Biotech Stocks Blog

May 9, 2008

Ex-Merck CEO blasts drug price

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Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

May 08, 2008
The Star-Ledger
BUSINESS

The voice of Roy Vagelos carries some weight in the pharmaceutical industry.
The former chief executive of Merck, who now serves as chairman of two biotechnology companies, had some choice words about drug pricing during an annual meeting of the International Society of Medical Publication Professionals in Philadelphia.
Not surprisingly, Vagelos, who headed the company’s drug discovery efforts before he took the corner office, thinks most medicines are a “terrific bargain.” In the United States, the prices of medicines are justified by their value in preventing or controlling disease and managing conditions that have the potential to lead to more serious health problems.
But even Vagelos has a problem with a cancer drug costing $50,000. The medicine in question, which Vagelos never referred to by name, may add as much as four months to the life of a patient battling colorectal cancer. The drug, Avastin, is marketed by Genentech.
“There is a shocking disparity between value and price, and it’s not sustainable,” Vagelos said, according to a blog posted by CNBC reporter Mike Huckman. “The industry will bring about government price controls which will be devastating.”
There is something else that troubles Vagelos about the steep prices of medicines: It doesn’t help the image of the pharmaceutical industry.
“In the past, because of their enormous contributions, the industry was held in high regard,” Vagelos said by telephone this week. The industry’s reputation began slipping as early as 2004, around the time of Merck’s withdrawal of the once-popular Vioxx painkiller because of safety concerns.
“The drug industry dropped close to the bottom,” Vagelos said, “along with gas companies and the cigarette industry. The high cost of drugs entered into that.” - Susan Todd
Manual controversy
More than half of the 28 new writers of the next edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders have ties to the drug industry, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Integrity in Science Watch.
The conflicts of interest ranged from small to extensive. Leading the pack was William Carpenter Jr., director of Maryland Psychiatric Research Center at the University of Maryland, who over the past five years worked as a consultant for 13 drugmakers, including Pfizer, Lilly, Wyeth, Merck, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, according to CSPI.
APA President Carolyn Robinowitz said in a statement, “We have made every effort to ensure that DSM-V will be based on the best and latest scientific research, and to eliminate conflicts of interest in its development.”
The fifth DSM, which is produced in conjunction with the National Institute of Mental Health and will be published in 2012, is used by mental-health professionals to classify mental illnesses, CSPI reminds us. - Ed Silverman/Pharmalot.com
Drugmaker’s new VP
Merck announced the appointment of Eric Rubin as vice president of oncology clinical research to lead the company’s efforts in developing cancer medicines.
Rubin previously served as associate director of clinical sciences and professor of medicine and pharmacology at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, part of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
As associate director at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rubin oversaw all clinical trial activity.
Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, has more than a half-dozen prospective cancer drugs in early stages of development. - Susan Todd
(c) 2008 The Star-Ledger. All rights reserved. .

Posted by ustaginnus@hotmail.com at 5/09/2008 0 comments

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May 6, 2008

Market Access consultancies bubble forming up?

By admin

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

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May 1, 2008

SMS makes its way into US health care

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by David E. Williams
Health Business Blog

Text messaging isn’t exactly big news. Most people have heard about it, even if they associate it only with teens who’ve given up talking on the phone or even meeting in person in order to spend their time texting. But text messaging has actually been slower to catch on with the general population in the US than has been the case overseas. And of course health care isn’t usually the rapid adopter of new communications tools.

Clickatell, which provides SMS text messaging solutions in various industries around the world thanks to its relationships with over 700 mobile carriers, is making a push into the health care space. I spoke yesterday with the company’s EVP of marketing, Chuck Drake in advance of today’s announcement that Clickatell is partnering with three health care organizations. (Although you wouldn’t know it from his Clickatell profile, Chuck actually has experience in the pharmaceutical world, where he worked on Rx to OTC switches for GSK.)

Clickatell has an interesting initial list of health care partners:

A branch of the UK’s National Health Service, “which will raise awareness around health issues such as diet, drugs and safe sex among the general public, with a specific focus on teen health.” Teens can send simple messages like “stop smoking” and get info in return. (You can bet that some of the requests will be a little more titillating than the one chosen for the press release.)

ComplyRx, a Georgia-based health care compliance company. According to ComplyRx’s president, “Text messaging provides and inexpensive and convenient way for doctors to communicate with patients or caregivers to remind them of important medical treatments, and Clickatell… ensure[s] that… messages don’t get lost…”

Cell-Life, a non-profit that uses SMS to send HIV/AIDS management information to South Africans.

I told Chuck I was somewhat skeptical about the ability of older Americans, who are the principal users of health care, to use text messaging. He told me I should put aside my thoughts of how teens text on a peer-to-peer basis and think instead about the receipt of messages from an entity like ComplyRx or a bank. That’s a much lower hurdle to clear and is good for applications such as appointment and medication reminders as well as basic educational information.

I also wonder about whether consumers will object to seeing text messaging charges on their cell phone bills, but according to Chuck the days of carriers charging for individual messaging are coming to an end. (I hope someone tells my carrier about that.)

What I like about SMS for health care is its low cost and ease of use. I’m hopeful that it will catch on.

Health Business Blog is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
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May 1, 2008

NatusConsolidates Newborn Hearing Loss Screening with Acquisition

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by Doug Cress
Med Tech Sentinel

Natus Medical (BABY) announced yesterday that it will acquire SonaMed, a privately held company based in Waltham, MA.

SonaMed manufactures and markets the Clarity Screener for the screening of hearing loss in newborns. The company reported revenues of $3.5 million in 2007.

According to Jim Hawkins, Natus’ President and CEO, “SonaMed has successfully created a distinct presence in the domestic newborn hearing screening market. We believe SonaMed is a very well run company that has been consistently profitable for many years.”

Earlier this month, Natus priced an offering to sell 770,000 shares of common stock at $18.27 per share, in all likelihood meant to offset SonaMed’s purchase price. Net proceeds were approximately $13.4 million. The acquisition will be accretive to Natus’ earnings in the first full quarter of ownership. Natus raked in $118 million last year and expects revenues of $160 million in 2008.

Natus already enjoys an 80% market share in the U.S. newborn hearing screening market. Approximately 95% of the children born in the U.S. are currently being tested for hearing impairment prior to discharge from the hospital. As such, the U.S. market is mature. Growth in the company’s newborn hearing loss screening segment will come mostly from abroad where less than one-in-four newborns are being tested.

