Monthly Archives: May 2011

Pill Mill Bill Goes To Scott

With a key lawmaker likening it to a war, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed a bill Friday that seeks to wipe out the state’s pill-mill industry and curb prescription-drug abuse.

Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi made a rare appearance in the House chamber as lawmakers gave final approval to the bill (HB 7095) in the closing hours of the legislative session.

Bondi helped broker a deal between the House and Senate that is designed to crack down on unscrupulous clinics, doctors and pharmacies that have made Florida a magnet for drug users and traffickers.

“Quite simply, we’re at war,” said House sponsor Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill. “We’re at war with this prescription-drug epidemic.”

The bill, in part, will increase criminal and administrative penalties against doctors who are involved in prescription-drug wrongdoing. Also, it would ban most doctors from dispensing two categories of controlled substances in their offices or clinics.

At the same time, the bill will require a new permitting process for pharmacies that want to dispense dangerous painkillers — an effort to prevent fly-by-night pharmacies from acting as suppliers.

Also, lawmakers decided to continue moving forward with a controversial prescription-drug database that will help track sales of controlled substances. Scott and some legislative leaders called earlier this year for eliminating the database because of concerns about infringing on patient privacy.

Senate sponsor Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said the database is slated to start operating by Aug. 28, after numerous delays.

House and Senate debates Friday focused more on the devastation of prescription-drug abuse than the details of the bill. Unscrupulous storefront clinics have operated in various parts of the state in recent years, drawing addicts from as far away as Kentucky.

But Paul Sloan, president of the Florida Society of Pain Management Providers, questioned the effectiveness of the bill.

For example, Sloan pointed to a legislative decision that will bar the use of financial contributions from the pharmaceutical industry to help pay for the prescription-drug database. Lawmakers have refused to use tax dollars to pay for the database, and the decision will eliminate a potential $1 million contribution from the drug company Purdue Pharma.

More broadly, Sloan said in an email that lawmakers should deal with addiction issues that drive demand for the drugs, rather than trying to “arrest our way out of the predicament.”

“This so-called solution has a 40-year history of outright failure, yet we repeat it every year,” Sloan said.

The debate Friday was personal to some lawmakers, who talked about constituents or family members who have struggled with addictions to drugs such as oxycodone.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said some bad doctors have gotten away with “murder” by supplying prescription drugs to users. He said the epidemic has particularly hit young people.

“It’s not a rich person’s problem, it’s not a poor person’s problem,” Bennett said. “It’s a kids’ problem.”

Rep. Rich Glorioso, a Plant City Republican who has a family member with a prescription-drug problem, said the bill will keep young people from dying.

“Tonight, we have an opportunity to stop … the death, the destruction of our young ones, our future leaders,” Glorioso said.

Bondi has made combating pill mills one of her top priorities and said she was on the phone at 3 a.m. Friday with House Speaker Dean Cannon to try to get agreement on the bill.

One of the final issues was a House proposal that would have banned drug wholesalers from selling to a retail pharmacy more than 5,000 “unit doses” a month of oxycodone, hydrocodone or other types of often-abused drugs.

Bondi said that limit would be too low for some legitimate pharmacies, such as those near the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. The negotiations led lawmakers to drop the 5,000 unit-dose limit but require a study to determine a more-appropriate amount.

Also watching closely Friday was physician Stephanie Haridopolos, the wife of Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island.

Stephanie Haridopolos said she tried to make sure her husband didn’t “waver” on issues such as the drug-monitoring database. She said she has seen patients who have asked for help dealing with prescription-drug problems and expressed frustration with doctors who supply addicts.

“They should have penalties like attempted murder,” the family-practice doctor said.

Fastrack Unveils New Ownership Program For Internet Hosting Clients

Fastrack Healthcare Systems, Inc. announced today a new program for clients of their SaaS, also commonly known as Hosted Model, for utilizing their HME/DME, Infusion Pharmacy and Home Healthcare Agency software.

According to Spencer Kay, President of Fastrack, “Our clients have a choice of licensing the software to run on their in-house servers or to utilize our Hosted Model in which they access the software on Fastrack servers via the Internet. The new ownership program is the first of its’ kind in that a large portion of the monthly hosting fees are applied to the purchase price if the client decides they want to own the software license. Most clients will own the software in approximately 42 months, however they can pay the difference at any time to obtain ownership. Ownership potentially offers significant tax advantages and the software can be reflected as an asset of the business increasing its value. Paying hosting fees without potential ownership is like throwing money out the window.”

Under the Fastrack Hosting Program clients have an additional benefit over other offerings in that they can bring the software in-house at any time. Fastrack Hosting offers access to the full application including patient intake, billing with electronic claims submission, ERA auto cash posting, CSI, Same & Similar status, inventory control, purchasing, clinical module and more, without the need to have their own server and the related expenses.

The Hosting Solution offers clients one low monthly payment with minimal upfront costs. Hosting clients benefit from Fastrack services including; server software upgrades, hardware maintenance, data back-ups, disaster recovery, power generator in case of a power failure and redundant Internet service provider.

Kantar Health’s Anne Laprade Honored as 2011 HBA Rising Star

Anne LaPrade, R.Ph., Account Director at Kantar Health, a leading healthcare-focused global consultancy and marketing insights company, was honored today as an industry Rising Star by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) at its 2011 Woman of the Year luncheon in New York.

As Account Director in the Commercial Development practice, Ms. LaPrade is responsible for ensuring that her clients receive the maximum benefit from engaging Kantar Health’s global consulting services. In her client-facing role, she is responsible for understanding the specific business needs of her clients and ensuring they obtain the support they need. Ms. LaPrade’s activities provide direct support for strategy development, market access, epidemiology and forecasting, business development and other major client requirements in the increasingly complex healthcare marketplace.

“Through challenges with deadlines and clients, Anne remains highly professional, operating smoothly and ensuring client expectations are fulfilled,” says Ian Hicks, Senior Vice President in Kantar Health’s Commercial Development practice. “Her ‘can-do’ attitude makes her a trusted advisor to the client and her Kantar Health colleagues, leading her to be sought after for insight, opinion and comment.”

Ms. LaPrade has over 20 years of direct pharmaceutical industry experience spanning research and development, operations, strategic planning, global commercialization, marketing, sales operations, and regulatory. Her experience spans several pharmaceutical companies, including the predecessors of Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, and AstraZeneca. Ms LaPrade has been involved in new product development launches from the research and development side all the way through to sales planning, training, and launch. Ms. LaPrade has an extensive background in strategic planning, forecasting, and project management. Ms. LaPrade received her Pharmacy degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

About HBA
The Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, founded in 1977, as a global organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of women in healthcare worldwide. With 14 chapters and affiliates throughout the U.S. and Europe, the HBA has over 5,000 individual members and over 130 Corporate Partners. It is widely recognized as the catalyst for the leadership development of women in healthcare worldwide.

Big Tobacco Claims FDA Stacked the Deck

Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming the federal agencies stacked the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee with “a clique” who have “severe financial and appearance conflicts of interest and associated biases” on the tobacco industry.
In their federal complaint, Lorillard and Reynolds claim three members of the FDA committee (TPSAC) and three members of its subcommittee also serve as “paid expert witnesses in litigation against tobacco-product manufacturers” and are employed as “consultants for … large pharmaceutical companies that manufacture nicotine-replacement-therapy products and other smoking-cessation products.”
The tobacco companies also sued FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, and Lawrence Deyton, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a 73-page complaint that accuses them of violating the “applicable ethics rules” of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
“Of the eight current voting members of the Committee, three (including the Chair) constitute a clique who have the same or similar views and are all on one side of the substantial controversy within public-health and tobacco-control communities as to whether enough is currently known to conclude that smokeless tobacco products can play a beneficial role in reducing the harm from tobacco,” the companies say.
They claim that three members of a 12-member subcommittee of TPSAC also serve as expert witnesses in litigation against tobacco manufacturers.

The cigarette makers claim the TPSAC’s allegedly unethical behavior will affect a report on the effects of menthol and the controversy over whether smokeless-tobacco products reduce the harm of tobacco.
Lorillard and Reynolds want a declaration that the appointment of the six conflicted members of TPSAC and its subcommittee was arbitrary and capricious.
And they want “the defendants … enjoined from transmitting, or otherwise making available, to the TPSAC or to its Constituents Subcommittee any of the Plaintiffs’ trade secret or confidential commercial documents or other trade secret or confidential commercial information provided heretofore by any of the Plaintiffs to any of the Defendants unless and until the TPSAC or the Constituents Subcommittee, as relevant, is lawfully composed; and that the Plaintiffs need not produce to any of the Defendants any trade secret or confidential commercial documents or other trade secret or confidential commercial information that otherwise would be provided to the TPSAC or to its Constituents Subcommittee unless and until the TPSAC and/or the Constituents Subcommittee, as relevant, is lawfully composed. ”

Is FDA Driving Off New Drug Research?

Pfizer’s plan to move its antibiotics research from Groton to China should worry U.S. lawmakers for reasons that go way beyond the jobs this nation will lose.

Pfizer’s move is the latest sign that the U.S. is losing its edge in antibiotics innovation.

Pfizer is one of the few remaining big pharmaceutical companies still in the field of antibiotics. That field is less profitable than the chronic-disease drug industry. And it is so tightly regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, experts say, that it’s crushing new product development.

Yet bacteria are clever at evolving into lethal new forms resistant to the antibacterials on the market today.

England was so stunned by Pfizer’s announcement that the company was also shuttering its research facility in Sandwich that members of Parliament threatened to bring in company executives for questioning. The U.S. should take note.

