen innovation and growth in the company and as a result to increase profitability.

The cutbacks will be implemented in cooperation with the employee representatives. The company has begun discussions with employee representatives to work out detailed solutions together.

Forward-looking statements This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our annual and interim reports to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in our reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

Contact:
Name: Günter Forneck  Head of Media Relations  
Telephone: + 49 (0) 214-30-50446
Telefax: + 49 (0) 214-30-55156
E-Mail: guenter.forneck.gf@bayer-ag.de

© Pharmalive

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Story 19:

New Approach to Asthma Treatment Approved by Health Canada

Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) can be used as immediate rescue - providing maintenance and reliever in one inhaler 

MISSISSAUGA, ON, March 6 /CNW/ - For the first time, Canadians with asthma will be able to carry one inhaler that provides both maintenance treatment and rapid symptom relief. AstraZeneca Canada today announced that Symbicort(R) Maintenance And Reliever Therapy (Symbicort(R) SMART(TM)), a new smart approach for asthma treatment, has received Health Canada approval.

"Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) is a new approach to asthma management that treats the underlying inflammation of the airways, one of the key causes of asthma, with every inhalation - even when used as a rescue medication," said Dr. Andrew McIvor, Professor of Medicine at McMaster University. "This simple treatment approach has the potential to help patients control their asthma more effectively and therefore reduce the incidence of asthma attacks."

The Reality of Asthma Control

Until now, there has been an unmet need for new approaches to asthma management. Despite effective treatments, a recent survey showed that while 97 per cent of respondents believe their asthma is controlled, in reality, more than half (53 per cent)(1) have not achieved control of their disease according to Canadian Asthma Consensus Guidelines parameters.(2) People with asthma tend to over-rely on their reliever or short-acting bronchodilators, increasing their use in response to a worsening of their asthma symptoms.(3) However, since such treatments (e.g., salbutamol and terbutaline) do not address the underlying inflammation of the airways, which is a key cause of asthma, these treatments do not contribute to asthma symptom control. Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) is a new management approach that helps address this fundamental problem.

Maintenance and Reliever in One Inhaler

With Symbicort(R) SMART(TM), the treatment approach ensures that with every inhalation, patients receive medication to treat their long-term disease to improve control of their symptoms(4) and reduce exacerbations.(4) This is possible with Symbicort(R) SMART(TM), since it combines two components: budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) that provides an anti-inflammatory effect in the airways, and formoterol, a bronchodilator that opens the airways and is both rapid in effect and long-lasting. Recently updated international treatment guidelines, published by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), placed emphasis on the concept that the goal of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain clinical control.(5) The guidelines support the need for a new management approach - Symbicort(R) SMART(TM).(5) Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) has been tested in a large clinical trial program involving more than 14,000 patients with mild to severe persistent asthma. The results of the studies indicate that Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) improves overall asthma symptom control. The data also shows a significant reduction in the risk of patients developing potentially life-threatening asthma attacks, compared to traditional treatment approaches.(6),(7),(8),(9),(10),(11) In Canada, Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) is approved for use in adults and adolescents (12 years and older).(4)

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a leading global pharmaceutical company with an extensive product portfolio spanning six major therapeutic areas: gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, infection, neuroscience, oncology, and respiratory. AstraZeneca's Canadian headquarters and packaging facilities are located in Mississauga, Ontario, and its state-of-the-art drug discovery centre is based in Montréal, Québec. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.astrazeneca.ca.

Note to editors:

Asthma is a chronic and variable disease that can change both daily and seasonally. When not properly controlled, asthma symptoms can lead to wheezing, tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing and cough.(12) More than 2.4 million Canadians suffer from asthma(13) with symptoms that can be mild, moderate or severe and may vary widely from person to person. Despite effective treatment options, approximately 500 Canadians die each year from asthma.(14)

Symbicort(R) SMART(TM): Supported by International Treatment Guidelines

Recently updated international treatment guidelines published by GINA provide a change in emphasis to the recommended treatment approach for asthma, and support the need for a new management approach in one inhaler - Symbicort(R) SMART(TM). The guidelines state:

- Combination inhalers containing formoterol and budesonide may be used for both rescue and maintenance(5) - only Symbicort(R) SMART(TM) is approved for this indication;

- The use of the combination of a rapid and long-acting (beta)2-agonist (formoterol) and an inhaled glucocorticosteroid (budesonide) in a single inhaler both as a controller and reliever is effective in maintaining a high level of asthma control and reduces exacerbations requiring systemic glucocorticosteroids and hospitalization;(5)

- Both components of budesonide-formoterol given as-needed contribute to enhance protection from severe exacerbations in patients receiving combination therapy for maintenance and provide improvements in asthma control at relatively low doses of treatment.(5)

The guidelines state that, since Symbicort(R) is the only ICS/LABA (inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting (beta)2-agonist) combination medication with data to demonstrate its efficacy for both maintenance and reliever therapy, alternative approaches should be used for patients on other controller therapies.

