Pharmaceuticals in the News

It is estimated that the UK pharmaceutical market grew by 10.5% in 2004, to a value of £12.32bn. The UK market is ranked fifth in the developed world in terms of value, just above Italy but below France. The market is composed of two major sectors: prescription-only medicines and over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals. Prescription-only medicines, the larger sector by far, are highly regulated and controlled. They are only available via a prescription from a qualified healthcare professional and can only be dispensed by a registered pharmacist operating on licensed premises. Pharmaceutical companies are not permitted to advertise these products directly to consumers, and there are ... Read Full Story

WASHINGTON - An international week of action targeting the Internet sale of counterfeit and illicit medicines and its threat to public health has resulted in many arrests and the seizure of thousands of potentially harmful medical products across five continents. In the United States, the partners of the Virginia-based National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) conducted operations from Nov. 16-20 at mail facilities throughout the United States, targeting counterfeit, substandard or tainted drugs coming into the United States. Federal agents and officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the ... Read Full Story

WALTHAM, MA — Shire, a worldwide leading specialty biopharmaceutical company, has entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Santaris Pharma A/S to develop RNA-based medicines for the treatment of rare genetic disorders. Read Full Story

Shares of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (TSX: T.ANP, Stock Forum) surged 29% to $2.09 Thursday, as the Vancouver-based company reported that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX, Stock Forum) has received U.S. FDA approval to market its TAXUS Liberté Long Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System, a drug-eluting stent designed for long lesions. The company says Boston Scientific plans to launch the product in the U.S. next month. Back in May, the company received FDA approval to market its TAXUS Liberté Atom Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System. “Today's approval of the TAXUS Liberté Long Stent, along with the approval of the TAXUS Liberté Atom(TM) Stent in May, ... Read Full Story

Shares of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (TSX: T.ANP, Stock Forum) climbed 25% to $1.65 Wednesday, as the company announced that its corporate partner, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX, Stock Forum) has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its TAXUS Liberté Atom Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System. The system is designed for treating small coronary vessels and joins the TAXUS Express Atom Stent as the only drug-eluting stents approved for small vessel use in the U.S, says Angiotech. On Angiotech’s website, the company says that its initial lead product, the TAXUS drug-eluting coronary stent - which was co-developed and is now sold by ... Read Full Story