Pfizer is resorting to the move to cheaper quarters — as well as cutting its esearch and development budget — in anticipation of leaner times when its patent on Lipitor, the highly popular drug, runs out later this year.

The FDA is properly vigilant in safeguarding the public in the development of new drugs. But is the agency forcing pharmaceutical firms into the arms of foreign nations with less sterling reputations for quality control? Isn’t there some way to increase the incentives for antibiotic research in the United States, such as giving developers longer patents, to recoup their investments in these life-saving drugs? And to keep them here?

Pinney and Lifetree collaborate to offer ‘one-stop’ solution for CNS drugs

Pinney Associates, a Maryland, US-based science and health policy consultants, has announced news of a collaboration with research specialists, Lifetree Clinical Research.

The deal, described by the companies as “unmatched,” aims to provide clients with “one-stop comprehensive clinical, regulatory, and post-marketing services for central nervous system (CNS) drugs” – an area of particular expertise for Pinney.

The two companies say news of their collaboration comes at a critical time for the pharmaceutical industry as the FDA increases its activities on issues relating to risk management and mitigation, such as interactions between drug ingredients, and human behaviour.

Jack Henningfield, vice president of research and health policy at Pinney, said: “Human abuse liability testing addresses the FDA requirement to include studies relevant to abuse for CNS-acting drugs. It is a vital component in the development of any CNS drug.”

Study design

The collaboration, says Pinney, will provide pharma sponsors with a broad range of services, including the offer to conduct and design studies, as well as analyse and interpret data and handle the subsequent regulatory filings required under the FDA’s Controlled Substances Act, and its Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS).

“Our clinical research staff delivers quality GCP-standard clinical trials necessary for regulatory submissions of CNS drugs,” said Lynn Webster, chief medical director at Lifetree, “We understand the problems in evaluating abuse liability and provide solutions. Timely assessments conducted as early as phase one may yield important information useful for clinical trial designs.”

High standards

Alice Jackson, president and co-founder of Lifetree, said:”Through this partnership our high standards for the design, conduct and interpretation of clinical studies will be further strengthened,” a sentiment echoed by Jeffrey Kinell, CEO of CRI Worldwide, whose company acquired Lifetree in January this year.

“The collaboration with Pinney builds upon a legacy of scientific advancement as pharmaceutical sponsors seek highly specialised services for their emerging human abuse liability needs,” Kinell said.

John Pinney, president of Pinney Associates said he believed news of the collaboration would interest potential clients seeking expertise in human abuse liability and risk management.

“For sponsors, integration of these services enables them to secure product approvals, obtain the appropriate labelling and scheduling, and develop comprehensive risk management that will be reassuring to regulators,” he said.

Lawmakers look to explain law restricting certain cold medications

CHARLESTON — Lawmakers are aiming to clear up false information regarding a bill designed to keep key ingredients for methamphetamine out of the hands of drug dealers.

House Bill 2946 aims to require a prescription for 15 over-the-counter allergy and cold medicines containing ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine. The bill was passed Monday by a margin of 77-23 and was communicated to the State Senate.

Before the bill went up before the House; however, pharmaceutical industry backed robocalls claimed the bill would raise drug prices and keep needed medications out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.

Delegate Marty Gearheart, R-Mercer, said he and other delegates have gotten hundreds of calls from concerned citizens who have received only partial information about the bill.

“It seems like there is a lot of not misinformation but partial information being transmitted to the elderly community via these robocalls,” Gearheart said. “Members of the pharmaceutical industry are targeting elderly people, telling them this bill would prevent them from getting cold medication without a prescription, and asking them to contact their legislators if they are against that. The switchboard then switches it over to our answering machines.”

However, Gearheart said the goal of the bill is not to make all cold medicine’s prescription drugs but instead to put prescriptions on cold medications that contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, all of which are key ingredients used to make methamphetamine.

“Most of the folks haven’t heard the whole story,” Gearheart said. “The robocall simply asks people if they want a prescription to buy their cold medicine without telling them what the bill really entails. Several other delegates and I have received literally hundreds of messages from constituents who haven’t been educated about what this bill is really about. There just isn’t a full display of information with this robocall.”

According to Gearheart, plenty of evidence from other states backs up the legislator’s decision to put more restrictions on certain cold medication.

“The main goal of this bill is to get ingredients in meth away from those who would use them to make meth, and that is why I voted for it,” Gearheart said. “There are over a hundred different things available for people to buy instead. We have evidence from similar legislation enacted in Mississippi and Oregon that this will work.”

Gearheart said most people are for the bill once they have been given a chance to fully analyze it.

“When I have gotten back to some of the people who have left messages and explained this to them, they suddenly agree and want us to vote for this bill to keep meth out of their community,” he said. “With the problems we already have in Bluefield, we don’t need to add methamphetamine to the list.”

Delegate Clif Moore, D-McDowell, also wants to assure constituents money on medicines will not be raised.

“I’ve read that bill through and through,” Moore said. “I’ve been in two committees that bill has gone through and I voted for the bill when it came up on the floor. There is nothing in this bill that prevents people from getting medicines they need. We passed this bill to stop meth labs.”

Moore said the misinformation spread about the bill has hidden it’s true purpose.

“There is a lot of misinformation about this bill floating around,” Moore said. “We only passed this bill so we would see a reduction of meth labs in the state. Other states have seen 60 to 80 percent decrease in meth labs due to similar legislation at no cost to law-abiding citizens. Drug usage in our part of the country is an epidemic and we need to stop this epidemic.”

Delegate Joe Ellington, R-Mercer, is also a licensed physician and a co-sponsor of House Bill 2946. Ellington said he has also received similar calls from constituents and said not all of the information about the bill is being presented in the robocalls.

“Pretty much, the bill looks at crack down on methamphetamine production,” Ellington said. “Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine, those three ingredients are precursors to meth and are found easily in several common, over-the-counter cold medicines like Claritin D or Allegra D. These medicines have a decongestant and an antihistamine in them with sudafed. This would set up a barrier where people who make meth can’t send in tons of other people to go in and by tons of these drugs to use.”

Ellington said some measures are already in place to stop the flow of meth in West Virginia, but more efforts are needed.

“We’ve seen an increase in meth here and we are trying to slow down ‘smurfing’,’ which is people going from drug store to drug store and buying up these products,” Ellington said. “We’ve found it had some success, but they’ve started to use other people’s IDs to avoid getting caught. We’ve already instituted putting these drugs behind the counter and logging who buys what, but that can only do so much.”

Ellington said a lot of information presented to citizens in the robocalls was incorrect or presented in a false light.

“One of the main concerns from these robocalls is cost and we will not see an increase in costs to these medications,” he said. “As a physician, I know I don’t want to be writing more prescriptions than I absolutely need to. Most physicians will grant prescriptions to their patients without them needing to pay for an office visit every time they get a cold, especially if they have a long-standing relationship with those patients. This bill will only affected 15 cold remedies. There are hundreds of others that can be used in their place.”

Colonel T. S. Pack, Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police, voiced his support of the bill as well through a statement issued by the state police.

“Meth labs affect all of us because there are very volatile solutions that can cause explosions and fires in house, apartments, vehicles, and even motel rooms,” Pack said in the statement. “Three children were killed one week ago, aged 1, 3, and 4, in a meth lab in Atlanta. Meth users have a large amount of child abuse and neglect due to the fact the addiction is so strong they lose even the sense of personal hygiene. Meth addicts don’t care about themselves much less their children. Officials from Mississippi and Oregon estimate 60 to 80 percent of all pseudoephedrine sold in their states before the scheduling was used for the production of meth. It will be very easy for the legitimate consumer to obtain pseudoephedrine with a doctor’s prescription, which can be done once or twice a year if needed.”

Pack said meth is starting to hit home in West Virginia as well.

“West Virginia costs for lab cleanups in 2009 were $391,400 and $473,300 in 2010, which is just the cost of chemical cleanup,” he said. “This cost has been taken care of by the DEA in the past; however, funding has been depleted and now West Virginia will be paying for its own cleanup.This bill only affects 15 products in the stores and there will be over 130 cold and sinus products in the store to be sold over the counter.”

According to Ellington, a minor inconvenience at the pharmacy counter is worth curbing meth usage in West Virginia.

“It may be an inconvenience to some people, but with the risk to society meth poses, I think it’s worth it,” Ellington said. “Law enforcement are very behind this bill. It’s a small price to pay to get our kids off of this stuff and stop the traffic of it in and out of our state.”

OMNICARE: STOCK ON THE MOVE HIGHER, UP 0.9% (OCR)

Mar 02, 2011 (SmarTrend(R) Market Surveillance via COMTEX) — Omnicare (NYSE:OCR) is one of today’s notable stocks on the rise, up 0.9% to $29.45. The S&P is currently trading fractionally higher to 1,309 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading 0.2% higher to 12,084.

Omnicare is in SmarTrend’s Pharmacy Services industry and this industry is currently in an Uptrend according to our research. We are monitoring many other stocks on the move within this industry.

In the last five trading sessions, the 50-day MA has climbed 1.01% while the 200-day MA has remained constant.

In the past 52 weeks, shares of Omnicare have traded between a low of $19.14 and a high of $30.63 and are now at $29.45, which is 54% above that low price.

SmarTrend currently has shares of Omnicare in an Uptrend and issued the Uptrend alert on December 23, 2010 at $25.05. The stock has risen 16.6% since the Uptrend alert was issued.

Thousands march in India against EU trade deal

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Thousands of HIV-positive protesters took to the streets in downtown New Delhi on Wednesday (2 March), concerned that an imminent EU-India free trade agreement (FTA) will end the production of affordable life-prolonging drugs.

The rally of more than 2,000 demonstrators from India and other Asian countries coincided with the re-start of sensitive trade negotiations in Brussels, with officials suggesting an end to the 2007-initiated talks is in sight.

