31 January 2013 Last updated at 05:04 ET Shares in AstraZeneca have fallen 4% after the drugs company announced a drop in sales and said that the tough conditions would continue. Sales in the last three months fell 16% to $7.28bn, as the firm continues to suffer an erosion of business due to the expiry of patents on its drugs. AstraZeneca says earnings will decline "significantly more than revenue" this year as operating costs rise. The figures reflect tough market conditions, the company said. The difficult trading conditions were underlined by AstraZeneca's decision not to increase dividend payments for the second half of 2012, analysts said. Chief executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement: "Our performance in 2012 reflects a period of significant patent expiry and tough market conditions globally." He joined the company from rival Roche in October, and in March is due to set out his strategy for the business. There has been speculation that Mr Soriot may be looking at a big acquisition over the next few months. AstraZeneca has faced the loss of exclusivity on its best-selling medicines and a thin pipeline of new drugs coming to market. Original post: AstraZeneca's drugs sales decline … Continue reading →

A father of an AFL footballer delisted at the end of last year speaks out against drug use in the league. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images WE'LL call him "Dad" and give his son the name "Mick". Mick was delisted at the end of last year by a Melbourne-based AFL club, mainly for being not good enough, but partly because he had lost all interest in playing footy. "I've never seen him as happy as the day he got dropped from the club," Dad said, insisting on the anonymity to protect his son. Mick didn't take drugs until last year. His preferred choice of narcotic was speed and ecstasy tablets, all combined with alcohol. Up to eight of his teammates also took them. It was part of the routine, Dad said, and it is why he thinks the drugs summit yesterday could be the unmasking of a huge problem at footy clubs. "Don't think for a moment any club is clean," Dad said. "Two years ago the clubs tried to get the boys off alcohol and they all turned to the drugs, and I think now they're trying to get them to have a beer again. "And why shouldn't they? … Continue reading →

The Medicare system is recalculating how much it will reimburse hospitals and clinics for the drugs used to treat dialysis patients after federal auditors found recently that the program could save as much as $880million annually. An analysis by The Washington Post in August showed that the government was overspending by hundreds of millions for just one group of those drugs. The overpayment occurs because the government reimburses hospitals and clinics under an assumption that the drugs are being given at the higher doses widely used in 2007. Since then, however, the use of the drugs has declined significantly, partly because of repeated government warnings about their safety and partly because Medicare removed the financial incentives for using larger doses. Its good that Medicare is finally going to set a new, more accurate price, said Dennis Cotter, president of the Medical Technology and Practice Patterns Institute, a research group, who called for price changes in 2011. Its unfortunate that they could have done this two years ago. This has so far cost taxpayers more than $1.6 billion. The overpayment, however, will continue until new rates are established in 2014. Medicare could propose a new price this June and finalize it … Continue reading →