VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) Prescription drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Thursday its net income increased 11 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter on greater sales of lower-cost, higher-profit generic drugs, as well as a boost from recent acquisitions. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 62 percent to 21 cents, and plans to buy back $750 million more in company stock on top of $97 million left in a previous stock buyback program. AmerisourceBergen's July-September revenue dropped 4 percent, but its profit rose because generic drug sales are more profitable than sales of brand-name drugs. Revenue from the company's generic division fell and specialty drug revenue increased. Specialty drugs are medications that require special handling, such as IVs or infusions. The company said its net income rose to $163.5 million, or 66 cents per share, from $147.3 million, or 54 cents per share. Revenue fell 4 percent, to $19.45 billion from $20.35 billion, helped by $335 million from acquisitions during the year. Analysts were more optimistic. They expected profit of 68 cents per share and $20.24 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. In fiscal 2012, AmerisourceBergen said its net income rose 2 percent, to $719 million, or $2.80 per share, … Continue reading →

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/nxjlrh/chinese_markets) has announced the addition of the "Chinese Markets for Cancer Treatment Drugs" report to their offering. China's demand for cancer treatment drugs has grown at a fast pace in the past decade. In the next five years, both production and demand will continue to grow. This new study examines China's economic trends, investment environment, industry development, supply and demand, industry capacity, industry structure, marketing channels and major industry participants. Historical data (2001, 2006 and 2011) and long-term forecasts through 2016 and 2021 are presented. Major producers in China are profiled. Key Topics Covered: I. INTRODUCTION II. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT III. CANCER TREATMENT DRUGS INDUSTRY ASSESSMENTS IV. CANCER TREATMENT DRUGS PRODUCTION AND DEMAND V. CANCER TREATMENT DRUGS MARKET OUTLOOKS VI. MARKETING STRATEGIES Originally posted here: Research and Markets: Chinese Markets for Cancer Treatment Drugs - Profiles Forecasts up to 2016 and 2021 Major ... … Continue reading →

By Chelsea Conaboy, Liz Kowalczyk and Todd Wallack, Globe Staff Ameridose LLC, sister company to the Framingham pharmacy whose drugs have been implicated in hundreds of fungal infections and 28 deaths, agreed to recall all its products Wednesday after federal investigators identified shortcomings in testing procedures, raising concerns that a shortage of sterile injectable drugs will become more severe. During the course of its on-going inspection of our facility, the Westborough company said in a press release, the US Food and Drug Administration has notified Ameridose that it will be seeking improvements in Ameridoses sterility testing process. The company, which supplies thousands of hospitals and other health providers nationally, said it issued the recall voluntarily and had not received any reports of illness. Neither Ameridose nor the FDA has identified impurities in any Ameridose products, the statement said. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, we are undertaking this recall to assure customers that when Ameridose products are shipped, they are fully in conformance with all of the FDAs recommendations. Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the agencys Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said that during inspections of Ameridoses production facility, investigators did not find an adequate assurance of sterility … Continue reading →

Editors Note: This is the final article in a three-part series on drug addiction in Dedham. Other articles in this series have tackled the police response and personal stories. It has been almost 25 years, but not a day goes by when Carmen DelloIacono fails to remember how he lost his best friend. A heroin overdose. A lifelong Dedham resident and now chairman of the Dedham selectmen, DelloIacono is hoping to set the community on a path to finally deal with the drug issue. Hes not the only one. Dedham Police and local family members of drug users have been steady combatants in fighting the drug problem locally, but now the town government and some town organizations are joining the effort. The fact that drugs are in Dedham is a blow to DelloIacono, he said. He had no suspicion that his friend, who was 23 and who lived in Dedham when he died, had been using drugs. Back then, it was movie stars being drugged; you never heard of somebody local with heroin, DelloIacono said. DelloIacono said he stopped drinking after his friend died and he has always given people rides home on New Years so they dont have to … Continue reading →

Existing drugs that could help Alzheimers include certain blood pressure drugs called calcium channel blockers, a diabetes drug called liraglutide, an antibiotic used for acne called minocycline, and acitretin for the skin condition psoriasis. Clive Ballard, professor of age related diseases at Kings College London and director of research at the Alzheimers Society, said laboratory studies indicated liraglutide protected nerve cells from damage of build up of amyloid proteins, which are thought to cause the brain disease. Studies also showed that people who took nilvadipine, a blood pressure drug, were less likely to develop Alzheimers. Prof Ballard and others have drawn up the shortlist in an article in the journal Nature. He said: One of the advantages of this approach is you dont have to start from scratch. Normally it takes 20 years and about $1 billion to get a drug that works, because so many compounds are dropped in trials due to toxicity and other problems. Trials testing three of the drug on people with Alzheimers are due to start in Britain next year. Prof Ballard warned that Alzheimer's sufferers should not try to obtain the drugs to self-medicate, because they had not yet been tested for the purpose. … Continue reading →

The Food and Drug Administration said it was looking more closely at the way generic companies made extended-release drugs after it found one such medicine failed to work as well as its brand-name counterpart. A conveyor belt at Teva Pharmaceuticals in Israel, which markets a generic version of Wellbutrin XL. The finding is a rare departure for the agency, which for years has insisted that generic drugs are just as effective as their brand-name versions. The drug, a 300-milligram dose of bupropion, was manufactured by Impax Laboratories and was intended to mimic the popular antidepressant, Wellbutrin XL. But soon after it was introduced in 2006, patients who switched to it from Wellbutrin began complaining that their depression had returned. Impax and Teva Pharmaceuticals, which marketed the drug, have stopped selling the 300-milligram dose. Although regulators have said the episode appears to be limited to one dosage level of a single drug, an F.D.A. official said in October that the agency was now looking more closely at the techniques generic drug makers used to make the extended-release drugs. This has actually prompted us to change our policy, Dr. Gregory P. Geba, the director of the F.D.A.s office of generic drugs, said … Continue reading →