But opponents of the deal say an EU request for a ‘data exclusivity’ clause will drive the price of generic drugs made in India above an affordable level for people in poorer countries.

“More than 80 percent of the AIDS drugs our medical practitioners use to treat 175,000 people in developing countries are affordable generics from India,” said Paul Cawthorne, a spokesman for Paris-based humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

“Beyond AIDS, we rely on producers in India for drugs to treat other illnesses, such as tuberculosis and malaria. We cannot afford to let our patients lifeline be cut,” Mr Cawthorne added, reports AFP.

Medicines have proved a sticking point in the ongoing discussions, with the EU keen to secure India’s commitment to a strong intellectual property rights regime with respect to drugs.

European drug manufacturers complain that many of their patented products are frequently undercut by generics produced in India. EU customs officials have seized a number of containments bound for the 27-member state market over the past few years.

Until recently, Indian regulations allowed pharmaceutical companies to patent only drug-making processes and not the final products. Pressure from the World Trade Organisation has resulted in a tightening of those rules, but not as much as the EU would like.

Critics of the FTA say Europe’s demand for ‘data exclusivity’ would mean that clinical trial data filed by one company could not be relied upon by other companies. As a result, the need for each firm to produce its own clinical trial tests would dramatically increase the price of medicines, they complain.

The United Nations is among those who also fear ‘data exclusivity’ provisions could act like a patent and block more affordable generic medicines from the market.

“It would be a colossal mistake to introduce data exclusivity in India, when millions of people across the globe depend on the country as the pharmacy of the developing world’,” said Anand Grover, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.

The EU is India’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in goods and services between the two sides in 2009 was worth just under €69 billion, according to European Commission figures.

Another sensitive issue in the talks relates to the automobile sector, one of the subjects being discussed by commission and Indian negotiators this week. Here Europe is pushing for a reduction in Indian import tariffs on European cars, currently around 110 percent. Indian car manufacturers are against the move.

“We are aware of the position of the Indian car industry with respect to the negotiations,” EU trade spokesman John Clancy told the Business Standard newspaper this week. “But it is clear that in order for the EU to support this agreement, access to India’s car market must be improved significantly.”

A compromise deal could revolve around the abolition of tariffs on high-end, luxury cars, while small models retain a degree of protection.

India Contract Manufacturing Industry Set for Magnificent Growth

India has become a prominent destination for the purpose of contract manufacturing of pharma products due to rising concerns over high production costs. Additionally, pharma giants are looking for convenient and faster transportation of products to the target markets. Besides, sponsor companies are looking to outsource related services, such as product development, packaging, and logistics. According to our latest research offering, “Indian Contract Manufacturing – A Hot Opportunity”, the contract manufacturing industry in is expected to grow at a magnificent CAGR of over 45% during 2011-2013. Growth will be much higher than the past years as the impacts of the global recession are wearing off from the market.

Contract manufacturing will also help the pharmaceutical companies to meet with the growing demand for new drugs and improve their core competencies. The report depicts the overall market scenario across the prominent destinations in the developed and developing regions of the country. Apart from the current market scenario in these destinations, the report covers the initiatives, which are being taken up by the State Governments. The report also includes detail competitive analysis of key players functioning in the Indian contract manufacturing industry. A prudent analysis of the trends and drivers of the market delineates the favorable avenues for the purpose of contract manufacturing.

Our report “Indian Contract Manufacturing – A Hot Opportunity” also covers various issues being faced by the contract manufacturing industry, including IP issues, investment risks, and issues related to quality assurance. These segments are aimed to provide a pragmatic outlook of the contract manufacturing market, thereby allowing the identification of shortcomings of certain avenues in the industry.

Analysis of the ongoing developments, market expectations, and driving factors facilitates clear outlook of every aspect of the industry. Besides current market scenario, forecasting in the report provides a clear picture of the industry’s future scenario. The report would help clients in enhancing their understanding regarding the industry and thereby, formulating strategies to help their business grow.

Budget 2011: Pharma firms want tax cuts, R&D sops boost

MUMBAI: Drugmakers want tax exemption deadline for export oriented unit (EOUs) to be extended and want infrastructure or priority sector status in the budget on Feb 28.

The deadline for full exemption of tax on net profit for export oriented units, or EOUs, ends in March, though drug-making facilities in special economic zones would not be affected.

The exemption beyond March 2011 will provide relief to companies like Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals, Divi’s Laboratoriess , Cipla and Torrent Pharmaceuticals , which run EOUs.

The government may grant infrastructure or priority sector status to healthcare, which would help draw more investments and lower costs, N.R Munjal, president, Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association, told Reuters.

“The output of R&D is still considered as an intangible asset and hence, banks or financial institutions are not ready to support R&D projects. The government should either make certain norms for funding or set up a venture capital fund,” he said.

Pharma companies, with annual sales of over 1 trillion rupees including exports of 450 billion rupees, spend 4-7 percent of their revenue on R&D against 12 percent by their Japanese counterparts and more than 14 percent by the Chinese.

The last budget had raised weighted deduction on in-house R&D expenses to 200 percent and the industry hopes it would be extended to cover outsourced projects such as clinical trials and specific lab studies, including those incurred overseas, brokerage Sharekhan said in a note.

The move will incentivise investment in R&D and encourage new drug development , it said, adding it would prove positive for Biocon and Piramal Life Sciences , both major outsourced R&D segment players.

“We expect government to have an equal excise duty for APIs and formulations as this will help the smaller players who primarily depend on APIs,” Kamlesh Udani, executive director, JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, told Reuters.

The duty on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is 10 percent while its 4 percent for formulations or finished dosages. “An equal duty structure for both APIs and formulations would help draw parity between the big and small players in the industry,” said Sushant Dalmia, analyst with Pinc Research.

Pharmaceutical reps are salesmen, court rules

The employees of drug manufacturers who try to persuade doctors to prescribe their products are salesmen, even though they don’t actually sell anything, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

In a decision with industry-wide implications, the federal judges rejected arguments by two former Arizona employees of SmithKline Beecham Co. that they cannot be classified as “outside salesmen.” That distinction is critical because such workers are not entitled to overtime.

Judge Milan Smith Jr., writing for the unanimous court, acknowledged that the U.S. Labor Department filed a “friend of the court” brief supporting the position of the two former workers – and, by extension, of everyone else still working for the company known as GlaxoSmithKline, and potentially for the entire industry.

But Smith said the court owes no deference to the agency’s position. “And, in any event, we respectfully disagree with that interpretation,” he said.

Central to the question is what constitutes sales.

Federal law precludes drug companies from selling their products directly to the public. Instead, individuals can get these items only through a prescription from a physician.

The sales staff, officially called “pharmaceutical sales representatives,” call on physicians to educate them about the company products and urge them to prescribe them over the items sold by competitors.

According to the former salesmen, they visited up to 10 doctors a day. They also worked 10 to 20 hours a week outside normal business hours studying Glaxo products, preparing sales materials, checking e-mails, answering phone calls and attending events.

Federal law precludes these pharmaceutical sales reps from selling the samples they have, taking orders from physicians or negotiating drug prices with either doctors or patients.

Pay includes a base salary and an incentive, the latter based on things like whether Glaxo’s market share for a particular product increases in the pharmaceutical sales representative’s territory, sales revenues increase, or the dose volume increases. The company said it aims to have salary at 75 percent of compensation with 25 percent for incentives, though there is no cap to that incentive.

Federal labor regulations define an “outside salesman” as someone who makes sales or obtains orders, and who is primarily away from the company’s offices. Based on their duties, and federal restrictions, the salesmen said they do not fit that definition.

Smith disagreed.

“Plaintiffs’ contention that they do not ‘sell’ to doctors ignores the structure and realities of the heavily regulated pharmaceutical industry,” the judge wrote. With patients unable to purchase drugs, Smith said the “sale” in this case is a non-binding commitment by a doctor, at the end of a sales call, to prescribe more of the drug.

“Through such commitments, the manufacturer will provide an effective product and the doctor will appropriately prescribe,” Smith said. “For all practical purposes, this is a sale.”

Smith also said that the reps’ primary duty is not to educate doctors or even to promote Glaxo products in general. He said these are “but preliminary steps” to getting a doctor to prescribe more of a specific drug being pushed by the salesman.

And Smith noted that without this commitment – and without the sales that follow – the pharmaceutical sales reps would not receive a commission.

Maccine partners on preclinical imaging lab in Singapore

Contract research organisation (CRO) Maccine will set up a preclinical imaging laboratory in partnership with the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) under a deal announced late last week.

The ‘Translational Imaging Industrial Lab’ (TIIL) will provide imaging services for small and large animals with tech ranging from micro positron emission tomography to computed tomography and dual emission X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA).

The unit will also offer bespoke imaging protocol development services that can be tailored to the pharmaceutical firm’s specific project needs.

The ability to develop imaging protocol’s is somewhat lacking in the wider CRO sector according to Maccine, which claimed that at present only four or five companies worldwide offer this type of service for preclinical development.

Maccine’s partnership with the SBIC, which is part of the Government Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), follows just months after the Singaporean CRO opened a non-human primate (NHP) imaging centre in the country.

Now, as then, Maccine cited the pharmaceutical industry’s desire to increase the efficiency of research spending and reduce attrition rates in mid to late stage clinical trials as the key motivation for the investment.

CEO Leigh Berryman said the lab “Will allow early establishment of imaging methodologies in the drug development process [which] presents the exciting possibility of projecting the efficiencies offered by this technology straight into the clinic.”

This was echoed by SBIC executive director Philip Kuchel who said: “Imaging now occupies a vital place in the industrial drug development process but it is a constantly evolving field.

