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Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners (CPRX) Soars & Fades…. Again. Here’s a Closer Look.

The good news is, Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRX) is up 1.8% today. The bad news is, the current price of $1.12 per share is well under today’s high of $1.39, underscoring a nagging problem that’s been plaguing CPRX since 2009… it just can’t hold onto its gains. Were the news fro the company meaningless, or even bad, the stock’s inability to get anywhere would be understandable. The news has been good though, and got even better today. Still, nothing.

Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners develops drugs to fight addictions, manage pain, and treat diseases of the central nervous system. There are two in the pipelines, covering eight different ailments. CPP-109 is being developed as a therapy to fight cocaine dependency, addictions to methamphetamines, and a cocaine/alcohol combination addiction. The drug’s in Phase I and Phase II testing right now. CPP-109 is also in preclinical development as a therapy for opiate addiction, primarily for pain management patients.

The drug addiction market isn’t often targeted – at least not with a great deal of pomp – by major pharma names. CPRX isn’t barking up a fruitless tree though. The drug addiction market in the U.S. alone is worth approximately $3 billion per year, most of which is spent on pharmaceuticals. Yet, there still aren’t enough effective treatments, which is largely why it’s been given a Fast Track status by the FDA.

The other in-development drug Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners is working on is CPP-115. It’s being developed as a therapy for cocaine and opiate addiction, epilepsy, and other nervous system indications. The foundational molecule is the same as CPP-109, but it’s been tweaked to better fight other ailments. The FDA is also as hungry for CPP-109 as it was for CPP-115, granting it a Fast Track status as well, per this morning’s announcement.

By all accounts, CPRX should be soaring. The fact that it’s not is a clue that the market may be seeing or thinking more than the news alone is indicating. On that note…

The ‘word in the street’ is that Pfizer is interested in co-developing CPP-115. It’s strictly a rumor, and in no way has been confirmed – though not denied – by Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, and could be something cooked up entirely by those with a vested interest in seeing shares move upward. That rumor is underscored by a similar one that GlaxoSmithKline is also interested in the company for its patent portfolio. Again though, neither Glaxo nor CPRX have indicated such a deal was on the table, and it should be regarded as only a rumor at this point. The fact that the stock plunged right after the trading halt was cancelled forces one to think there’s not much substance to the acquisition speculation.

China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. Appoints David Gao to Board of Directors

China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. NKBP
+4.58%
(“Nuokang” or the “Company”), a leading China-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sales of hospital-based medical products, today announced that Mr. David Xiaoying Gao was appointed to the Company’s board of directors (“the Board”) and as a member of the audit committee and corporate governance & nominating committee, effective on December 19, 2011. Mr. Gao will be replacing Mr. William Keller, who is leaving the Board for personal reasons.

Mr. Gao served as the chief executive officer and a director of BMP Sunstone from February 2004 until its acquisition by Sanofi-aventis in February 2011. Following the acquisition, he transitioned to become a senior integration advisor for Sanofi-aventis from February 2011 to August 2011. Previously, Mr. Gao served as chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Abacus Investments Ltd, a private wealth management company, and also held various executive positions at Motorola, Inc. including vice-president and director of the integrated electronic system sector, Asia-Pacific operations; and served as a member of the management board of Motorola Asia Pacific, Motorola Japan Ltd. and Motorola China.

Mr. Gao holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the Beijing Institute of Technology, a M.S. in mechanical engineering from Hanover University in Germany and an M.B.A. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mr. Gao also currently serves as an independent director for China Biologic Products Inc CBPO
-3.45% .

Mr. Baizhong Xue, the Company’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated, “We would like to begin by thanking William for his contributions over the past few years. We wish him the best moving forward. We are also excited to welcome David to our board. We believe his experience in building BMP Sunstone into a China-based pharmaceutical company with over a hundred million dollars in annual sales will contribute to Nuokang’s future growth prospects. Furthermore, we believe his diverse expertise in the various stages of a corporation’s development garnered from completing and integrating a multinational acquisition and serving as an independent director of a fellow U.S.-listed, China-based peer is invaluable.”