References:
(1) FitzGerald, et al. Asthma control in Canada remains suboptimal: The Reality of Asthma Control (TRAC) study. Can Respir J, 2006; 13 (5):253-259. (2) Boulet LP, et al. Canadian asthma consensus report, 1999. CMAJ, Nov 30, 1999; 161(11 Suppl) S3. (3) Partridge MR, et al. Attitudes and actions of asthma patients on regular maintenance therapy: the INSPIRE study. BMC Pulmonary Medicine 2006; 6:13. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2466/6/13 Retrieved on February 1, 2007. (4) AstraZeneca Canada Inc. Symbicort(R) Product Monograph: Part I: Health Professional Information, Dec. 19, 2006. (5) The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). GINA Report, Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention.

www.ginasthma.com. Retrieved on December 7, 2006. (6) Rabe K, Atienza T, Magyar P, Larsson P, Jorup C, Laloo U. Effect of budesonide in combination with formoterol for reliever therapy in asthma exacerbations: a randomized controlled, double-blind study. The Lancet August 26, 2006; Vol 368: 744-753. (7) Vogelmeier C, D'Urzo A, Pauwels R, Merino JM, Jaspal M, Boutet S, Naya I, Price D. Budesonide/formoterol maintenance and reliever therapy: an effective asthma treatment option? Eur Respir J 2005; 26(5): 819-828. (8) O'Byrne P, Bisgaard H, Godard P, Pistolesi M, Palmqvist M, Zhu Y, Ekstrvm T, Bateman E. Budesonide/Formoterol Combination Therapy as Both Maintenance and Reliever Medication in Asthma. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005; 171(2): 129-136. (9) Scicchitano R, Aalbers R, Ukena D, Manjra A, Fouquert L, Centanni S, Boulet LP, Naya IP, Hultquist C. Efficacy and safety of budesonide/formoterol single inhaler therapy versus a higher dose of budesonide in moderate to severe asthma. Curr Med Res Opin 2004;20 (9): 1403-18. (10)Rabe K, Pizzichini E, Stdllberg B, Romero S, Balanzat A, Atienza T, Lier P, and Jorup C. Budesonide/formoterol in a Single Inhaler for Maintenance and Relief in Mild-to-Moderate Asthma: A Randomized, Double-Blind Trial. Chest Feb 2006; 129: 246-256. (11)Kuna P, Peters MJ, Buhl R. Budesonide/formoterol as maintenance and reliever therapy reduces asthma exacerbations versus a higher maintenance dose of budesonide/formoterol or salmeterol/fluticasone. Abstract presented at the ERS Congress, 2006. (12)The Canadian Lung Association Web site. http://www.lung.ca". Retrieved on December 4, 2006. (13)Canadian Institute for Health Information. Respiratory Disease in Canada. http://www.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cwpage= PG_84_E&cw_topic=84&cw_rel=AR_13_E. Retrieved on February 7, 2007. (14)Asthma Society of Canada Web site. www.asthma.ca. Retrieved on February 1, 2007.

For further information or for an interview with Dr. Andrew McIvor, please contact: Sherry Zarins, AstraZeneca Canada Inc., Tel.: (905) 615-6845; Daniela Ferri, Jennifer Goode, Edelman, Tel.: (416) 979-1120, ext. 272/230/

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Story 20:

Ten-year Trend: Surgeries Up, Hospitalizations Down

by Laura Eggertson

(Ottawa)March 13, 2007—Laparoscopic surgery and other advances in medical technology are associated with a decline in the number of patients admitted to hospital over the last decade, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reports.

When adjusted for both the growth and aging of the Canadian population, inpatient hospitalizations declined by 25% between 1995–1996 and 2005–2006, states the CIHI report, Trends in Acute Inpatient Hospitalizations and Day Surgery Visits in Canada (Table 1). 