“This tie-up will allow the latest R&D advances achieved through the laboratories of SBIC to be applied directly to practical questions in drug discovery and development”

CVS: Use of Generics Kept Costs Down in 2010

CVS Caremark Corp. said an increasing use of generic drugs by its customers helped keep costs in check last year as the industry copes with pricing pressures and sweeping changes in U.S. health-care policy.

In an annual review of drug and pharmacy trends, the pharmacy-benefits manager and second-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. said complex specialty pharmaceuticals remained the fastest growth area, up 14% year-to-year, while the use of prescription drugs also was up overall, CVS Caremark expects the trends to continue this year.

“Last year was one of uncertainty and change for our clients as they worked to understand the impact of health-care reform while also dealing with a sluggish economic recovery,” said Per Lofberg, president of CVS Caremark’s pharmacy-benefit management business.

The company’s generics-dispensing rate reached 71.5% in 2010 as more products became available and were more widely accepted for use by physicians and consumers.

About a quarter of CVS Caremark clients’ medication costs fell from a year earlier, the company said.

The company in February reported that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 2.2% on weaker results at its pharmacy-benefits business. The industry has been under pressure amid reduced consumer spending and as Americans have been using fewer health-care services.

PBL’s adventure could have big consequences

OPINION: Pharmacybrands (PBL) is small and easy to miss among stock market giants such as Fletcher Building and Telecom.

The casual observer probably wouldn’t know, but the $45 million-valued PBL now controls about a third of the retail pharmacy industry.

In 2005, PBL was Life Pharmacy. The impetus behind its establishment was a 2003 law change allowing non-pharmacists to own up to 49 per cent of a pharmacy, up from 25 per cent previously. Additionally, pharmacists could now own up to five pharmacies rather than just one.

The path has not been smooth. Life Pharmacy lost $6.6m in 2007 and a further $570,000 in 2008 before achieving a profit of just $61,000 in 2009. But it doggedly pursued the idea of industry consolidation. After a merger with unlisted Pharmacybrands in 2009, Life Pharmacy changed its name to PBL. This month another unlisted company, Radius Pharmacy Group, was acquired.

According to industry figures there are about 900 pharmacies in New Zealand. PBL operates more than 300 franchised stores under the Life Pharmacy, Unichem, Amcal, Care Chemist and Radius brands. It has ownership stakes (mostly of about 49 per cent) in 68 of those stores. The 68 stores collectively have $200m of annual turnover.

For the half-year to September, PBL reported after-tax profits of $2.2m, up from $1.35m for the same period in 2009. The company was cashed-up, with $40.3m of shareholders’ funds against just $45.6m of total assets.

The Radius purchase has changed that. Radius cost $17m to buy, but PBL is also taking on $18m of its debt. To fund the acquisition PBL is using $12m of cash reserves and $23m of bank financing, meaning its debt will rise to $24.5m, though it will still have a debt-to-equity ratio of just 1-to-2.

Its profitability is therefore difficult to gauge. Figures for the March 31, 2010 year supplied by PBL for the Radius acquisition give combined after-tax earnings for the two companies of $7.5m. However, the figures don’t incorporate the extra debt PBL is taking on for the Radius purchase.

Like any retail operation, pharmacies have been doing it tough. Health and beauty product sales are under pressure from other retailers and online competition, while policy changes under the last government saw dispensing fees dropped.

Grouping pharmacies in franchises gives them greater buying and distribution power, so bringing down costs. But for a few years, your columnist did wonder if the overall levels of profitability for PBL would ever match the effort in bringing it all together.

However, something interesting has happened. Big hitters have climbed on board PBL.

First up in 2007 was Andrew Bagnall, a 64-year-old motor sport and franchise enthusiast. He created Gullivers Travel Group back in 1976 and carried away well north of $100m from its sale in the mid-2000s. He has, by Chalkie’s reckoning, pumped about $13m into buying 26.7 per cent of PBL.

Then there was the Zuellig Group. This US$12 billion (NZ$15.3b) turnover, privately- controlled Asian conglomerate owns the C B Norwood Distributors agricultural equipment firm and has had longstanding investments in New Zealand’s healthcare supplies industry. Peter Merton was a senior manager for the company in New Zealand, ending up in a joint venture with Zuellig.

In 2007, Mr Merton and Zuellig sold their wholesale pharmaceutical and medical supplies businesses to Ebos Group for $72m in cash and $14m in Ebos shares, but retained a 67 per cent interest in the then unlisted Pharmacybrands.

When that merged with Life Pharmacy in 2009 they became 26.71 per cent shareholders in the merged PBL entity. Mr Merton is now chairman.

Mr Bagnall, Mr Merton and Zuellig have fabulous investment pedigrees and very deep pockets. They must see much more to PBL than has been shown so far.

The company provides a hint of its true ambitions with a brief reference in the background documentation for the Radius acquisition, sent to shareholders last month. It appears that pharmacy consolidation is merely an entry point for investment in primary health services.

PBL is considering buying into eight medical practices. It would buy one outright and take stakes of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent in seven others. In addition it may buy another company that provides management services to those eight medical practices as well as to another 11 independent practices. No decision has been made on these acquisitions, but Chalkie is prepared to bet they go ahead.

So, PBL’s interest goes far beyond pharmacies. It appears interested in extending franchising right through primary healthcare – creating the one-stop shop and the obvious operational and cash efficiencies this could bring. There would appear no limit to how far this corporatisation of health services might go, if PBL can find the money.

The company is already suggesting it may raise more capital later this year to fund further expansion. And if you look at the major backers’ resources there is plenty of petrol left in the tank.

SURVEYING the wider picture, public health spending, at $12.7b, made up over 15 per cent of total government/ taxpayer expenditure last year. The Government is looking for ways of getting more bang for our buck. Health Minister Tony Ryall has spoken of how demand for health services is expected to double in the next 10 years and how much of this demand needs to be met on a “lower cost platform” out in the community and closer to home.

Pharmacies and GPs are well placed to take up more frontline health duties. Pharmacies, for example, can take responsibility for the monitoring of issue of certain drugs to patients or the keeping of detailed health records.

Government policy will therefore be important for PBL and the strategy its main backers are quietly unfolding.

If primary healthcare providers do indeed receive a greater share of both funding and responsibilities, then the PBL strategy has a fair chance of bearing fruit over time.

And how far might this strategy extend? It is interesting to look at some of the people involved in private sector health services and the associations they have. Mr Merton is a director of healthcare supplies group Ebos. He owns 2 per cent of that company, while Zuellig has 3 per cent. The largest shareholder in Ebos is South Island investor Mark Stewart, with 10 per cent. Mr Stewart also owns nearly 20 per cent of Wakefield Health, the operator of two private hospitals in Wellington and one in Hawke’s Bay. Ebos director Liz Coutts chaired PBL when it was still known as Life Pharmacy. Ebos chairman Rick Christie is also on the Wakefield board. Given these associations, it is not hard to imagine some sort of either informal or official linkage in future between Ebos, Wakefield and PBL. A tie-up would take in all areas of health, from medical supplies wholesaling, to retailing, to GP care and to hospital care. That would be some sort of one- stop shop. Because so much depends on future government policy, the investment being made by the principals in PBL is still somewhat speculative. But the rewards are potentially rich if those backing PBL have correctly anticipated future health policies and direction.

There is no doubt PBL is on an adventurous journey. Where the journey leads is still open. But given the track records of the people in its driving seat, PBL’s little adventure could have big consequences for the healthcare industry.

BioScrip Pharmacy Accredited

BioScrip Inc. (BIOS – Analyst Report), a health care-related company recently received accreditation for its specialty pharmacy and mail service pharmacy from Utilization Review Accreditation Commission (URAC), a Washington-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

URAC reached its decision after conducting a detailed review considering 146 parameters on BioScrip’s customer service and clinical pharmacy processes. Ensuring BioScrip’s positive approach towards healthcare needs, this award is expected to improve the company’s position in the specialty pharmacy industry.

BioScrip’s specialty pharmacy and mail service pharmacy provide condition-specific clinical management, distribution and reimbursement programs of oral, injectable, and IV drug products for individuals suffering from chronic conditions.

BioScrip, in partnership with healthcare payers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, government agencies and physicians strive to deliver cost effective programs to patients. Presently with all its efficiencies, competencies and high rate of usage of chronic medicines, specialty pharmaceuticals have become the fastest growing segment.

In the fourth-quarter of fiscal 2010, BioScrip recorded a 31.9% year over year increase in total revenue with a 12% rise in pharmacy revenues. However, in recent quarters the company has been witnessing disappointing margins driven by pricing concessions on specialty drugs, rising reimbursement expenses, the new industry-wide AWP standard and poor macro economic conditions. The highly leveraged balance sheet continues to remain a matter of concern for BioScrip.

Moreover, the company faces significant competition in the pharmaceutical healthcare services industry from players like CVS Caremark (CVS – Analyst Report), Medco Health Solutions (MHS – Analyst Report) as well as many smaller organizations that operate on a local or regional basis.

However, the company has adopted a new strategic assessment policy that might lead to an improved revenue scenario going forward. Also the success at the Critical Homecare Solutions business is expected to improve BioScrip’s competitive position.

The company is focused on expanding its business through sales force expansion and further contractual agreements in new markets. Although several issues have been witnessed by the company in the past few quarters, with the gradual recovery in the economy, the situation could improve.

UAE Pharmaceutical Market Poised for Astounding Growth

The pharmaceutical industry of the UAE is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 17% during 2010-2013, says a new research report from RNCOS.