Health Plans Steer Members Away From Walgreen’s Drugstores

As Walgreen Co. (WAG) gets closer to leaving Express Scripts Inc.’s (ESRX) pharmacy-benefit network on Jan. 1, big health plans are steering members toward other drugstores to make sure their medication is still covered.

These efforts highlight the potential fallout Walgreen faces in its contract-renewal dispute with Express Scripts, which manages drug benefits for health insurers and employers. Express Scripts represents about 90 million prescriptions and $5.3 billion in annual Walgreen revenue, and while Walgreen doesn’t expect to lose it all, the shift in traffic to competing drugstores could be substantial.

WellPoint Inc. (WLP) and the U.S. military’s Tricare health plan–which combined represent roughly half of Express Scripts’ revenue–are among the big clients alerting their members.

“Unless an agreement is reached between Express Scripts and Walgreens, members will no longer be able to receive coverage for their prescription medications from Walgreens pharmacies,” WellPoint warned in an online post.

The insurer, Express Script’s biggest client, has sent letters about the change to pharmacy members who used Walgreen recently, plus all members on Medicare plans, a spokeswoman said. WellPoint has also reached out through automated and live phone calls, plus inserts in open-enrollment packages.

Tricare has been working with Express Scripts since August to alert beneficiaries to the potential Walgreen network loss. These efforts include phone calls to members on specialty drugs, direct mailings and outreach to providers, a Tricare spokesman said. The military health plan is also following up with members whose prescriptions are still filled at Walgreen; the drugstore’s current contract with Express Scripts runs through this year.

Walgreen has tried hard to keep the Tricare business, which includes nearly 6 million beneficiaries and is Express Script’s second-biggest client. Walgreen has an online petition for Tricare members to voice their desire to maintain Walgreen access; the drugstore recently said it had collected more than 250,000 signatures.

Walgreen, which last month indicated little customer disruption, declined to offer updated comments on where things stand or potential changes ahead of its quarterly earnings report next week.

The drugstore, which posted net sales above $72 billion in the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, has said long-term fall-out from accepting Express Scripts’s terms would be worse than the short-term impact of losing business. Walgreen could win back some prescriptions if Express Scripts clients eventually depart for pharmacy-benefit managers that provide Walgreen access.

While Walgreen is the biggest U.S. pharmacy chain with 7,700 outlets, there are tens of thousands of other pharmacies in Express Scripts’s network. Tricare said about 99% of beneficiaries will have an alternative pharmacy within five miles, meeting or exceeding access standards in the health plan’s contract with Express Scripts.

Elsewhere, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts said it has notified members they will have to switch from Walgreen pharmacies before Jan. 1. The largest private health plan in Massachusetts, with nearly 3 million members, said it is confident it will retain good pharmacy access.

Arise Health Plan, a Wisconsin non-profit that covers the Green Bay Packers, has also advised members to move their prescriptions, Chief Operating officer Mark Minsloff said. Express Scripts–which has online tools to find other drugstores–has assured Arise all members who have used Walgreen have another option within four miles, Minsloff said.

Likewise, WellPoint has done its own analysis and believes that, on average, members will have another in-network pharmacy within a half mile, spokeswoman Lori McLaughlin said. The insurer didn’t have an estimate for how many members are affected.

The Walgreen loss may still be straining WellPoint’s relationship with Express Scripts, which earlier this week disclosed a contract dispute with the insurer. Express Scripts and WellPoint wouldn’t disclose details, but some analysts believe the Walgreen issue could be involved.

Walgreen shares have tumbled about 24% since the Express Scripts dispute went public in June. Analysts at William Blair believe losing Express Scripts-related traffic could cost Walgreen $3.1 billion in sales this fiscal year and $5.2 billion the next year.

That would benefit companies like CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) and Rite Aid Corp. (RAD), the second- and third-largest drugstore chains, respectively. “We’re certainly in a position to capitalize,” CVS Chief Executive Larry Merlo said in a recent interview.

Walgreen, which has retained a handful of Express Scripts clients with contracts that allow them to maintain Walgreen access, has said it expects to achieve 97% to 99% of its fiscal 2011 prescription volume in the current year. Express Scripts, meanwhile, has said it expects 95% or more of its volume to move forward without Walgreen.