Like Natus, most of Sonamed’s revenues (two-thirds) are recurring and generated from the sale of disposables. These supplies sell at very a high gross profit margin. Natus may face increasing competition from independent suppliers offering lower prices, according to its most recent annual report.

Sources estimate that 1 – 6 out of 1000 newborns will have congenital hearing loss. The first three years of life, and especially the first six months, are critical for normal speech and language development; if left unidentified, a child is at a significant disadvantage for the remainder of their life.

Med Tech Sentinel is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
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April 24, 2008

Pharmaceutical Pricing & Reimbursement Conference 2008

By admin

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

Arrowhead-Spectra Conferences announces that it is hosting an Expert Opinion Conference on Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement at the Royal Society of Medicine, in Central London, UK on the 29th May, 2008

For the program please klick here

Posted by ustaginnus@hotmail.com at 4/23/2008 0 comments

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April 16, 2008

Comparative-Effectiveness Bill to Hit Senate

By admin

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin
April 14, 2008 Vol. 5 No. 73

Comparative-Effectiveness Bill to Hit Senate
A bill establishing a comparative-effectiveness research institute is scheduled for introduction in the Senate this week, congressional staffers say.
The Comparative Effectiveness Research Act of 2008, sponsored by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would establish an institute to evaluate the effectiveness of different drugs and medical devices that exist for the same treatment.
The creation of such an organization was the subject of a public meeting held last week by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent agency that advises Congress on issues affecting Medicare. The group supports a comparative-effectiveness program and recommends that Congress establish an independent entity to sponsor and disseminate such information. The entity would conduct prospective, head-to-head clinical trials of competing products as well as clinical reviews.
In a report last June, MedPAC said not enough credible, empirically based information is available for providers and payers to make decisions on alternative treatments and diagnostics for the most common conditions. New services become routine medical care without their comparative effectiveness being taken into account, the commission said. Recently, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Chief Medical Officer Barry Straube said Medicare would have to address comparative-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness issues to achieve greater value for the program. MedPAC agreed. One committee member said the research needed today is not to support another device or “me-too drug” but to promote value. The commission also advised that the institute have no role in making or recommending coverage or payment decisions.

Posted by ustaginnus@hotmail.com at 4/15/2008 0 comments

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April 14, 2008

Gold and gold stocks were more or less unchanged for this past week. In the last two posts, I said that I was getting mixed messages from the charts I analyze, which seems to make sense now, as the bulls and bears are at about equal force.

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

was dreading this announcement, but its time has come. My career as a dentist is finally taking off and keeping me too busy to maintain this blog’s full potential.

Therefore, after a year and a half of surprising success I have no choice but to place BioHealth Investor(BHI) up for sale.

BHI is syndicated on SeekingAlpha.com, BioSpace.com, TheMoneyBlogs.com, Newstex.com and is regularly featured on Yahoo! Finance, Google Finance, TheStreet.com. Those were just the big boys, BHI is also syndicated all over the net, through hundreds of sites, blogs, networks, and directories.

BHI has also been approved for the soon to be launched Forbes financial blog network, and is currently a member of the Business of Biotech Network and Investors Blog Network (IBN)

BHI usually places on the first page of Google Search for keywords Biotechnology Stocks, Medical Stocks, and Biotech Stocks. This search placement can be very valuable.

BHI is syndicated to various educational and media outlets through Newstex.com
http://www.newstex.com/products/story_blog.php?blog_id=1514

BHI currently collects revenue through various advertising and syndication channels, including Google AdSense, Yahoo Ads, CommissionJunction (www.cj.com), BHI company directory (yearly subscription), newstex.com, and will soon start collecting ad revenue from the soon to be launched Forbes financial blog network.

you can learn more about BioHealth Investor by visiting biohealthinvestor.com and clicking on About Us.

Here are the links to BioHealth Investor as shown by Google
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=link%3Abiohealthinvestor.com

value of BioHealthInvestor.com on dnscoop.com:
go to http://www.dnscoop.com/, enter biohealthinvestor.com into field and click on CheckIt!

All the above was achieved in less than 18 months.

currently, I am the only administrator and editor of the blog. on a daily basis I update the top stocks in the industry through Yahoo Finance, that takes me about 10 to 15 minutes 5 days a week. I also write my own exclusive articles once every 2 weeks or so. I also syndicate posts from various contributors of other blogs and sites, that takes another 10 to 15 minutes daily.

Who coule be interested in taking over BHI?

PR Firms - BHI could be a great tool in promoting medical and health related clients. The blogosphere is fast becoming a valuable resource for companies to reach out to investors in an informal way.

financial brokers - who would be interested in promoting their services to new investors and clients, including their newsletters and stock picks.

bloggers - interested in writing and keeping up with finance and stocks, and in making revenue through various advertising channels.

If you are interested in finding out more about BHI or details such as revenue numbers and asking price please contact me at:

hsayoub @ biohealth investor . com (ignore spacing)