Noida, UP — (SBWIRE) — 04/12/2011 — The UAE pharmaceutical market is regarded as the most lucrative market in the Middle Eastern region, growing at a double digit rate for the past few years. Growth can be attributed to a number of factors, such as rapidly escalating population, liberal trade policies, and adaptation of international healthcare standards. These factors will enable the UAE pharmaceutical market to grow at a CAGR of around 17% during 2010 – 2013, says our new research report “UAE Healthcare Sector Forecast to 2012”.

Our extensive research on the UAE pharmaceutical industry has found that, there is a strong preference for branded drugs in the UAE as opposed to generic products. The authorities have responded to this by trying to increase the demand for cheaper generic products through a variety of measures, including tight restrictions on advertising of pharmaceutical products and a ban on direct marketing to the consumer. Further, demand in the OTC medicines market is growing faster than demand for prescription drugs. An increasing number of people are therefore, buying products through pharmacies and investors. Private companies are reacting to this demand trend by rolling out more pharmacy stores.

Our team of experts has segmented the healthcare industry into hospital services market, medical services market, and pharmaceutical market. All these sectors have been further segmented to provide exhaustive knowledge of the industry. Most importantly, regulatory environment prevailing in each of the sector has also been covered in the report.

Our report “UAE Healthcare Sector Forecast to 2012” provides thorough analysis of the various segments of the healthcare industry together with the detail study of the investment opportunities in the country. The report has thoroughly examined current market trends; industrial developments, and competitive landscape to enable clients understand the market structure and its progress in coming years. Due consideration has been given to the possible after effects of recession on the industry. It will help clients to have a proper insight of the current and future outlook of the healthcare industry in the UAE.

PBL’s adventure could have big consequences

Pharmacybrands (PBL) is small and easy to miss among stock market giants such as Fletcher Building and Telecom.

The casual observer probably wouldn’t know, but the $45 million-valued PBL now controls about a third of the retail pharmacy industry.

In 2005, PBL was Life Pharmacy. The impetus behind its establishment was a 2003 law change allowing non-pharmacists to own up to 49 per cent of a pharmacy, up from 25 per cent previously. Additionally, pharmacists could now own up to five pharmacies rather than just one.

The path has not been smooth. Life Pharmacy lost $6.6m in 2007 and a further $570,000 in 2008 before achieving a profit of just $61,000 in 2009. But it doggedly pursued the idea of industry consolidation. After a merger with unlisted Pharmacybrands in 2009, Life Pharmacy changed its name to PBL. This month another unlisted company, Radius Pharmacy Group, was acquired.

According to industry figures there are about 900 pharmacies in New Zealand. PBL operates more than 300 franchised stores under the Life Pharmacy, Unichem, Amcal, Care Chemist and Radius brands. It has ownership stakes (mostly of about 49 per cent) in 68 of those stores. The 68 stores collectively have $200m of annual turnover.

For the half-year to September, PBL reported after-tax profits of $2.2m, up from $1.35m for the same period in 2009. The company was cashed-up, with $40.3m of shareholders’ funds against just $45.6m of total assets.

The Radius purchase has changed that. Radius cost $17m to buy, but PBL is also taking on $18m of its debt. To fund the acquisition PBL is using $12m of cash reserves and $23m of bank financing, meaning its debt will rise to $24.5m, though it will still have a debt-to-equity ratio of just 1-to-2.

Its profitability is therefore difficult to gauge. Figures for the March 31, 2010 year supplied by PBL for the Radius acquisition give combined after-tax earnings for the two companies of $7.5m. However, the figures don’t incorporate the extra debt PBL is taking on for the Radius purchase.

Like any retail operation, pharmacies have been doing it tough. Health and beauty product sales are under pressure from other retailers and online competition, while policy changes under the last government saw dispensing fees dropped.

Grouping pharmacies in franchises gives them greater buying and distribution power, so bringing down costs. But for a few years, your columnist did wonder if the overall levels of profitability for PBL would ever match the effort in bringing it all together.

However, something interesting has happened. Big hitters have climbed on board PBL.

First up in 2007 was Andrew Bagnall, a 64-year-old motor sport and franchise enthusiast. He created Gullivers Travel Group back in 1976 and carried away well north of $100m from its sale in the mid-2000s. He has, by Chalkie’s reckoning, pumped about $13m into buying 26.7 per cent of PBL.

Then there was the Zuellig Group. This US$12 billion (NZ$15.3b) turnover, privately- controlled Asian conglomerate owns the C B Norwood Distributors agricultural equipment firm and has had longstanding investments in New Zealand’s healthcare supplies industry. Peter Merton was a senior manager for the company in New Zealand, ending up in a joint venture with Zuellig.

In 2007, Mr Merton and Zuellig sold their wholesale pharmaceutical and medical supplies businesses to Ebos Group for $72m in cash and $14m in Ebos shares, but retained a 67 per cent interest in the then unlisted Pharmacybrands.

When that merged with Life Pharmacy in 2009 they became 26.71 per cent shareholders in the merged PBL entity. Mr Merton is now chairman.

Mr Bagnall, Mr Merton and Zuellig have fabulous investment pedigrees and very deep pockets. They must see much more to PBL than has been shown so far.

The company provides a hint of its true ambitions with a brief reference in the background documentation for the Radius acquisition, sent to shareholders last month. It appears that pharmacy consolidation is merely an entry point for investment in primary health services.

PBL is considering buying into eight medical practices. It would buy one outright and take stakes of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent in seven others. In addition it may buy another company that provides management services to those eight medical practices as well as to another 11 independent practices. No decision has been made on these acquisitions, but Chalkie is prepared to bet they go ahead.

So, PBL’s interest goes far beyond pharmacies. It appears interested in extending franchising right through primary healthcare – creating the one-stop shop and the obvious operational and cash efficiencies this could bring. There would appear no limit to how far this corporatisation of health services might go, if PBL can find the money.

The company is already suggesting it may raise more capital later this year to fund further expansion. And if you look at the major backers’ resources there is plenty of petrol left in the tank.

SURVEYING the wider picture, public health spending, at $12.7b, made up over 15 per cent of total government/ taxpayer expenditure last year. The Government is looking for ways of getting more bang for our buck. Health Minister Tony Ryall has spoken of how demand for health services is expected to double in the next 10 years and how much of this demand needs to be met on a “lower cost platform” out in the community and closer to home.

Pharmacies and GPs are well placed to take up more frontline health duties. Pharmacies, for example, can take responsibility for the monitoring of issue of certain drugs to patients or the keeping of detailed health records.

Government policy will therefore be important for PBL and the strategy its main backers are quietly unfolding.

If primary healthcare providers do indeed receive a greater share of both funding and responsibilities, then the PBL strategy has a fair chance of bearing fruit over time.

And how far might this strategy extend? It is interesting to look at some of the people involved in private sector health services and the associations they have. Mr Merton is a director of healthcare supplies group Ebos. He owns 2 per cent of that company, while Zuellig has 3 per cent. The largest shareholder in Ebos is South Island investor Mark Stewart, with 10 per cent. Mr Stewart also owns nearly 20 per cent of Wakefield Health, the operator of two private hospitals in Wellington and one in Hawke’s Bay. Ebos director Liz Coutts chaired PBL when it was still known as Life Pharmacy. Ebos chairman Rick Christie is also on the Wakefield board. Given these associations, it is not hard to imagine some sort of either informal or official linkage in future between Ebos, Wakefield and PBL. A tie-up would take in all areas of health, from medical supplies wholesaling, to retailing, to GP care and to hospital care. That would be some sort of one- stop shop. Because so much depends on future government policy, the investment being made by the principals in PBL is still somewhat speculative. But the rewards are potentially rich if those backing PBL have correctly anticipated future health policies and direction.

There is no doubt PBL is on an adventurous journey. Where the journey leads is still open. But given the track records of the people in its driving seat, PBL’s little adventure could have big consequences for the healthcare industry.

David Hargreaves is a former Fairfax business reporter and columnist now writing freelance. Chalkie’s name is derived from the people who used to “chalk” up the share prices on trading floors before the market went electronic.

Industry Associations Back China’s Inflation Program

Twenty-four industry associations in China pledged Wednesday to practice pricing restraint, a sign that pressuring private companies continues to be one of Beijing’s inflation-fighting methods.

The associations, covering sectors that include agriculture, pharmaceuticals, textiles and kitchen appliances, urged their member companies to heed the State Council’s calls to shoulder their social responsibility by maintaining the supply of consumer products and practicing discipline in raising prices.
The associations pledged not to collude on prices or hoard resources, among other actions, according to their joint statement, which was issued by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, a semiofficial body that helps implement government policy in the private sector.

“China needs to prevent a too-fast rise in consumer prices and avoid big economic fluctuations,” it said.

The associations’ statement is the latest sign Beijing is pressuring companies and using other unconventional tactics to combat rising inflation. Economists widely expect March’s consumer-inflation rate, due to be reported Friday, to be the highest in more than two years.

A spokesman for Singapore-based agribusiness giant Wilmar International Ltd. said last week the Chinese government asked the company to hold off on increasing prices of cooking oil. Beijing also asked major food producers, including instant-noodles maker Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. and snack maker Want Want China Holdings Ltd., to refrain from price increases.

Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods producer Unilever PLC planned to raise the prices of detergent and shampoo earlier this month, but a company spokesman said it was dissuaded by officials from the National Development & Reform Commission, China’s economic planning agency.

Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute Recognizes Innovation in Drug Benefit Industry

The recipients of this year’s awards were selected based on the project’s overall originality, strength of reported results, and potential to improve patient outcomes. “Our 2011 award recipients have demonstrated creative thinking by designing solutions to address numerous challenges in prescription drug programs,” says Tim Watson, PharmD, MBA, Executive Director of PBMI. “Their example will inspire other plan sponsors to implement one or more of these approaches in their own populations.”