Web of business news: 25 top picks from reader clicks

The end of a year generally affords journalists time to decompress, reflect and then pontificate about the year gone by and what we thought were the most significant stories of the year.

This year, the laggards at Crain’s Detroit Business thought we would compile a list of the top stories and blogs between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2011, as selected by you, based on your mouse clicks or BlackBerry button pushes on our various emails and our website, crainsdetroit.com.
1. Feb. 11: “Deal to sell Pistons has been reached, source says”

If private equity player Tom Gores didn’t appreciate the pleasure and pain of delayed gratification before this year, he probably does now. It took nearly four months from when this story ran until Gores actually closed on the purchase of the Detroit Pistons and its umbrella corporation, Palace Sports & Entertainment Inc.

And Gores barely had begun making his presence known through personnel moves when a labor dispute between the National Basketball Association and its players shut down the league and delayed the opening of the NBA’s regular season more than two months.
2. Feb. 7: “The Eminem Chrysler ad, and what Detroiters think”

After years of saying nice things about Detroit (remember Emily Gail?), singing “Hello, Detroit” (Sammy Davis Jr.) and promoting that “It’s a Great Time in Detroit” — to say nothing of the untold numbers of earnest and determined campaigns featuring the word “renaissance” — all it took was two minutes of Eminem’s driving a Chrysler 200 sedan to the thrum of his 2002 hit “Lose Yourself” to give the city some viral marketing props.

Chrysler Group LLC’s Super Bowl commercial, which also featured a gospel choir, became a YouTube sensation and the beginning of a noted ad campaign and slogan of the year: “Imported From Detroit.”
3. Dec. 15, 2009: “American Jewelry and Loan pawn shop featured on TruTV”

Now this one’s a puzzler. We wrote exactly one Web story about American Jewelry and Loan this year — and it wasn’t this one. How did this story from 2009 — about the store’s becoming the star of the TruTV series “Hardcore Pawn” — attract more than 6,700 page views? (Another great moment in search engine optimization, perhaps?)

“Hardcore Pawn” features father and son Les and Seth Gold along with sister Ashley Broad as they run their busy Detroit pawn shop. They’re probably busier these days: On Aug. 25, we reported that American Jewelry and Loan planned to open a pawn shop in Pontiac.
4. Sept. 4: “Attract, retain, repeat — What’s cool in 2011: Hiring, helping workers build careers”

Apparently, the next best thing to working at a cool place is reading about a cool place to work. (OK, maybe a distant second.) This year’s iteration of Crain’s Cool Place to Work awards program was cheerier than its predecessor in 2009, when the recession felt like a depression.

Many employees who nominated their workplaces this year noted that their employers worked hard to avoid major cuts in pay and benefits during the worst years. Better yet, quite a few said one of the coolest things about the company they work for is that it is growing and hiring. And, yes, there was at least one mention of a foosball table.

5. Feb. 17: “Snyder budget: The era of the tax credit is over”

Early this year, having “Rick Snyder” in a headline guaranteed an attentive online audience, as he began to sketch out and then act on his agenda for Michigan. In this Feb. 17 Web report about Snyder’s budget presentation, the governor made plain what we all know today: The way the state offers business tax incentives is gonna change.

Snyder proposed replacing the Michigan Business Tax with a 6 percent flat corporate income tax for “C” corporations. He also wanted to end or change tax credits for brownfield redevelopment, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority program, energy and film incentives, among others.

And then, with the Legislature’s approval, he did just that.
6. Aug. 2: “Canton pharmacy owner, 25 others accused of billing fraud involving painkillers”

Stories about fraud in health care were popular this year, none more so than Chad Halcom’s Web report that Canton Township pharmacist and businessman Babubhai “Bob” Patel allegedly oversaw a statewide health care fraud in which he distributed painkillers valued at more than $57 million and fraudulently billed Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance carriers.