Approximately 8 in 100 Canadians were hospitalized in 2005–2006, compared with 11 in 100 Canadians in 1995–1996. Over the same period, day surgery visits to hospital increased 31%.

The total number of days spent in acute care hospitals across Canada has also decreased to 20.3 million days in 2005–2006, a 13% decline from the 23.3 million days reported in 1995–1996. The average length of stay for patients has remained consistent at 7.2 days.

The figures suggest "a continuing shift in where health care is being provided to Canadians," says CIHI senior consultant Kinga David. More Canadians are being treated on an outpatient basis in ambulatory care settings than there were 10 years ago. Although the majority of hospitalizations (48%) are not related to conditions that require surgery, just over 30% of the overall decrease in hospitalizations is related to surgical patients, David says.

During their analysis, CIHI researchers observed an increase in technologies used in day surgeries, such as laparoscopies to remove gallbladders, and arthroscopic procedures for surgeries in orthopedics, David says. Those procedures are associated with the decreasing number of inpatient hospitalizations.

"No one likes to be admitted to hospital, and if there's an opportunity to receive this type of care on a day-surgery basis, I think that's welcome news for both patients and the health care system," she added.

© Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2007

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Story 21:

Strives to Keep You Competitive in Changing Health Care Market

VICTORIA--There is unprecedented change taking place in healthcare that affects everyone associated with the industry. Knowledge has organizing power, and it is critical that the health sector have managers who possess the leadership capabilities and business skills to make an impact.

To address these needs, The University of Western Ontario and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry have pooled leaders in medicine, and business and law, to offer a targeted MBA Health Sector program at the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Born from the Ivey MBA Biotechnology Stream, their graduate program has been enhanced to include the broader life sciences perspective. In 2005, Ivey began to redesign its programs, research and organization by launching a Cross-Enterprise Leadership program so that students learn about the best practices in both the public and private sectors.

The new Toronto campus that opened in February with funding from ING, will not offer the Health Sector MBA; students will need to attend the London, Ontario, facility where registrants will enroll in the first three modules of the regular Ivey MBA program, and then take six separate courses for their fourth and final module.

The diversified health sector curriculum includes: clinical trials, statistics and pharmacoeconomics; intellectual property (IP) and licensing; health sector strategy and marketing; financing private sector health care enterprises; heath sector management and accountability; and political and economic environment.

Students at Ivey also do an internship project with a company. One might work on the launch of a new pharmaceutical product or the strategic analysis of a clinical operations plan to integrate and apply skills learned.

While the School is focused on the development of business leaders, the Ivey Health Sector Stream is focused on guiding leaders to use their skills effectively in Canada’s unique health care industry. Advancements in information management, technology and research all converge in the health sector, presenting many possibilities for applying this knowledge in health care.

The school expects more medical students to enroll as the demand for broader business skills is needed to help reduce costs, improve wait times, improve safety, integrate technology and directly impact profitability. These are leadership skills not often included in medical training.

With the right knowledge and Ivey’s inclusion of wide-ranging disciplines taught by a diverse faculty, Ivey’s program may offer the cutting edge skills necessary to keep one abreast of the changing health care landscape.

The Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario (www.ivey.uwo.ca) offers full-time undergraduate (HBA) and graduate degree programs (MBA and PhD), and Executive MBA programs in addition to non-degree programs in Entrepreneurship and Executive Development. Ivey has campuses in Ontario (London and Toronto) and Hong Kong. There are 17,000 alumni.

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Story 22:

VIHA signs $11 Million Agreement with GE

VICTORIA – The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) and GE Healthcare (GE) have signed an eight-year, $11 million agreement that allows VIHA to purchase 48 new ultrasound systems and collaborate with GE to research and develop new healthcare technologies, Health Minister George Abbott announced earlier this month.

“This partnership between VIHA and GE will improve diagnostic services to island patients at eleven facilities from Victoria to Port Hardy, while giving our healthcare professionals the opportunity to be part of the development of leading-edge technology,” said Abbott. “It’s a prime example of how healthcare providers and technology companies can work together to advance patient care.”

“We are very excited about working with GE because it will expand patients’ access to the most advanced diagnostic ultrasound equipment, no matter where they live on Vancouver Island,” said VIHA Board Chair Jac Kreut. “This investment in technology will bring real-time, 4D imaging and meaningful clinical benefits to our patients including more precise diagnosis and faster exams, while reducing the inconveniences associated with repeat exams.”