Center for Health Value Innovation
The Center for Health Value Innovation is being recognized for their pioneering work in the design, implementation and measurement of Value Based Insurance Designs. The center’s co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, Jack Mahoney led the charge behind Value Based Design with a firm resolve to prove that lowering access barriers to health care services could ultimately engage the most at risk populations, thereby improving care and lowering costs. The center’s work to measure and disseminate outcomes associated with these design strategies continues to provide guidance to others who wish to implement these programs in their population.

Cigna Pharmacy Management
Cigna Pharmacy Management is being recognized for their creative approach to contracting for pharmaceuticals that is based on achievement of specific therapeutic outcomes. In 2009, Cigna Pharmacy Management and Merck & Co., Inc. entered into the pharmacy benefit management industry’s first national outcomes based contract between a PBM and a pharmaceutical firm. A year after the contract was implemented, results showed that there was improved blood sugar control and blood sugar testing during the study. The company stated that “estimated savings for individuals and employers could be almost $8,000 per person who has diabetes per year when that individual increases adherence to over 80%.”

CVS Caremark / ArcelorMittal
CVS Caremark / ArcelorMittal are being recognized for their efforts to improve the treatment of diabetes in the steel company’s population. More than half of people diagnosed with a chronic disease, including diabetes, are either non-adherent to the prescribed medication or have a gap in care. The program designed and implemented by the companies sought to improve medication adherence in diabetics by engaging pharmacists who are expertly trained in medication therapy management principals. The program included both telephonic counseling, and face-to-face interventions, according to the patient’s preference. After six months, the program demonstrated significant improvements in closing gaps in care and increasing medication adherence compared to a control group. In addition, the program results demonstrated health care savings of nearly $1,700 annually for patients with diabetes.

InformedRx, an SXC company
InformedRx is being recognized for their efforts to minimize inappropriate prescribing of controlled substances. Use of multiple narcotics can have adverse effects on both members and plan sponsors, including: compromised patient safety, risk of addiction and diminished quality of life, risk of on the job injuries and wasting scarce health plan resources. InformedRx designed a program of pharmacist review and intervention in which targeted interventions were sent to physicians with the goal of improving prescribing patterns for this important class of medications. The program demonstrated strong results, including: 58% fewer narcotic prescriptions written, 57% fewer prescribers writing narcotic prescriptions, and an average savings per case of $105.16.

The Supreme Court and the Spying-on-Doctors Industry

Last month, the Supreme Court agreed to review a Vermont law that prohibits the use of prescription data for marketing purposes. If upheld, the law will ban pharmaceutical companies from taking the prescription records they buy from pharmacies and giving them to their sales reps to target doctors.

Vermont legislators assert that this practice drives up prescription costs and violates doctors’ privacy. Though similar laws in Maine and New Hampshire were upheld by an appellate court after a challenge by industry, Vermont’s was rejected as unconstitutional — on free speech grounds. Huh?

Let’s be clear. This case is about corporate influence over our health care system, not free speech. It boils down to one question: How much influence should pharmaceutical companies have over doctors?

If you’ve seen the movie Love and Other Drugs, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, you have an idea of the duplicity involved in the profession of pharmaceutical sales rep. While it’s true, as the industry insists, that reps provide doctors with important information about new drugs, their real purpose is to boost drug companies’ bottom lines by convincing physicians to prescribe their most expensive drugs. The film, which follows a fast-talking salesman and womanizer played by Gyllenhaal, is based on the book Hard Sell, by Jamie Reidy, a former Pfizer and Eli Lilly rep.

In his book, Reidy shows how drug reps woo, mislead, and occasionally even lie to doctors, and that the information about new drugs they provide is often biased. In an interview for a 2006 New Republic article, Reidy told me that prescription data proved “our most effective tool in planning our approach to manipulating doctors.” How? Because the data allowed Reidy to know exactly what drugs his doctors were prescribing; if they weren’t prescribing his drugs, he’d “hammer” them until they did.

Legislators in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire listened closely to stories like Reidy’s. They concluded that preventing prescription data from being used for marketing would help control drug costs. Since drug costs were straining state budgets, lawmakers asserted that these bills would significantly advance state interests. This last point is key, because in order to restrict commercial speech under the Constitution the bills would need to meet such criteria.

Enter the opposition. The data mining and pharmaceutical companies have fought tooth and nail to prevent these bills from becoming law. (The data-mining companies, who are the plaintiffs in each case, act as middlemen, buying prescription records from pharmacy chains and other sources before selling them to drug companies.) New Hampshire State Rep. Cindy Rosenwald told me that she never saw as many lobbyists as when her bill was being debated in her state legislature. It’s not surprising; both industries could lose money as a result of the bills, and a number of other states are considering their own. What may be surprising, however, are the grounds on which the bills are being opposed: free speech.

Since the 1940s, the Supreme Court has recognized a difference in the level of protection the Constitution offers commercial speech (advertising) compared with other speech. Commercial speech is subject to more regulation. Historically, when states have attempted to restrict commercial speech, the Court has allowed it in the name of consumer protection or an overriding public good. This is consistent with Vermont’s law: by controlling drug costs and limiting the influence of drug reps (studies have shown that increased time with reps leads doctors to prescribe against their patients’ best interests), the state is acting in the public good.

In the end, though, this law has little to do with free speech. None of these laws stop drug companies from advertising their products. They don’t even stop drug companies from collecting prescription data (they can still use it for research). The laws simply regulate the way that data is used — data which many feel should be confidential, anyway. As Judge Sandra Lynch, of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, wrote in upholding the Maine law, “the statute regulates conduct, not speech, and even if it regulates commercial speech, that regulation satisfies constitutional standards.”

So this is a no-brainer for the Supreme Court, right? Wrong. Our current Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has proved one of the most partisan, activist, and corporate friendly Courts in U.S. history. Last year, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Court overturned decades of legal precedent by dismantling campaign finance laws and allowing corporations to spend unlimited sums of money to influence elections. And it has recently come to light that Justice Clarence Thomas, who was part of the 5-4 majority in Citizens United, is being investigated by a watchdog group for allegedly receiving an all-expenses paid trip to a four-day retreat hosted by the Koch brothers, political activists who were among the biggest beneficiaries of the Citizen United decision.

The free speech argument in this case is a straw man. What the Supreme Court will decide here is whether corporate interests trump the interests of doctors, patients and the general public. Opening arguments are set for April, with a decision expected in June. Given the track record of this court, I’ll give you one guess who they’re going to side with.

Deet Insect Repellent only from Pharmacy Place

Deet is a highly effective insect repellent, that comes in the forms of mosquito spray, creams, lotions, sticks, and the mosiband for a dry insect repellent. It’s not only a mosquito killer but also repels against, nasty tics, fleas,chiggers and irritating flies, that can ruin your summer or holiday!

Deet stops these insects in their tracks before they even get to you! For some reason they are naturally attracted to our skin through the smell of carbon dioxide from our breath. Deet insect repellent confuses that smell so they simply don’t know we are there! Deet insect repellent jams up their sensors in just one application! The most popular formula is the mosquito spray , however there are many product formulas available today! For those who prefer a dry insect repellent then opt for the Deet based Mosiband that can be worn on the wrist or ankle.

Don’t worry about sun protection as Deet can be used after your sun screen application! But the best repellent of all is your clothing! Try to wear long sleeves and trousers, even if it’s hot quality cotton will keep you cool. Deet insect repellent can even be sprayed on your clothes for extra protection! If you do get caught out, most bites are just irritating, and cause unattractive red swelling. They do look unattractive but most over the counter products work quickly: just don’t get caught and think Deet every time you shower, wake up, and go to bed!

Your summers and holidays will have a whole new meaning! You can have peace of mind with Deet insect repellent, and mosquito spray! Deet is one of the most effective and popular insect repellent products in the repellent industry today! So don’t get bit get Deet!

Turkey Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report Q2 2011

Despite a challenging 2010, with pharmaceutical market growth moderated by the changes to the pricing and reimbursement environment, Turkey remains one of our favourite long-term prospects in the Emerging Europe region. With its pharmaceutical expenditure valued at over US$11bn, Turkey places fifth in our latest Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the 20 regional markets. While this represents a fall from the third spot held in the previous quarter, Turkey’s encouraging demographic and macroeconomic developments will continue to support its prominence as a point of interest for multinationals wishing to expand their presence in emerging markets.

Turkey’s health indicators are broadly similar to those of more developed Asian neighbours, although large variations exist within the country, with urban areas approaching European standards. While the more devastating communicable diseases have been mostly eradicated in cities, primarily due to a concerted vaccination programme for children, the burden of non-communicable diseases (primarily heart disease and cancer) will continue to provide substantial commercial opportunities for both domestic and foreign drugmakers, especially as the authorities continue to expand health insurance coverage. Indeed, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose administration has largely been responsible for wide-ranging healthcare system reforms, including the provision of free treatment of lowincome citizens, is aiming for the introduction of a nationwide system of personal healthcare, as one of his campaign drivers in the run-up to the 2011 elections. The drive shows the minister’s interest in expanding the healthcare budget, as expenditure on medical care will increase at five times the rate of total costs in 2011.

In the meantime, a strong fundamental macroeconomic backdrop will support the growth of the Turkish consumer over the coming years, underpinning our view that the Turkish economy will continue to converge with major emerging market powerhouses. This also means that people will be more willing to spend on more expensive medicines, as well as on pharmaceuticals aiming at prevention. Importantly, we also expect the steady decline in long-term unemployment rates to continue, which is testament to greater labour market flexibility, and which should also improve the availability of public health insurance funding. The availability of modern treatments should also improve with the aligning of Turkish legislation with European norms, as the country seeks integration into the community, although the issue of market access remains an area of concern to foreign companies.