All told, 25 people were charged along with Patel. Federal prosecutors allege that Patel provided kickbacks, bribes and “other inducements” for physicians to write prescriptions for patients with Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance coverage to be presented at a Patel pharmacy for billing — he owns 26 across the state. He remains in jail until trial.
7. Feb. 11: “Regulators shut down Peoples State Bank; First Michigan buys assets”

Troy-based Talmer Bank and Trust is the state’s fastest-growing, having come a long way from 2009 when it was the 136th-largest bank and known as First Michigan Bank. One reason for that growth is that it has scooped up struggling rivals, such as Community Central Bank Corp. and, as this story reported, Madison Heights-based Peoples State Bank.

In August 2010, federal regulators ordered Peoples to either find investors willing to buy enough stock to get the bank adequately capitalized or find a buyer. About six months later, it found Talmer.

Peoples was founded in Hamtramck more than a century ago and built its business serving generations of Polish immigrants as they migrated here for work in the auto plants or to run the bakeries, restaurants and butcher shops that served those factory workers.
8. April 3: “Whole Foods Market browses in Midtown”

After weeks of hearing murmurings, on April 3, Crain’s restaurant writer Nathan Skid reported online that Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market Inc. was shopping for a location in the Midtown area of Detroit. Amid his carefully chosen words, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said of a Whole Foods deal, “It’s not a question of “if’ but “when.’ ”

In this story, Whole Foods would not confirm any interest in Detroit. But today, the company is poised to sprout up at John R and Mack Avenue.
9. Feb. 4: “Matt Prentice explains what did in his company — Sudden move of No. VI Chophouse”

Not that we really needed website analytics to tell us that our readers like to eat or that they like to eat at Matt Prentice restaurants. But when Nate Skid listened to Prentice talk about the reasons behind the demise of the restaurant group bearing his name, thousands wanted a place at that table.

All it took to bring down his empire, Prentice said, was the unexpected relocation of his top-performing restaurant, the No. VI Chophouse, out of the Hotel Baronette in Novi. He also filed for personal bankruptcy in March. But in the Dec. 12 issue, Crain’s reported that a series of business decisions appears to have revived the Prentice restaurants and even the Matt Prentice Restaurant Group name.
10. March 16: “University of Michigan moves up law school rankings; MSU, Wayne make list for first time”

Next time you tell a lawyer joke, keep in mind that enough of them live here to help a Web story about law school rankings crack our top 10.

In U.S. News and World Report’s 2011 Best Law Schools List, the University of Michigan Law School was No. 7 out of 190 accredited U.S. law schools, compared with a consistent No. 9 in 2008-2010. The Michigan State University College of Law and Wayne State University Law School both made the list for the first time — at Nos. 95 and 121, respectively — because of changes in the magazine’s list format.
11. Feb. 16: “Grow Blue: UM’s first chief marketing officer’s goal is to ‘sell out Crisler’ ”

It’s hard to fathom that the University of Michigan’s athletic program needs its own chief marketing officer, given all the residents of Southeast Michigan who refer to UM teams as “we.” But that’s what the university got in December 2010 when it hired Hunter Lochmann away from the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association.

In this Page 1 story, Lochmann said his top priority was to fill Crisler Arena, home of the basketball Wolverines: “That’s a personal agenda,” he told Crain’s Bill Shea. “I’ve got to get to the bottom of why that doesn’t happen. I want to get into the data on why people don’t come to the games.” Maybe it helps now that the men’s team, for the first time in years, has been nationally ranked.
12. March 17: “Dan Gilbert: Quicken’s triumph in overtime trial ‘a victory for right over wrong’ ”

Among the many articles of faith woven into the vast tapestry of Crain’s office banter, one stands above all others, invulnerable to the ebbs and flows of the capricious news cycle.

And that is this: People will read anything about Dan Gilbert. They would read his horoscope. His dry cleaning bill. Dan Gilbert Haiku, written good or very bad, would attract eyeballs.

If the Newsmaker of the Year were based on page views, Dan would be the man. When Bill Shea blogged this month about Gilbert’s dissing of the Detroit Lions on Twitter, more than 2,500 people clicked to read more.

In this Web story, Gilbert celebrated his victory and that of Quicken Loans Inc. in a federal lawsuit involving Quicken’s policy to not pay overtime to loan officers who also earn commissions. Gilbert called the jury’s decision “a victory for right over wrong” — hence the headline.