Sincerely,
Hisham

Dr.Hisham S. Ayoub, DMD
www.biohealthinvestor.com

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April 14, 2008

Co-Payments Go Way Up for Drugs With High Prices

By admin

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

The New York Times
National Desk; SECTA

Health insurance companies are rapidly adopting a new pricing system for very expensive drugs, asking patients to pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars for prescriptions for medications that may save their lives or slow the progress of serious diseases.
With the new pricing system, insurers abandoned the traditional arrangement that has patients pay a fixed amount, like $10, $20 or $30 for a prescription, no matter what the drug’s actual cost. Instead, they are charging patients a percentage of the cost of certain high-priced drugs, usually 20 to 33 percent, which can amount to thousands of dollars a month.
The system means that the burden of expensive health care can now affect insured people, too.
No one knows how many patients are affected, but hundreds of drugs are priced this new way. They are used to treat diseases that may be fairly common, including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, hepatitis C and some cancers. There are no cheaper equivalents for these drugs, so patients are forced to pay the price or do without.
Insurers say the new system keeps everyone’s premiums down at a time when some of the most innovative and promising new treatments for conditions like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis can cost $100,000 and more a year.
But the result is that patients may have to spend more for a drug than they pay for their mortgages, more, in some cases, than their monthly incomes.
The system, often called Tier 4, began in earnest with Medicare drug plans and spread rapidly. It is now incorporated into 86 percent of those plans. Some have even higher co-payments for certain drugs, a Tier 5.
Now Tier 4 is also showing up in insurance that people buy on their own or acquire through employers, said Dan Mendelson of Avalere Health, a research organization in Washington. It is the fastest-growing segment in private insurance, Mr. Mendelson said. Five years ago it was virtually nonexistent in private plans, he said. Now 10 percent of them have Tier 4 drug categories.
Private insurers began offering Tier 4 plans in response to employers who were looking for ways to keep costs down, said Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents most of the nation’s health insurers. When people who need Tier 4 drugs pay more for them, other subscribers in the plan pay less for their coverage.
But the new system sticks seriously ill people with huge bills, said James Robinson, a health economist at the University of California, Berkeley. ”It is very unfortunate social policy,” Dr. Robinson said. ”The more the sick person pays, the less the healthy person pays.”
Traditionally, the idea of insurance was to spread the costs of paying for the sick.
”This is an erosion of the traditional concept of insurance,” Mr. Mendelson said. ”Those beneficiaries who bear the burden of illness are also bearing the burden of cost.”
And often, patients say, they had no idea that they would be faced with such a situation.
It happened to Robin Steinwand, 53, who has multiple sclerosis.
In January, shortly after Ms. Steinwand renewed her insurance policy with Kaiser Permanente, she went to refill her prescription for Copaxone. She had been insured with Kaiser for 17 years through her husband, a federal employee, and had had no complaints about the coverage.
She had been taking Copaxone since multiple sclerosis was diagnosed in 2000, buying 30 days’ worth of the pills at a time. And even though the drug costs $1,900 a month, Kaiser required only a $20 co-payment.
Not this time. When Ms. Steinwand went to pick up her prescription at a pharmacy near her home in Silver Spring, Md., the pharmacist handed her a bill for $325.
There must be a mistake, Ms. Steinwand said. So the pharmacist checked with her supervisor. The new price was correct. Kaiser’s policy had changed. Now Kaiser was charging 25 percent of the cost of the drug up to a maximum of $325 per prescription. Her annual cost would be $3,900 and unless her insurance changed or the drug dropped in price, it would go on for the rest of her life.
”I charged it, then got into my car and burst into tears,” Ms. Steinwand said.
She needed the drug, she said, because it can slow the course of her disease. And she knew she would just have to pay for it, but it would not be easy.
”It’s a tough economic time for everyone,” she said. ”My son will start college in a year and a half. We are asking ourselves, can we afford a vacation? Can we continue to save for retirement and college?”
Although Kaiser advised patients of the new plan in its brochure that it sent out in the open enrollment period late last year, Ms. Steinwand did not notice it. And private insurers, Mr. Mendelson said, can legally change their coverage to one in which some drugs are Tier 4 with no advance notice.
Medicare drug plans have to notify patients but, Mr. Mendelson said, ”that doesn’t mean the person will hear about it.” He added, ”You don’t read all your mail.”
Some patients said they had no idea whether their plan changed or whether it always had a Tier 4. The new system came as a surprise when they found out that they needed an expensive drug.
That’s what happened to Robert W. Banning of Arlington, Va., when his doctor prescribed Sprycel for his chronic myelogenous leukemia. The drug can block the growth of cancer cells, extending lives. It is a tablet to be taken twice a day — no need for chemotherapy infusions.
Mr. Banning, 81, a retired owner of car dealerships, thought he had good insurance through AARP. But Sprycel, which he will have to take for the rest of his life, costs more than $13,500 for a 90-day supply, and Mr. Banning soon discovered that the AARP plan required him to pay more than $4,000.
Mr. Banning and his son, Robert Banning Jr., have accepted the situation. ”We’re not trying to make anybody the heavy,” the father said.
So far, they have not purchased the drug. But if they do, they know that the expense would go on and on, his son said. ”Somehow or other, myself and my family will do whatever it takes. You don’t put your parent on a scale.”
But Ms. Steinwand was not so sanguine. She immediately asked Kaiser why it had changed its plan.
The answer came in a letter from the federal Office of Personnel Management, which negotiates with health insurers in the plan her husband has as a federal employee. Kaiser classifies drugs like Copaxone as specialty drugs. They, the letter said, ”are high-cost drugs used to treat relatively few people suffering from complex conditions like anemia, cancer, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and human growth hormone deficiency.”
And Kaiser, the agency added, had made a convincing argument that charging a percentage of the cost of these drugs ”helped lower the rates for federal employees.”
Ms. Steinwand can change plans at the end of the year, choosing one that allows her to pay $20 for the Copaxone, but she worries about whether that will help. ”I am a little nervous,” she said. ”Will the next company follow suit next year?”
But it turns out that she won’t have to worry, at least for the rest of this year.
A Kaiser spokeswoman, Sandra R. Gregg, said on Friday that Kaiser had decided to suspend the change for the program involving federal employees in the mid-Atlantic region while it reviewed the new policy. The suspension will last for the rest of the year, she said. Ms. Steinwand and others who paid the new price for their drugs will be repaid the difference between the new price and the old co-payment.
Ms. Gregg explained that Kaiser had been discussing the new pricing plan with the Office of Personnel Management over the previous few days because patients had been raising questions about it. That led to the decision to suspend the changed pricing system.
”Letters will go out next week,” Ms. Gregg said.
But some with the new plans say they have no way out.
Julie Bass, who lives near Orlando, Fla., has metastatic breast cancer, lives on Social Security disability payments, and because she is disabled, is covered by insurance through a Medicare H.M.O. Ms. Bass, 52, said she had no alternatives to her H.M.O. She said she could not afford a regular Medicare plan, which has co-payments of 20 percent for such things as emergency care, outpatient surgery and scans. That left her with a choice of two Medicare H.M.O’s that operate in her region. But of the two H.M.O’s, her doctors accept only Wellcare.
Now, she said, one drug her doctor may prescribe to control her cancer is Tykerb. But her insurer, Wellcare, classifies it as Tier 4, and she knows she cannot afford it.
Wellcare declined to say what Tykerb might cost, but its list price according to a standard source, Red Book, is $3,480 for 150 tablets, which may last a patient 21 days. Wellcare requires patients to pay a third of the cost of its Tier 4 drugs.
”For everybody in my position with metastatic breast cancer, there are times when you are stable and can go off treatment,” Ms. Bass said. ”But if we are progressing, we have to be on treatment, or we will die.”
”People’s eyes need to be opened,” she said. ”They need to understand that these drugs are very costly, and there are a lot of people out there who are struggling with these costs.”