Drug Company Adds to Kaluga Tax Base

British-Swiss pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Monday that it will invest $150 million in building its first plant in Russia, joining other foreign drugmakers that have started local production in line with the government’s strategy to reduce dependency on imports.

The plant, to be located in the Kaluga region, will be the first full-cycle manufacturing facility in Russia by a foreign drug maker &mdash formulating drugs for a number of diseases, including cancer, heart and respiratory illnesses, producing and packaging them, the company said.

Nenad Pavletic, president of AstraZeneca Russia, said constructing their own plant, which is expected to become profitable by 2017, was more beneficial than buying and subsequently modernizing an existing facility.

“In terms of the speed of development, efficiency of the process and the size of costs, it’s more efficient to build a plant according to good manufacturing practice standards,” he said in an interview.

Construction will begin in April, with 2013 being the target for starting production, the company said. Capacity is planned to be 16 million packs a year.

Pavletic said he was confident in the potential of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, with Russia being one of the strategic markets for the company.

AstraZeneca plans to contribute to implementing the government’s plan to raise life expectancy in Russia from less than 60 years old to 75 by 2020, Pavletic said.

“There are high unmet medical needs in Russia. We believe that we can increase access to our medicines for … patients,” he said.

In 2009, the government passed a strategy to develop the drug industry through 2020, which aims to raise the share of domestically produced medicines from the current 23 percent to 50 percent over the next 10 years. A number of international drugmakers are developing local manufacturing facilities.

Last year, Swiss company Nycomed began construction of a 75 million euro ($100 million) plant in the Yaroslavl region, while French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis took over and modernized an insulin plant in the Oryol region.

Several foreign drugmakers, including Novartis, Ipsen, Teva, Novo Nordisk and Berlin-Chemie, also plan to start manufacturing in Russia.

Pavletic praised the Kaluga region authorities for providing favorable conditions for efficient operating and a “transparent process” of formalizing documents.

Kaluga Governor Anatoly Artamonov told The Moscow Times that more foreign companies would come to the region this year, declining to identify them by name. He said in September last year that the Kaluga region was in cooperation talks with 10 foreign and domestic firms.

According to Artamonov, the Kaluga region attracted a total $1.2 billion of foreign investment last year, which would represent about 10 percent of the national total. Artamonov is counting on a minimum of $1 billion for 2011.

Last year, Kaluga region’s manufacturing volume increased by about 45 percent, and this year’s growth is expected at 30 percent, Artamonov said.

Kaluga offers tax breaks to investors, making it a magnet for foreigner companies. French cosmetics maker L’Oreal and carmakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi all have production operations in the region.

The regional government is reaping the rewards, as tax revenues grew by 43.1 percent in 2010 compared with the previous year.

Artamonov has a long-term approach. “We’re not greedy in terms of tax revenues,” he said, adding that the region’s government was focused on getting stable tax revenues over many years.

Volkswagen and Samsung were among the biggest contributors to the regional budget last year, with joint tax revenues from the companies’ plants accounting for about 3 billion rubles ($100 million), Artamonov said.

Struggle Continues as House Considers ND Pharmacy Ownership Bill

Once again, legislators are considering a bill that would change the law restricting pharmacy ownership. It would make many prescriptions much more affordable, but critics say it would come at a cost. A similar effort failed two years ago, and both sides are going at it again.

Pharmacists from all over the state say the legislation puts their livelihoods at risk, but big chain retailers say a little competition helps consumers.

Large retailers like Wal-Mart and Target can`t operate a pharmacy in North Dakota. That`s because state law says pharmacies must have majority owners who are licensed pharmacists in the state.

The House Industry Business and Labor Committee is considering a bill that would loosen the law and allow large retailers to open up shop.

Local pharmacists don`t want the legislation to pass, and they`re banding together.

“It is scary. Your smaller communities, your rural communities, some of them will be forced out. There`s only a certain number of prescriptions to fill,” said pharmacy owner Kim Essler.

But advocates say everyone would win, especially consumers.

“Fundamentally, it`s a restriction of trade,” said hospital pharmacist Joan Johnson. “Competition is good for consumers and it`s just wrong to restrict trade in any way. Just because something is a chain, doesn`t mean it`s bad. And I think pharmacists should have a choice of where they want to work.”

Some hospital pharmacists support the legislation. They say the law under serves some patients, and they use home infusion as an example. That`s when a patient can take medication at home, instead of lying in a bed for a period of time.

They say rural areas often don`t have medications readily available, leaving patients no choice but to travel long distances or use mail order.

Advocates say North Dakota is the only state in the country where large retailers can`t operate a pharmacy, and that`s got to change. Opponents say no way, because customers would lose out in the end.

“If the law changed and things got where I couldn`t survive in business, I think there`s still a pharmacist shortage, I`d be able to find a job, go somewhere else,” said Essler.

Opponents say it would be difficult to compete with large retailers deep pockets. Advocates claim opponents fears of being pushed out of business are unfounded.

China Health Resource Inc. Signs Official Letter of Intent with Leading Pharmaceutical Enterprise

China Health Resource Inc. (OTCBB: CHRI), a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company specializing in producing, processing and commercializing Dahurian Angelica Root (DAR), today officially announced the company has signed a Letter of Intent with Sichuan Zhiyuan Aquarious Pharmacy Co., Ltd, a reputable leading enterprise within the pharmaceutical industry in China.

China Health Resource Inc. is well known for its high-quality Angelica in the native market of Sichuan, encouraging many dealers and pharmaceutical enterprises, both local and abroad, to work closely with the company in a long-term agreement for the supply of Angelica. In addition, the company has received GAP certification for Angelica production and exclusive use of “Sichuan Angelica”, the geographical logo.

“As we continue the development and additions of new uses for DAR, we remain focused on exploring opportunities that will ensure a successful and stable future for our company,” stated Jiayin Wang, CEO, China Health Resource, Inc. “Signing this Letter of Intent with such a respectable company within the Chinese pharmaceutical industry further strengthens our promising outlook for a successful 2011.”

The Letter of Intent provides in pertinent part, that Sichuan Zhiyuan Aquarious Pharmacy Co., Ltd purchase a quantity of Angelica exceeding 300,000 kilograms (330 tons), guaranteeing China Health Resource, Inc. more than 5.4 million yuan (approximately USD$800,000) income for 2011. The companies anticipate the signing of the final binding Sales Contract. Sichuan Zhiyuan Aquarious Pharmacy Co., Ltd has more than 50 stores in China, and has established relationships with various dealers in the United States, Australia and several other countries.

About CHRI
China Health Resource, Inc. engages in the development, manufacturing, processing, marketing and sale of Dahurian Angelica Root (DAR) and related products in the People’s Republic of China. DAR, which is also known as “Bai Zhi” in Mandarin Chinese, is an herb that is employed as an ingredient in medicine, cosmetics and food, as well as used in TCM for the treatment of pain, swelling and pustule. The company’s DAR-related products include the Bailing Capsule, Yisheng Capsule, Kimchee-Mate and Fragrant Bag, all of which are sold through regional distributors. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Suining.

Certain statements found other than historical facts in this document regarding financial matters other than historical facts, and statements of our expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are subject to certain events, risks and uncertainties that may be outside our control. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “optimistic”, “intend”, “will”, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The company intends that such proclamations about future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, future business expansion plans, and all other forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Management retains broad discretion with regard to all future business operations of the Company. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the company’s actual results may differ materially from expected results. These and other risks and uncertainties related to our business are described in greater detail in our filings with the Commission. The foregoing information should be read in conjunction with these filings. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.

Odumomodu to unfold agenda for SON

The Director General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Dr. Joseph Ikem Odumodu, said he will unfold his action plans for the Organisation in the next one month.

He is currently studying document and visiting zonal offices of the organisation spread across the country.

“I have assured the SON Council, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, and President Goodluck Jonathan, that we shall in the next one month, give them our detailed plan of actions and define exactly what milestones we would achieve in the first three months, six months one year, two year, and four years,”he said.

“We would also define the funding that we would require for us to be able to do a good job. We need adequate resources to build capacity because we are anxious that SON will become a living standard in Africa within the next four years.”

“I am pleased to be part of this new family that I have just joined. I am very pleased and excited that I have a very good team that I can work with. I am going to work in concert with the experts within the system.“I have had interactions with the directors and deputy directors including some of the assistants directors, and I believe that working together as a team, we would be able to take the Agency to the next level.

I am going to make SON the place all of us will be proud of. Within two years, Nigerians will cite SON as the best government agency in the country.”

“Our job is to ensure that Nigerians are protected from products that are substandard, and
“Talking seriously, I believe we have a lot of work to do in SON. I believe that the challenges we have in SON, are the same challenges we have as Nigerians.-challenges of buying defective products being brought in by suppliers and manufacturers, despite our knowledge of standards, Nigerians don’t do the right thing.

My coming to this place is to address some of these challenges,” he said.

He commended the untiring efforts of his predecessor, Dr John Akanya, saying “He had been very supportive since I took over. I speak to him on a daily basis because anything I don’t understand, I asks him, and he also calls me and brief me.

Most of SON achievements in the past 8-10 years, are credited to his administration and he has pledged that we shall work together, and he will support us actively. And that is what we are going to do.”

Meanwhile, Odumodu recently took over the mantle of leadership following his appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan a few weeks back.

Dr. Odumodu holds a first class degree in Pharmacy from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife), a Master of Science degree in Pharmacology, Master of Business Administration in Marketing and Doctor of Business Administration. A highly esteemed administrator and business executive, Dr. Odumodu has contributed a lot to the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria.