This we exaggerate? Keep reading.
13. Oct. 12: “As hedge fund buys the farms, prices rise — but what happens come the downturn?”

So this is how viral marketing works, eh? The Crain’s Michigan Business weekly Wednesday email reported on a hedge fund that was buying up farmland and, in the process, raising land prices and a few eyebrows. Freelance writer Howard Lovy sent a link of his story to Glenn Reynolds, creator of the Instapundit blog.

With more than 4,100 page views to date, we needn’t add that Instapundit is widely followed.
14. Jan. 12: “More red flags up at Borders”

For years, bookworms throughout Southeast Michigan would speak of exploring the canyons of literature that made up the original Borders bookstore in downtown Ann Arbor, evoking memories of a sort reserved for such iconic regional brands as Vernors, Kmart, Highland Appliance … hmm.

This Jan. 12 Web story by Crain’s Daniel Duggan reported, among other things, that Chapter 11 was an option for Borders Group Inc., which had grown from a single, revered outlet into a chain of more than 600 book and music stores that had been unable to transition into the digital age. Asked about the possibility of bankruptcy, analyst Jim McTevia neither hemmed nor hawed: “Yes.” And even Chapter 11 wasn’t sufficient. In September, Borders was liquidated.
15. Feb. 2: “5 Questions With … sports executive and team investor Andy Appleby”

No other story this year generated as many reader comments as Bill Shea’s Q&A blog with Andy Appleby, chairman and CEO of the marketing and management firm General Sports and Entertainment LLC — and, it turns out, an owner of an English professional soccer team with a substantial fan base.

And passionate? Well, when comments to a story suggest new lyrics for “Over There” (Hint: “The Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming”), that’s a pretty reliable sign of real, live, visceral, unspellchecked British football passion.

Appleby’s observation during the interview that British soccer fans “take it very seriously” could be a contender for “Understatement of 2011,” if we had a category for that.

Now if we could just get Dan Gilbert to buy an English professional soccer team so we could write about it …
16. Feb. 23: “Taking stand in overtime class-action case, Dan Gilbert defends Quicken culture, explains his e-mails”

… Like we wrote about him here. In this story, Gilbert defended Quicken Loans’ corporate culture and business model during the jury trial involving his company’s overtime policy.

At one point, the exchanges between Gilbert and the attorney for the former Quicken loan officers who were seeking overtime drew a warning from U.S. District Judge Steven Murphy.

Testimony also featured a Gilbert email telling Quicken employees to have a nice Thanksgiving but adding: “How many mortgages will you sell at your Thanksgiving dinner?” Gilbert explained in court: “That was kind of tongue-in-cheek. The rates had come down, and we had some great products, so there was some truth to it.”
17. May 29: “Energy drink king behind $100 million fund: Bhargava sets up tech park for new firms”

Just how big is 5-Hour Energy? Big enough that its creator, Manoj Bhargava, could start a $100 million fund to invest in emerging businesses in the state.

The Stage 2 Innovations Fund was co-founded by Bhargava — CEO of Living Essentials LLC, maker of the popular energy drink — and former Chrysler Group LLC CEO Tom LaSorda. The fund looks to capitalize two to six companies that are about 12-18 months away from commercializing a patented, major new technology. A company should have the potential to reach $100 million to $200 million in net income within a few years, LaSorda and investment fund CEO Simon Boag said in this Page 1 story by Daniel Duggan and Dustin Walsh.
18. April 27: “Snyder reveals details of plan to reform K-12 education system”

Throughout the year, Gov. Rick Snyder has delivered a series of policy addresses that have come to be known as “special messages.” This Web story by Dustin Walsh reported on Snyder’s plan for fixing what he called a “broken” educational system.

Among proposals that have since become law: A pool of funds to award additional per-pupil money to districts that meet financial best-practice measures and changes in the tenure system that make it easier to fire bad teachers.
19. May 27: “New hotel plan emerges for the David Whitney building”

You know downtown Detroit is hot when someone is thinking about opening a hotel. Daniel Duggan reported that the new hotel was being planned as part of a mixed-use development for the historic David Whitney Building.