PHOTO: Robin Steinwand had been paying $20 a month for her multiple sclerosis drug, which she keeps in the refrigerator. When she went to pick up her prescription in January, it cost $325. (PHOTOGRAPH BY DANIEL ROSENBAUM FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES) (pg.A17)

CHART: COSTLIER PRESCRIPTIONS: Insurance companies have been adopting a pricing system for prescription drugs, often called Tier 4, in which patients pay 20 to 33 percent of the cost of certain highpriced drugs instead of a fixed fee for a prescription.

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April 14, 2008

Friday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor

Subscribe now to keep up to date on the latest news, articles and daily top stocks:

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Biotechnology

PDL BIOPHARMA INC [PDLI] +16.91%
SENESCO TECH [SNT] +10.40%
TRANSDEL PHARMACTL [TDLP.OB] +8.53%
METABASIS THERAPEUTI [MBRX] +8.14%
MICROMET INC [MITI] +7.94%

Diagnostic Substances

ORCHID CELLMARK INC [ORCH] +5.36%
PRESSURE BIOSCIENC [PBIO] +3.42%
REMOTEMDX INC [RMDX.OB] +3.25%
LEXICON PHARMACEUTCL [LXRX] +1.53%
IMMUCELL CP [ICCC] +1.36%

Drug Delivery

ACURA PHARMACEUTICAL [ACUR] +2.79%
COLUMBIA LABS INC [CBRX] +2.27%
ARADIGM CORP [ARDM.OB] +1.96%

Drug Manufacturers

MARSHALL EDWARDS [MSHL] +16.88%
NOVOGEN LTD ADS [NVGN] +7.83%
PROVECTUS PHARMA [PVCT.OB] +6.67%
ARDEA BIOSCIENCES [RDEA] +4.17%
MIDDLEBROOK PHARMACL [MBRK] +4.01%

Drug Related Products

INTEGRATED BIOPHARMA [INBP] +8.50%
NUTRACEUTICAL INTL [NUTR] +1.35%
CURATECH INDUSTRIES [CUTC.OB] +0.77%
DRAXIS HEALTH INC [DRAX] +0.51%

Generic Drugs

CATALYST PHARMACEUTI [CPRX] +4.27%
MYLAN INC [MYL] +0.08%

Medical Appliances & Equipment

SIGNALIFE INC. [SGN] +30.10%
NEWCARDIO, INC. [NWCI.OB] +5.41%
IVIVI TECHNOLOGIES, [IVVI] +5.00%
SRI/SURGICAL EXPRE [STRC] +4.78%
LECTEC CORP [LECT.OB] +4.55%

Medical Instruments & Supplies

INSULET CORPORATION [PODD] +4.51%
PRO-DEX INC NEW [PDEX] +3.29%
INFUSYSTEMS HOLDINGS [INHI.OB] +2.92%
CAS MEDICAL SYS INC [CASM] +2.10%
OCULUS INNOVATIVE SC [OCLS] +1.80%

Medical Laboratories & Research

BIO-IMAGING TECH [BITI] +2.96%
MEDTOX SCIENTFIC INC [MTOX] +0.54%

- Thursday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
- Wednesday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
__________________

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April 11, 2008

Brazil may reject patent of AIDS drug due to price

By admin

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

RIO DE JANEIRO, April 10 (Reuters) - Brazil has decreed U.S. pharmaceutical firm Gilead’s AIDS drug Tenofovir “in the public interest”, signaling it may reject its patent request because of a high price and negotiate imports of generic drug.
The Health Ministry said in a decree published on Wednesday patenting the drug in Brazil “was generating expectations of monopoly rights with an impact on the price of the product.”
Latin America’s largest country has an internationally-lauded AIDS prevention and treatment program, in which patients get free antiretroviral treatment.
The ministry said it had requested a priority examination of the patent filing by the company with the Brazilian INPI patent body, which will have to take into account the ministry’s objections.
“If no patent is issued, Brazil will be free to negotiate prices of the drug, be it generic or brand name,” a health ministry source told Reuters on Thursday, adding that the case was “not about compulsory licensing” or breaking patents.
A representative of Gilead Sciences Inc. in Brazil declined to comment on the issue but said high-ranking Gilead officials were in contact with the ministry to discuss the case.
The Health Ministry source said the case was different from last year’s bypassing of a Merck patent for Efavirenz drug.
Last May, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva authorized Brazil to sidestep the patent on an AIDS drug made by Merck & Co. Inc. and import a generic version from India instead. It was the first time Brazil bypassed a patent to acquire cheaper drugs for its AIDS program.
The process then also started with the government declaring the drug “in the public interest” and saying it was too expensive to buy.
If the Tenofovir patent is rejected, Brazil may choose to import generic drug using a clause in World Trade Organization rules to flout drug patents in the name of public health.
Other countries, including Canada, Italy and Thailand, have also used the WTO clause to gain access to cheaper AIDS drugs.

(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Maria Pia Palermo, writing by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Derek Caney)

Posted by ustaginnus@hotmail.com at 4/11/2008 0 comments

4.09.2008

Host of pricing models proposed for UK drugs

April 09, 2008
Financial Times
COMPANIES - UK

UK pharmaceuticals companies are introducing new drug pricing models as pressure mounts to offer better value for money.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), the government’s medicines advisory body that studies clinical and cost effectiveness, has agreed three different experimental approaches to pricing with drug companies in the past year alone.
Manufacturers have also proposed their own money-back offers and discounts as a way to win reimbursement by the National Health Service or boost sales for costly new treatments. The initiatives are important for drug companies’ sales and future pricing strategy around the world.
Belen Garijo, senior vice-president for Europe and Canada for Sanofi-Aventis, said: “Pressure to keep costs under control is forcing us more and more to document the value of new products. These are times of unprecedented change. The UK has almost invented pay for performance.”
While the UK accounts for about 3 per cent of global pharmaceutical sales, it has a disproportionately greater influence internationally, reflecting its importance in research and development, relatively high prices and methods of scrutiny.
Since its creation in 1999, Nice has advised against NHS use of costly new drugs including GlaxoSmithKline’s antiviral flu drug Relenza, its first decision, to more recent rejections of Pfizer’s oral insulin Exubera for diabetics and Eisai’s Aricept in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Aside from threats and legal appeals, the industry has also responded commercially. Drug pricing in the UK, like elsewhere in Europe, is tightly regulated. The UK’s Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), currently being renegotiated, forbids increases - although it permits and even periodically imposes reductions.
Pfizer worked within the system to launch a pioneering “outcomes guarantee programme” with 18 primary care trusts in 1999. It agreed to reimburse the extra costs of using its higher priced cholesterol-lowering Lipitor over other similar drugs if patients did not show improvement.
Other variants have followed. When in 2002 Nice advised against reimbursement of beta interferons, a class of drugs to treat multiple sclerosis, the Department of Health established a “risk-sharing” scheme. The NHS would pay but periodically review effectiveness, adjusting price as a result.
Then last June, Janssen-Cilag, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, avoided a negative Nice recommendation by agreeing to reimburse the NHS for the cost of Velcade, its multiple myeloma treatment, to any patients who failed to respond significantly.
The Office of Fair Trading last year endorsed “value- based pricing”, which is designed to link costs more closely to benefits, in a report calling for an overhaul of the PPRS. GSK argued prices should be re-examined after two to three years of patient use, with price increases or reductions in response to efficacy.
However, Panos Kanavos from the London School of Economics warns that such an approach “does not encourage risk taking or reward innovation”.
There are also practical difficulties. With Velcade, Nice was able to identify very precise medical measures to assess how far the medicine is helping patients. But for many other drugs, outcomes are more difficult to measure.
Michael Rawlins, chairman of Nice, suggests the potential for risk-sharing schemes is limited. “I doubt whether they have legs in the long run,” he said. He suggests companies propose them to avoid cutting prices in the UK - a decision that would spark copycat reductions by payers across Europe, but which is in any case inevitable over time.