He is the chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN) as well as the Chairman of the Chemical and Pharmaceuticals Sector of MAN.

The new Director General of SON is a serving Council Member, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and represents the Association on the Governing Council of NAFDAC.

Prior to his new appointment, Dr. Odumodu was the Managing Director/Chief Executive of May and Baker Plc since 1997. He held many positions of responsibility in the company including Deputy Managing Director, General Manager (Sales & Marketing) Pharmaceuticals and General Manager (Medical) Marketing.

He is a Fellow, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists; Member, Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association; Institute of Pharmacy Management International and Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Down To Business: The New Reality Of Tech Industry Consolidation

Amid a recovering economy, technology merger and acquisition activity took off in 2010, as the number of deals and total deal value hit their highest levels since 2007, according to a detailed analysis released this month by Ernst & Young. The mobile, social, cloud computing, storage, security, and analytics segments drove much of that activity, as did healthcare and clean energy.

A sign of the times: Companies whose core business isn’t technology accounted for 15 percent of tech acquisition value in 2010, up from 8 percent in 2009, according to the Ernst & Young report. In the fourth quarter, for instance, the two largest health IT deals involved two “non-technology” companies: pharmacy benefits manager Medco’s $730 million acquisition of United BioSource, a developer of Web and voice response systems, and iinsurer Aetna’s $500 million purchase of Medicity, a maker of health information exchange technology.

In fact, the distinction between tech and non-tech companies is starting to become artificial. Visa plunked down $1.83 billion for CyberSource, a payment management software company, in the 10th largest tech acquisition of the year. Is Visa a financial services company heavily dependent on technology, or is it a technology company that delivers financial services? Regardless of the semantics, expect this trend to accelerate in 2011.

The number of technology M&A deals rose 41 percent in 2010 compared with the year earlier, to 2,658, the largest number since the 3,345 deals done in pre-recession 2007, according to Ernst & Young. The total value of tech deals in 2010 increased 26 percent year over year, to $119 billion, though the average value per deal, $131 million, was down 10 percent–owing to more but smaller deals overall. Private equity firms accounted for $19.7 billion of that $119 billion in total deal value, more than double the $9.8 billion PE firms spent on tech acquisitions in 2009. Last year also saw a surge in cross-border tech M&As. They accounted for 41 percent of total deal value in 2010, compared with 25 percent in 2009.

Twenty-six technology M&A deals topped the $1 billion mark. Among the biggest ones were Intel’s $7.29 billion deal for McAfee (security), SAP’s $5.65 acquisition of Sybase (analytics, mobile Integration), NTT’s $3.23 billion acquisition of Dimension Data (IT infrastructure services), EMC’s $2.25 billion acquisition of Isilon Systems (storage), Attachmate’s $2.14 billion deal for Novell (infrastructure software), and Hewlett-Packard’s $2.07 billion acquisition of 3Par (storage). Two private equity deals made the top 10: the Advent International and Bain Capital deal for most of RBS Worldpay (a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland) and Carlyle Group’s $2.98 billion acquisition of CommScope (carrier infrastructure).

Google was the most prodigious tech acquirer in 2010, disclosing 28 deals in social networking, e-commerce, document collaboration, mobile video, gaming, payments, and other areas, according to Ernst & Young. The likes of IBM and Cisco have taken a similar tack over the years–buying small, innovative companies as de facto R&D arms rather than developing all their own technologies from scratch.

The fact that Google is returning co-founder Larry Page to the CEO chair–bumping CEO Eric Schmidt up to executive chairman come April–is an indication that Google is revving up its internal R&D and innovation engine after years of mostly acquiring companies for that purpose. (As an important aside, the number of technology company initial public offerings more than tripled in 2010, to 180, indicating that successful innovators have other options besides getting acquired.)

Nonetheless, expect the pace of industry consolidation to quicken in 2011 as companies with new-found cash expand into new technology, industry, and geographic markets and augment existing ones. Leading the way will be the usual suspects: IBM, Oracle, EMC, Microsoft, Dell, EMC, CA, Cisco, and HP (which just announced it’s acquiring analytics specialist Vertica). But expect non-traditional players like Google and Facebook, as well as those from outside the industry, to shake things up as well.

Struggle Continues as House Considers ND Pharmacy Ownership Bill

Once again, legislators are considering a bill that would change the law restricting pharmacy ownership. It would make many prescriptions much more affordable, but critics say it would come at a cost. A similar effort failed two years ago, and both sides are going at it again.

Pharmacists from all over the state say the legislation puts their livelihoods at risk, but big chain retailers say a little competition helps consumers.

Large retailers like Wal-Mart and Target can`t operate a pharmacy in North Dakota. That`s because state law says pharmacies must have majority owners who are licensed pharmacists in the state.

The House Industry Business and Labor Committee is considering a bill that would loosen the law and allow large retailers to open up shop.

Local pharmacists don`t want the legislation to pass, and they`re banding together.

“It is scary. Your smaller communities, your rural communities, some of them will be forced out. There`s only a certain number of prescriptions to fill,” said pharmacy owner Kim Essler.

But advocates say everyone would win, especially consumers.

“Fundamentally, it`s a restriction of trade,” said hospital pharmacist Joan Johnson. “Competition is good for consumers and it`s just wrong to restrict trade in any way. Just because something is a chain, doesn`t mean it`s bad. And I think pharmacists should have a choice of where they want to work.”

Some hospital pharmacists support the legislation. They say the law under serves some patients, and they use home infusion as an example. That`s when a patient can take medication at home, instead of lying in a bed for a period of time.

They say rural areas often don`t have medications readily available, leaving patients no choice but to travel long distances or use mail order.

Advocates say North Dakota is the only state in the country where large retailers can`t operate a pharmacy, and that`s got to change. Opponents say no way, because customers would lose out in the end.

“If the law changed and things got where I couldn`t survive in business, I think there`s still a pharmacist shortage, I`d be able to find a job, go somewhere else,” said Essler.

Opponents say it would be difficult to compete with large retailers deep pockets. Advocates claim opponents fears of being pushed out of business are unfounded.

Down To Business: The New Reality Of Tech Industry Consolidation

Amid a recovering economy, technology merger and acquisition activity took off in 2010, as the number of deals and total deal value hit their highest levels since 2007, according to a detailed analysis released this month by Ernst & Young. The mobile, social, cloud computing, storage, security, and analytics segments drove much of that activity, as did healthcare and clean energy.

A sign of the times: Companies whose core business isn’t technology accounted for 15 percent of tech acquisition value in 2010, up from 8 percent in 2009, according to the Ernst & Young report. In the fourth quarter, for instance, the two largest health IT deals involved two “non-technology” companies: pharmacy benefits manager Medco’s $730 million acquisition of United BioSource, a developer of Web and voice response systems, and iinsurer Aetna’s $500 million purchase of Medicity, a maker of health information exchange technology.

In fact, the distinction between tech and non-tech companies is starting to become artificial. Visa plunked down $1.83 billion for CyberSource, a payment management software company, in the 10th largest tech acquisition of the year. Is Visa a financial services company heavily dependent on technology, or is it a technology company that delivers financial services? Regardless of the semantics, expect this trend to accelerate in 2011.

The number of technology M&A deals rose 41 percent in 2010 compared with the year earlier, to 2,658, the largest number since the 3,345 deals done in pre-recession 2007, according to Ernst & Young. The total value of tech deals in 2010 increased 26 percent year over year, to $119 billion, though the average value per deal, $131 million, was down 10 percent–owing to more but smaller deals overall. Private equity firms accounted for $19.7 billion of that $119 billion in total deal value, more than double the $9.8 billion PE firms spent on tech acquisitions in 2009. Last year also saw a surge in cross-border tech M&As. They accounted for 41 percent of total deal value in 2010, compared with 25 percent in 2009.

Twenty-six technology M&A deals topped the $1 billion mark. Among the biggest ones were Intel’s $7.29 billion deal for McAfee (security), SAP’s $5.65 acquisition of Sybase (analytics, mobile Integration), NTT’s $3.23 billion acquisition of Dimension Data (IT infrastructure services), EMC’s $2.25 billion acquisition of Isilon Systems (storage), Attachmate’s $2.14 billion deal for Novell (infrastructure software), and Hewlett-Packard’s $2.07 billion acquisition of 3Par (storage). Two private equity deals made the top 10: the Advent International and Bain Capital deal for most of RBS Worldpay (a unit of Royal Bank of Scotland) and Carlyle Group’s $2.98 billion acquisition of CommScope (carrier infrastructure).

Google was the most prodigious tech acquirer in 2010, disclosing 28 deals in social networking, e-commerce, document collaboration, mobile video, gaming, payments, and other areas, according to Ernst & Young. The likes of IBM and Cisco have taken a similar tack over the years–buying small, innovative companies as de facto R&D arms rather than developing all their own technologies from scratch.

The fact that Google is returning co-founder Larry Page to the CEO chair–bumping CEO Eric Schmidt up to executive chairman come April–is an indication that Google is revving up its internal R&D and innovation engine after years of mostly acquiring companies for that purpose. (As an important aside, the number of technology company initial public offerings more than tripled in 2010, to 180, indicating that successful innovators have other options besides getting acquired.)

Nonetheless, expect the pace of industry consolidation to quicken in 2011 as companies with new-found cash expand into new technology, industry, and geographic markets and augment existing ones. Leading the way will be the usual suspects: IBM, Oracle, EMC, Microsoft, Dell, EMC, CA, Cisco, and HP (which just announced it’s acquiring analytics specialist Vertica). But expect non-traditional players like Google and Facebook, as well as those from outside the industry, to shake things up as well.