The Vancouver Island Health Authority selected GE, one of the world’s leading ultrasound providers, as its supplier following competitive clinical and technical evaluations with the four major ultrasound vendors in the spring of 2006.

According to GE, ultrasound technology has changed significantly in the past five years. “Advances in 4D imaging are enabling physicians to detect issues earlier and more accurately than ever before, while a new generation of compact designs are bringing point-of-care imaging services right to the patient,” stated Terri Bresenham, vice president of Diagnostic Ultrasound, GE Healthcare. “This combination of new ultrasound technologies will enable VIHA physicians to address one of their biggest challenges – access to real-time diagnostic information.”

Under the terms of the agreement, VIHA will receive GE’s most advanced ultrasound technologies and establish new clinical workflow and administrative processes enabling an overall cost savings of approximately $4 million over the life of the contract. VIHA will apply the savings to expand its diagnostic and medical services.

Ultrasound is a sophisticated, non-invasive imaging tool that uses sound waves to produce detailed images of patients’ internal organs. Physicians rely on ultrasound to help detect and diagnose a wide range of medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, cancer, trauma and perinatal care.

About VIHA
The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) provides healthcare services to approximately 716,000 people on Vancouver Island, on the islands of the Georgia Strait and in the mainland communities north of Powell River and south of Rivers Inlet. With an annual budget of $1.3 billion, VIHA operates hospitals, clinics, centres, health units and residential facilities in accordance with policies set by the British Columbia Ministry of Health.

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare’s broad range of products and services enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable a new “early health” model of care focused on earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and disease prevention. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

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Story 23:

British Columbia Announces New Surgical Registry

VICTORIA – Patients, surgeons and health authorities will have better data and information to make the better treatment planning decisions with the launch of the BC Surgical Patient Registry (SPR), a database that will track patients waiting for surgery throughout the province.

“This comprehensive program will ensure patients are prioritized for surgery in a standardized way,” said BC Health Minister George Abbott. “We are acting on our throne speech commitment by creating this registry that will give patients more control over their surgical options, and surgeons and health authorities more current and accurate information in making decisions about when surgeries should be scheduled, and will improve public reporting of wait times. Health authorities will also be better able to track patients who are waiting for their surgery and monitor their wait times.”

Until now, there has been no consistent provincial approach for prioritizing patients on wait lists in British Columbia. With the new SPR, the surgeon will fill out a standardized assessment tool, where the surgeon actively assesses the patient’s need. By having patients across British Columbia measured using the same criteria, better decisions can be made regarding the surgical need of a patient against all patients requiring the same procedure.

The progressive implementation of the registry is now under way and is expected to be fully operational by Jan. 1, 2008. The registry is part of a broader initiative – the BC Provincial Surgical Services Project – to improve surgical care throughout the province. The steering committee overseeing the initiative includes representation from the Ministry of Health, health authorities, practising surgeons, the British Columbia Medical Association, the UBC Faculty of Medicine and the Medical Services Commission. Surgeons from the around the province are also involved in surgical working groups in support of the program.

“The patient registry allows information on surgical wait lists to be more accurate and current,” said Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid, president of the BCMA. “This means patients, as well as their family and physician, will now have a better idea of their placement on the wait list and potential waiting time.”

Access to and use of information from the SPR will be in strict compliance with provincial legislative requirements on privacy and security, and related regional health authority privacy and security policies.

British Columbia’s surgical patient registry is a key component of government’s wait time strategy as the Province continues to increase the number of surgeries performed. The registry also supports the provincial government’s Pacific Leadership Agenda in helping to improve the health of our citizens and renew our public health-care system.

For example, between 2001/02 and 2005/06, the number of knee replacements increased by 85 per cent and hip replacements by 55 percent. About 75 percent of elective surgeries on the wait list are done in just over three months. About half of all surgeries are done immediately and are never wait-listed because they are determined to be emergency or urgent cases.

The surgical patient registry is also part of B.C.’s eHealth strategy that will give patients access to safer, higher-quality services through the timely availability of their health information; and will give care providers the correct and necessary information.

Surgical wait times are published on the Ministry of Health website at www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/waitlist/.

Source: Canadian Healthcare Technology

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Story 24:

2006 a Record Year for Bayer

LEVERKUSEN, German