The building was purchased in March by Whitney Partners LLC, an evenly split joint venture between The Roxbury Group in Detroit and the Farmington Hills-based hotel investment firm Trans Inns Management Inc.

In a Dec. 12 Web story, Duggan reported that Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. would bring its Aloft hotel brand to the Whitney space.
20. Aug. 28: “Lawyers flee Fieger over workload rule — Ethics concerns cited, disputed”

Now how in the world did a story about Geoffrey Fieger attract so many readers? In the Aug. 28 issue, Crain’s Chad Halcom reported on the turnover at Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Giroux & Danzig PC — a result of what former Fieger colleagues claim were unreasonable workload requirements.

In a memo, Fieger proposed withholding paychecks from attorneys who didn’t maintain a minimum of 30 pending lawsuits or imposing a $25,000 fine on attorneys who didn’t try at least three cases a year.

The attorneys who left the firm said the penalties created “an ethical minefield where attorneys’ own financial interests could be at conflict with their professional responsibility to clients.” Fieger’s response, in part: “I’m not interested in having people come here to retire on a paycheck from me.”
21. Nathan Skid’s blog, March 29: “The reincarnation of Joe Muer’s”

Two Joes who aren’t average by any means helped return a fabled name to Detroit’s restaurant scene. Joe Vicari, CEO of Warren-based Andiamo Restaurant Group, opened a reincarnation of Joe Muer Seafood in the former Seldom Blues space inside the Renaissance Center. Crain’s restaurant writer Nathan Skid first reported the deal in this March blog.

Vicari purchased the original Muer recipes and licensing agreements and signed on Joe Muer as a consultant for the restaurant, which opened in September to a brisk business.
22. March 3: “Magna plant fire in Howell slows OEM production”

How delicate is the auto industry’s supply chain?

Consider the concern after a fire gutted the Howell plant of Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc.

The Magna Atreum interiors plant supplied door panels, interior trim and instrument panels to the three Detroit automakers, Mazda Motor Corp. and Nissan North America Inc. Within 24 hours of the fire, some assembly plants slowed production while others shut down.

Yet within six days, 450 employees in Howell were operating the plant at 80 percent of capacity.
23. May 5. “Pinnacle Race Course gives up 2011 horse-racing license”

In the era of the casino, Michigan’s horse racing industry has been hobbled. One local example of the plight of the ponies was Pinnacle Race Course’s announcement that it was surrendering its racing license for 2011.

Pinnacle closed in November 2010, planned to reopen in January 2011, then July. The Huron Township track also said it planned to file an application for 2012 live and simulcast racing permits. Seven months after this Web story was posted, it had not done so.
24. March 7: “Carbone resigns as Beaumont Hospitals’ COO after 9 months on job”

After hiring K. Bobbi Carbone, M.D., as William Beaumont Hospitals’ COO in 2010, CEO Gene Michalski said, “Having a physician as our COO will also enhance our partnership with physicians both in patient care and in business operations.”

Less than nine months later, Carbone resigned for undisclosed reasons. She settled an employment contract dispute with Beaumont for an undisclosed sum and now works in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as an executive at a 12-hospital health care company. Sam Flanders, M.D., is Beaumont’s interim COO.
25. Jan. 3: “A&P bankruptcy creates new headache for subleasing tenants”

Call it the ghost of Farmer Jack. When the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. closed the Southeast Michigan supermarket chain in 2007, it had store leases extending to 2020 in some locations. It was able to sublease some of the space to other chains, while other space was left vacant.

In this story in the Jan. 3 issue, Daniel Duggan reported that A&P, as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, filed a motion to terminate leases at the 20 locations where the space was leased to a subtenant. The move would require the businesses and landlords involved to renegotiate leases and decide which will lose roughly $350,000 per year on a typical lease — money previously paid by A&P. The grocery chain expects to emerge from bankruptcy early next year.

Leading Community Pharmacy Textbook Now in Second Edition

Elsevier Australia has released a second edition of ‘Community Pharmacy: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment’ – an indispensible guide to identifying and treating patients within the community setting.