(c) 2008 The Financial Times Limited. All rights reserved .

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April 11, 2008

To Antigenics or Not to Antigenics?

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by Michael Shulman
BiotechBlitz

Antigenics (AGEN) got a Russian approval for its cancer immunotherapy — a cancer “vaccine” is the sexy, headline grabbing term. This also created a few seconds of buzz around two other immunotherapy companies, Dendreon (DNDN) and Cell Genesys (CEGE). I mention these two other companies because (for purposes of full disclosure) I own CEGE stock and recommend it in my newsletter service. I also own a full hedged position of DNDN that I can’t wait to liquidate when my hedge expires.

In the United States, AGEN has failed to get approvals from the FDA for good reason: Its treatment, Oncophage, didn’t work in Phase III trials and didn’t even come close — which is at least a sort of argument DNDN could and did make.

Oncophage targets kidney cancer and was shown to work within a sub-group of patients with “lower-stage tumors,” and therefore a better shot at survival. 45% of these patients responded to Oncophage, hence the approval in a Russia looking to build new industries.

A couple of things are going on that are of critical interest to dying patients and some interest to investors:

• I started my career as a biotech wise-guy and sage, and I was a fan of the FDA under Dr. Mark McClellan. I now believe the agency kills far more people in a month than Rumsfeld and successors have done in Iraq. How? The FDA, despite what it says, does not really change its view of trial results for drugs for dying patients who have no hope.

Its statisticians hide behind numbers, insisting trial data be used only based on the original protocol for the trial — subset analyses not in the original plan are verboten. And this is true even for patients with absolutely no alternative other than a very painful death.

• Medicine is moving worldwide and if Antigenics can treat a cancer patient in Russia, people with money in the United States and Europe will go there for treatment — treatment that will be a lot cheaper than in the United States, even if Oncophage is approved in the U.S.

Immunotherapies from Antigenics and Dendreon are capital and labor intensive — treatments are literally customized and prepared in a factory for each patient — and Russia is a lot cheaper place to do that than other places.

• Professional investors are so disgusted with the FDA and so aware of the vibrant new international medicine market that they are willing to financially support the Antigenics business model. The proof is a new private offering by Antigenics to the tune of $21 million.

Where does this leave investors?

• AGEN is now an interesting play because it may now be able to generate revenue AND prove out its therapy in a distinctive sub-group of patients without needing huge additional infusions of capital.

• DNDN now has a fallback. I believe their interim trial results will not get them an approval due to the way the trial is structured and their final results may not be strong enough under the current regime of statistical fascism at the FDA. So, Dendreon could go to Russia, but probably would go the China or India route if necessary.

• Cell Genesys has by far the best-structured trials — it provide for patients with and without the current standard of late-stage care, have embedded metrics using immune system biomarkers and are huge. In my opinion CEGE stands the best chance of an FDA approval, but the Russia, India, China option helps CEGE too, as it now has a fallback if needed.

The bottom line here is that this was not a minor announcement by Antigenics. It has far-reaching ramifications and you can expect other companies with good sub-group analysis and life-saving treatments — but no FDA approval — to look to Russia, China and India for quick trials, drug approvals and an international base to build out their product.

And this reduces the risk in many companies.

BiotechBlitz is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
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April 11, 2008

Thursday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor

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Biotechnology

GENETIC TECH SPON [GENE] +18.21%
TRUBION PHARMACEUTIC [TRBN] +15.83%
XENACARE HOLDINGS [XCHO.OB] +15.38%
VION PHARMACEUTICALS [VION] +14.97%
NORTHFIELD LABS IN [NFLD] +13.86%

Diagnostic Substances

AVIGEN INC [AVGN] +14.58%
ISTA PHARMACTLS [ISTA] +9.41%
HUMAN GENOME SCI [HGSI] +8.33%
INFINITY PHARMACEUTI [INFI] +6.24%
LEXICON PHARMACEUTCL [LXRX] +5.38%

Drug Delivery

PENWEST PHARM CO [PPCO] +7.89%
GENEREX BIOTECH CORP [GNBT] +4.17%
ALKERMES INC [ALKS] +3.47%
ELAN CP PLC ADR [ELN] +3.17%
NOVEN PHARMACEUTIC [NOVN] +2.24%

Drug Manufacturers

MILLENNIUM PHARM [MLNM] +48.87%
GERON CORP [GERN] +12.73%
NEUROCHEM INC [NRMX] +9.82%
SIGA TECH INC [SIGA] +8.39%
GEOPHARMA INC [GORX] +7.20%

Drug Related Products

USANA HEALTH SCIEN [USNA] +4.82%
PRESTIGE BRAND HLGS [PBH] +3.13%
SALIX PHARM DEL [SLXP] +1.52%
AUXILIUM PHARMACEUT [AUXL] +1.28%
SCHIFF NUTRIT INTL [WNI] +0.71%

Generic Drugs

HI-TECH PHARMACAL [HITK] +13.08%
PHARMACUTICAL CO [PRX] +6.17%
CATALYST PHARMACEUTI [CPRX] +1.74%
CARACO PHARMA LABS [CPD] +1.47%
WATSON PHARMACEUTCLS [WPI] +0.71%

