Pharmaceutical companies will struggle to profit from the cardiovascular disease (CVD) market over the next decade despite growing drug usage, according to Datamonitor, which predicted that the CVD pharmaceutical market will grow from $99 billion in 2008 to $107 billion in 2018.
Cardiologists ranked Merck's sales representatives second, a noteworthy increase from sixth place in 2008, while Pfizer was ranked first by cardiologists, according to the 2009 Ranking Tables Study from healthcare market research firm SDI.
Novartis is seeking to acquire biopharmaceutical company Corthera, along with its promising drug candidate relaxin, a naturally occurring human peptide used in the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure, for up to $620 million.
The FDA has approved Valturna (aliskiren and valsartan) tablets, the first drug to target two key points within the renin system, also known as the renin angiotensin aldosterone system, a regulator of blood pressure.
The FDA has approved Tekturna HCT (aliskiren and hydrochlorothiazide) tablets as initial therapy for patients who are likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals. Tekturna HCT is a single-pill combination of Tekturna (aliskiren), a direct renin inhibitor, and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), a common high blood pressure medication.
Jonathan Symonds, currently managing director of investment banking at Goldman Sachs, will join Novartis on Sept. 1 as deputy chief financial officer (CFO) and as CFO designate, reporting to Raymund Breu, who will retire on March 31, 2010.
Treatment with Novartis' Diovan (valsartan) does not reduce the incidence of recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF), according to results of the GISSI-AF trial published in the April 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Portola Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat cardiovascular disease, have signed an exclusive global license agreement with Novartis to develop and commercialize elinogrel, Portola's proprietary IV and oral P2Y12 ADP receptor antagonist currently in phase 2 clinical development.
Patients, ages 30 to 74, on atypical antipsychotics, had a significantly higher risk of sudden death from cardiac arrhythmias and other cardiac causes than patients who did not take these medications, according to a Jan. 15 New England Journal of Medicine study funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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Lantheus Medical Imaging has appointed Robert A. Spurr as its vice president of sales and marketing.
A fixed-dose combination of two hypertension drugs, like telmisartan (Micardis, Boehringer Ingelheim) and amlodipine (Norvasc, Pfizer) that have a lower dosage than valsartan (Diovan/Tareg, Novartis), would have an estimated gain in patient shares, according to a survey of U.S. and European cardiologists conducted by marketing research firm Decision Resources.
The European Commission has granted Novartis marketing authorization for Exforge HCT, a new 3-in-1 treatment for people with high blood pressure.
In patients undergoing vascular surgery, peri-operative fluvastatin therapy was associated with an improvement in postoperative cardiac outcome, according to the DECREASE III trial published Sept. 3 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
European prices of 170 best selling drugs averaged 40 percent less than U.S. prices in 2008, according to new research from healthcare market research firm Decision Resources.
The FDA has approved Novartis' Exforge HCT, a blood pressure treatment that combines three medications in a single pill.
The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended adding a contra-indication to the product information for Novartis' aliskiren, indicating that it should not be used in patients who have experienced angioedema when taking the hypertension drug.
Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals reported that it has made several appointments to its board of directors and executive management ranks.
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Middle age introduces itself in many ways; one is atrial fibrillation (AF). My onset of AF seems to have coincided with a mountain bike accident in the woods of North Carolina that resulted in some cracked ribs.
The use of health IT to reduce rehospitalizations will be welcome but also disruptive, said Stephen Jencks, an independent consultant in healthcare safety during a Feb. 24 webinar on the potential use of health IT to mitigate rehospitalizations, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).