Medical Appliances & Equipment

IRIDEX CP [IRIX] +20.00%
PATIENT SAFETY TECH [PSTX.OB] +12.07%
BIOFORM MEDICAL, INC [BFRM] +9.47%
LECTEC CORP [LECT.OB] +8.91%
EDAP TMS SA ADR [EDAP] +8.45%

Medical Instruments & Supplies

OSTEOTECH INC [OSTE] +5.93%
NEUROMETRIX, INC. [NURO] +5.00%
SENORX, INC. [SENO] +4.97%
CANTEL MEDICAL CORP [CMN] +4.91%
NUCRYST PHARMACEUTIC [NCST] +4.55%

Medical Laboratories & Research

GENOPTIX, INC. [GXDX] +7.33%
ARRAY BIOPHARMA IN [ARRY] +5.60%
GENOMIC HEALTH, INC. [GHDX] +3.44%
ALLIANCE IMAGING INC [AIQ] +1.16%
PSYCHEMEDICS NEW [PMD] +0.53%

- Wednesday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
- Tuesday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
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April 10, 2008

Aida Pharma Affiliate Developing New Antibiotic

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by Richard Daverman, PhD
ChinaBio Today

Aida Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: AIDA) is working on a new wide-spectrum antibiotic that was discovered by its recently acquired affiliate, the Jiangsu Institute of Microbiology Co., Ltd (JSIM). Wetimicin, which belongs to a new generation of amino-glycoside antibiotics, is in Phase I trials. Aida believes the product will have a wider market than its current antibiotic, Etimicin Sulphate. In its various forms, Etimicin Sulphate produced the majority of Aida’s $29 million of revenues in 2007. Etimicin Sulphate belongs to the same family of antibiotics as Wetimicin.

Wetimicin is being tested as a treatment for inflammations (including respiratory infection, urinogenital infection, soft skin tissue infection) and also for infections from trauma and operations. JSIM expects that Wetimicin will prove to be safer and more reliable for children and elderly patients than current antibiotics.

Aida has a controlling interest in JSIM, but does not own it outright. It has a right of first refusal on any drugs that are granted marketing approval by the SFDA.

JSIM began working on the compound in 2000. Aida expects JSIM to begin a Phase II trial of Wetimicin later in 2008.

ChinaBio Today is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
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April 10, 2008

Wednesday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor

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Biotechnology

PROTEO INC [PTEO.OB] +31.19%
CHAMPIONS BIOTECHNLG [CSBR.OB] +9.52%
IOMAI CORPORATION [IOMI] +9.43%
LPATH INC [LPTN.OB] +9.03%
GENAERA CORP [GENR] +8.21%

Diagnostic Substances

ISTA PHARMACTLS [ISTA] +13.48%
TORREYPINES THERAPEU [TPTX] +6.37%
REMOTEMDX INC [RMDX.OB] +3.40%
AVALON PHARMACEUTIC [AVRX] +1.85%
AVIGEN INC [AVGN] +1.27%

Drug Delivery

GENEREX BIOTECH CORP [GNBT] +12.15%
ARADIGM CORP [ARDM.OB] +2.86%
ACURA PHARMACEUTICAL [ACUR] +2.55%
DELCATH SYSTEMS INC [DCTH] +0.41%
QUIGLEY CORP THE [QGLY] +0.39%

Drug Manufacturers

GENEREX BIOTECH CORP [GNBT] +12.15%
AMARIN CORP ADS [AMRN] +9.56%
DUSA PHARM INC [DUSA] +4.48%
MARSHALL EDWARDS [MSHL] +3.98%
AVANIR PHARMACEUTICL [AVNR] +3.88%

Drug Related Products

TIENS BIOTECH GR USA [TBV] +1.47%
PERRIGO COMPANY [PRGO] +0.82%
LABOPHARM INC. [DDSS] +0.45%

Generic Drugs

MYLAN INC [MYL] +3.02%
CATALYST PHARMACEUTI [CPRX] +2.47%
WATSON PHARMACEUTCLS [WPI] +0.73%

Medical Appliances & Equipment

LANGER INC [GAIT] +11.51%
ARRHYTHMIA RES TECH [HRT] +6.54%
EDAP TMS SA ADR [EDAP] +6.29%
ARTHROCARE CP [ARTC] +6.13%
BSD MEDICAL CORP [BSM] +3.98%

Medical Instruments & Supplies

EP MEDSYSTEMS INC [EPMD] +102.84%
THORATEC CORP [THOR] +7.78%
LEMAITRE VASCULAR [LMAT] +7.73%
INSULET CORPORATION [PODD] +5.58%
MEMRY CORPORATION [MRY] +5.26%

Medical Laboratories & Research

BIO-IMAGING TECH [BITI] +3.36%
LABORATORY CORP NEW [LH] +2.79%
QUEST DIAGNOSTC [DGX] +2.46%
PSYCHEMEDICS NEW [PMD] +0.53%
PHARM PROD DEV [PPDI] +0.09%

- Tuesday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
- Monday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
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April 9, 2008

Host of pricing models proposed for UK drugs

By admin

Submitted by THE HEALTH ECONOMICS BLOG

April 09, 2008
Financial Times
COMPANIES - UK

UK pharmaceuticals companies are introducing new drug pricing models as pressure mounts to offer better value for money.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice), the government’s medicines advisory body that studies clinical and cost effectiveness, has agreed three different experimental approaches to pricing with drug companies in the past year alone.
Manufacturers have also proposed their own money-back offers and discounts as a way to win reimbursement by the National Health Service or boost sales for costly new treatments. The initiatives are important for drug companies’ sales and future pricing strategy around the world.
Belen Garijo, senior vice-president for Europe and Canada for Sanofi-Aventis, said: “Pressure to keep costs under control is forcing us more and more to document the value of new products. These are times of unprecedented change. The UK has almost invented pay for performance.”
While the UK accounts for about 3 per cent of global pharmaceutical sales, it has a disproportionately greater influence internationally, reflecting its importance in research and development, relatively high prices and methods of scrutiny.
Since its creation in 1999, Nice has advised against NHS use of costly new drugs including GlaxoSmithKline’s antiviral flu drug Relenza, its first decision, to more recent rejections of Pfizer’s oral insulin Exubera for diabetics and Eisai’s Aricept in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Aside from threats and legal appeals, the industry has also responded commercially. Drug pricing in the UK, like elsewhere in Europe, is tightly regulated. The UK’s Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS), currently being renegotiated, forbids increases - although it permits and even periodically imposes reductions.
Pfizer worked within the system to launch a pioneering “outcomes guarantee programme” with 18 primary care trusts in 1999. It agreed to reimburse the extra costs of using its higher priced cholesterol-lowering Lipitor over other similar drugs if patients did not show improvement.
Other variants have followed. When in 2002 Nice advised against reimbursement of beta interferons, a class of drugs to treat multiple sclerosis, the Department of Health established a “risk-sharing” scheme. The NHS would pay but periodically review effectiveness, adjusting price as a result.
Then last June, Janssen-Cilag, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, avoided a negative Nice recommendation by agreeing to reimburse the NHS for the cost of Velcade, its multiple myeloma treatment, to any patients who failed to respond significantly.
The Office of Fair Trading last year endorsed “value- based pricing”, which is designed to link costs more closely to benefits, in a report calling for an overhaul of the PPRS. GSK argued prices should be re-examined after two to three years of patient use, with price increases or reductions in response to efficacy.
However, Panos Kanavos from the London School of Economics warns that such an approach “does not encourage risk taking or reward innovation”.
There are also practical difficulties. With Velcade, Nice was able to identify very precise medical measures to assess how far the medicine is helping patients. But for many other drugs, outcomes are more difficult to measure.
Michael Rawlins, chairman of Nice, suggests the potential for risk-sharing schemes is limited. “I doubt whether they have legs in the long run,” he said. He suggests companies propose them to avoid cutting prices in the UK - a decision that would spark copycat reductions by payers across Europe, but which is in any case inevitable over time.

(c) 2008 The Financial Times Limited. All rights reserved .

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April 9, 2008

Drug Recycling: Not Much of a Solution

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by David E. Williams
Health Business Blog

The Associated Press reports that most US states have implemented “drug recycling” programs or are considering doing so. The basic idea is to accept donations of unused drugs and re-dispense them to people in need. It sounds like a good idea on the surface. After all, why should the drugs go to waste when there are people who can’t afford their prescriptions?
I’m sure that some people are helped by such programs and that the people running them have the best of intentions. Still, I have some concerns:

Donations aren’t likely to be particularly steady, so I don’t see how chronically ill patients will be able to count on gaining access to a specific drug and dose over a long period of time

Although there are some restrictions on who can donate and what can be donated, there will definitely be concerns over the integrity of the supply chain. I’m worried more about drugs being stored in poor conditions (e.g., heat, humidity) than tampering

Inventory management will be hard. The donation centers want products six months or more before expiration, but will be challenged to manage stock. It’s expensive to do it well

The administrative costs of these programs will be large relative to the volume of drugs. Even the larger programs seem to be dispensing only hundreds of thousands of dollars per year worth of products (though of course that could increase)

There are better, more cost-effective ways to get products into the hands of patients who can’t afford them:

Patient Assistance Programs run by drug manufacturers. States and/or private agencies could put their resources into publicizing the existence of these programs rather than scrounging for donations of unwanted products

Increased generic utilization. Generic drugs are generally cheap. (Take $4 Wal-Mart generics for example.) I’m sure the drug recycling programs spend more than $4 per prescription even though they get the drugs for free

Health Business Blog is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor

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April 9, 2008

Tuesday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor

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Biotechnology

ANTIGENICS INC [AGEN] +22.67%
ADVANCED LIFE SCIENC [ADLS] +16.68%
PLURISTEM THERAPEUTC [PSTI] +15.44%
REPLIGEN CP [RGEN] +14.10%
ARTES MEDICAL, INC. [ARTE] +11.11%

Diagnostic Substances

IMMUCELL CP [ICCC] +10.26%
ISTA PHARMACTLS [ISTA] +7.23%
ROSETTA GENOMICS LTD [ROSG] +4.82%
SCOLR PHARMA INC [DDD] +4.13%
SURMODICS INC [SRDX] +3.61%

Drug Delivery

DELCATH SYSTEMS INC [DCTH] +16.75%
FLAMEL TECH SA ADR [FLML] +2.52%
NOVEN PHARMACEUTIC [NOVN] +2.51%
MATRIXX INITIATVS [MTXX] +2.18%
BIOVAIL CORP [BVF] +0.91%

Drug Manufacturers

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICL [ACCP.OB] +41.18%
DELCATH SYSTEMS INC [DCTH] +16.75%
NEUROCHEM INC [NRMX] +12.93%
DUSA PHARM INC [DUSA] +12.06%
SUCAMPO PHARMA. INC. [SCMP] +10.80%

Drug Related Products

XELR8 HOLDINGS, INC [BZI] +8.11%
NATURAL ALTERNATIV [NAII] +5.55%
PRESTIGE BRAND HLGS [PBH] +2.63%
AUXILIUM PHARMACEUT [AUXL] +2.59%
SALIX PHARM DEL [SLXP] +2.25%

Generic Drugs

MYLAN INC [MYL] +3.02%
CATALYST PHARMACEUTI [CPRX] +2.47%
WATSON PHARMACEUTCLS [WPI] +0.73%

Medical Appliances & Equipment

SRI/SURGICAL EXPRE [STRC] +14.21%
FONAR CORP [FONR] +12.33%
BIOFORM MEDICAL, INC [BFRM] +10.37%
EDAP TMS SA ADR [EDAP] +9.15%
NXSTAGE MEDICAL, INC [NXTM] +8.86%

Medical Instruments & Supplies

MEDPRO SAFETY PD [MPSP.OB] +13.33%
VASCULAR SOLUTIONS [VASC] +12.66%
LEMAITRE VASCULAR [LMAT] +10.40%
BOVIE MEDICAL CORP [BVX] +9.57%
EV3 INC. [EVVV] +7.47%

Medical Laboratories & Research

NEOGENOMICS INC [NGNM.OB] +1.98%
GENOPTIX, INC. [GXDX] +1.19%
BIO-REFERENCE LAB [BRLI] +0.87%
PSYCHEMEDICS NEW [PMD] +0.81%
ENZO BIOCHEM INC [ENZ] +0.56%

- Monday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
- Friday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
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April 9, 2008

Nanogen Strengthens Active Partnering and Licensing Program

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by Doug Cress
Med Tech Sentinel

Nanogen and Thermo Fisher Scientific Partner to Provide Molecular Biology Products to the Research Market

As the biomedical industry works to gain a better understanding of the molecular basis of disease, the need for specific methods to detect genetic variation are becoming increasingly central to research.

San Diego, CA-based Nanogen (NGEN) has developed a suite of molecular genetics technologies; the company’s product line includes instruments, electronic microarrays, reagents, ELISAs and rapid tests sold directly to end-users through licenses, and through a network of distributors in North America, Europe and Asia.

In a deal announced last week, Thermo Fisher Scientific will become the exclusive provider of a variety of Nanogen products used in gene-expression experiments.

The agreement covers both custom and standard catalog products based on Nanogen’s technology for real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction, a method of duplicating small amounts of DNA to assess its make-up) applications. This probe technology (a probe is a fragment of DNA which is used to detect in DNA or RNA samples the presence of nucleotide sequences – the DNA target – that are complementary to the sequence in the probe) will incorporate Nanogen’s proprietary Minor Groove Binder (MGB) technology.

Minor Groove Binder

The Minor Groove Binder is a crescent-shaped molecule that when coupled to an oligonucleotide (a short molecule of single-stranded DNA) probe improves efficiency and specificity compared to longer traditional probes.

According to Howard Birndorf, Nanogen’s CEO, “[MGB] provides product differentiation and superior performance for our research and clinical customers employing widely-used real-time PCR applications for molecular and gene-expression analysis.”

The company was issued two patents for the technology in May 2005.

Nanogen’s MGB technology is licensed broadly in various fields and is now an integral component in thousands of PCR probe products. Nanogen has more than 35 reagent and kit products that are sold for clinical diagnostic use under the MGB Alert and Q-PCR Alert brands.

Applied Biosystems (ABI) had licensed MGB for use in the company’s TaqMan products, a life science research product library for PCR applications. In a deal announced earlier this month, DRI Capital acquired for $10 million all future royalties to be generated by ABI’s licensing of MGB.

Strong Revenue Growth

Nanogen has managed to consistently grow revenues over the past several years: from $5.3 million in 2004 to $12.5 million in 2005 to $26 million in 2006. In 2007 revenues were $38.2 million (an increase of 43% YOY).

Total fiscal 2008 revenues are expected to increase by approximately 25% from 2007 levels with a gross margin of approximately 60%.

Nanogen stock opened at $.42 today, down from a 52-week high of $2.07.

Med Tech Sentinel is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor

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April 9, 2008

Monday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by H.S. Ayoub
BioHealth Investor

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Biotechnology

PLURISTEM THERAPEUTC [PSTI] +107.90%
TRANSDEL PHARMACTL [TDLP.OB] +54.55%
METABASIS THERAPEUTI [MBRX] +21.29%
AETERNA ZENTARIS [AEZS] +17.14%
LIFECELL CP [LIFC] +16.94%

Diagnostic Substances

TORREYPINES THERAPEU [TPTX] +16.91%
MONOGRAM BIOSCIENCES [MGRM] +5.26%
ROSETTA GENOMICS LTD [ROSG] +4.85%
ISTA PHARMACTLS [ISTA] +4.40%
INFINITY PHARMACEUTI [INFI] +3.55%

Drug Delivery

GENEREX BIOTECH CORP [GNBT] +10.89%
ELAN CP PLC ADR [ELN] +6.92%
NEKTAR THERAPEUTIC [NKTR] +5.00%
COLUMBIA LABS INC [CBRX] +3.57%
DELCATH SYSTEMS INC [DCTH] +2.45%

Drug Manufacturers

SUCAMPO PHARMA. INC. [SCMP] +13.68%
SEPRACOR INC [SEPR] +9.50%
PHARMAXIS LTD ADR [PXSL] +8.87%
OSCIENT PHARMACEUT [OSCI] +6.98%
WYETH [WYE] +6.59%

Drug Related Products

ARGAN INC [AGX] +7.72%
CURATECH INDUSTRIES [CUTC.OB] +6.67%
XELR8 HOLDINGS, INC [BZI] +5.71%
CHINA SHENGHUO PHARM [KUN] +4.17%
MANNATECH INC [MTEX] +3.07%

Generic Drugs

HELICOS BIOSCIENCES [HLCS] +5.66%
CATALYST PHARMACEUTI [CPRX] +3.52%
WATSON PHARMACEUTCLS [WPI] +2.63%
MYLAN INC [MYL] +2.19%
PHARMACUTICAL CO [PRX] +1.81%

Medical Appliances & Equipment

CYTOCORE INC [CYOE.OB] +10.42%
HANSEN MEDICAL, INC. [HNSN] +6.94%
RTI BIOLOGICS INC [RTIX] +6.71%
DIGIRAD CORPORATION [DRAD] +6.11%
ARRHYTHMIA RES TECH [HRT] +5.87%

Medical Instruments & Supplies

DEXCOM [DXCM] +15.77%
BIOSPHERE MEDICAL [BSMD] +13.53%
ANGEION CORP [ANGN] +8.26%
MEMRY CORPORATION [MRY] +7.77%
PRO-DEX INC NEW [PDEX] +6.54%

Medical Laboratories & Research

MEDTOX SCIENTFIC INC [MTOX] +4.23% $0
NATL DENTEX CP [NADX] +4.16% $104.5 M
ALLIANCE IMAGING INC [AIQ] +1.27% $531.8 M
BIO-IMAGING TECH [BITI] +0.86% $33.5 M
PHARM PROD DEV [PPDI] +0.71%

- Friday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks
- Thursday’s Top Medical & Biotech Stocks

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April 7, 2008

No Recession in Healthcare

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by David E. Williams
Health Business Blog

The housing market’s in a tailspin, gas and food prices are crazy and the “R” word is in the air. Retailers are seeing a drop in business and more people are taking public transportation.

But you wouldn’t know about any sort of slowdown if you did what I did and tried to park at the Tufts Medical Center in Boston today. I arrived at about 1:30 pm and went into the parking garage. I drove all the way to the top without spotting a single open parking place. (I even looked in the handicap section: completely full!) Plenty of other people were driving around and having the same experience. When I finally gave up and exited the cashier admitted the lot was full. Meanwhile cars kept coming through the gate, one after the other.

I then went to the valet parking lot but the valet initially refused to take me! He said I had to be a patient or visiting a patient. He finally relented when I insisted I was going to a business meeting at the medical center and would only be there an hour. But he wasn’t happy about it.

Demand for health care in Boston (and everywhere else in the US) is insatiable. Decreasing the number of uninsured as we’re doing in Massachusetts and as all the presidential candidates are talking about is going to drive demand even higher. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to help with costs.

Health Business Blog is a regular contributor to BioHealth Investor
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April 7, 2008

No Recession in Healthcare

By admin

Submitted by BioHealth Investor Blog

by David E. Williams
Health Business Blog

The housing