Fully revised and updated, ‘Community Pharmacy: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment, 2nd Edition’ is the ultimate text for differential diagnosis of the symptoms most commonly seen by community pharmacists throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The first ANZ edition of Community Pharmacy, published in 2007, has come to be an essential aid for pharmacy undergraduate students as well as newly-qualified pharmacists. Established pharmacists will also benefit from the wealth of new information featured in this fully updated edition.

New content includes more than 12 new treatment medicines, eight new case studies, and the incorporation of current issues like weight loss products and pre-quit nicotine use, alternative treatments and complementary therapies.

All conditions, products and recommendations have been revised to reflect current local drug scheduling and clinical practice, and the book’s evidence base has been updated in line with sources including the National Prescribing Service, Australian Prescriber, Australian Medicines Handbook, the Therapeutic Guidelines and Pharmaceutical Society of Australia guidelines.

‘Community Pharmacy: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment 2nd Edition’ features a wide range of pictures to help compare various disease states, along with symptom-specific pharmaceutical questions and algorithms for the purposes of differential diagnosis.

Organised by body system, the book includes evidence-based practice for over-the-counter (OTC) recommendations, along with discussion of the prevalence and epidemiology of, each condition.

This full-colour pharmacy text also offers students and instructors additional web-based resources through Elsevier’s Evolve online platform including additional images for dermatology and ophthalmology, additional case studies and an additional chapter on Evidence-Based Practice.

This new edition also has the added benefit of providing online activities for practicing pharmacists undertaking essential Continuing Professional Development. These activities have been accredited for 10 hours of Group 2 CPD (or 20 CPD credits) suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist’s CPD plan and have been accredited by the Australian Pharmacy Council.

Additional learning tools like practical prescribing summary tables, self-assessment questions, abbreviations and tips boxes covering product use advice ensure this edition of ‘Community Pharmacy’ remains an essential pharmacy resource.

For further information about ‘Community Pharmacy: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment, 2nd Edition’, please visit: http://tiny.cc/83hqk

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr Paul Rutter, BPharm, MRPharmS, PhD Dr Rutter is Principal Lecturer of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.

Dr David Newby, BPharm, PhD Dr Newby is an Associate Professor within the Faculty of Health at the University of Newcastle in NSW, Australia.

ABOUT ELSEVIER

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. The company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier’s online solutions include SciVerse ScienceDirect, SciVerse Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals, and the SciVal suite and MEDai’s Pinpoint Review, which help research and health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

Cuts in Medicaid Pharmacy Reimbursements Will Prompt Pharmacy Closures and Reduce Access to Vital Medications

As the House Human Services Committee held an interim hearing today, Texas pharmacy groups and other industry stakeholders voiced concern about the devastating impact the current implementation of a Medicaid managed care model for pharmacy services will have on their customers and businesses. Pharmacy owners traveled from across the state to testify that a dramatic reduction in reimbursement rates for pharmacy services to Medicaid patients will result in pharmacy closures and lost jobs, thus restricting access to vital medications and pharmacies for Medicaid patients and other Texans.

“The Texas Department of Health and Human Services needs to understand that such severe cuts in reimbursement rates will reduce access to vital medications and other pharmacy services for Medicaid patients,” said Dorinda Martin, R.Ph., owner of Lamar Plaza Drug Store in Austin and Dripping Springs Pharmacy, and president of the Texas Pharmacy Association. “Today’s testimony shows firsthand the terrible impact that the move would have on Medicaid beneficiaries, pharmacies and all Texans.”

Legislation passed by the Texas Legislature in 2011 authorized the move of pharmacy services into managed care in 2012. Under the managed care model, pharmacy reimbursements could be cut by as much as 80 percent, making it impossible for some pharmacies in Texas to continue servicing Medicaid patients or to stay in business. Pharmacy owners, their patients and allies are pushing for solutions to lessen the impact of the implementation of the move, including fair reimbursement rates for pharmacies.

Currently, pharmacies receive reimbursement for Medicaid prescriptions through the state’s Vendor Drug Program. Under the new plan, pharmacies will be subject to rates set by pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) and managed care organizations that are responsible for administering the managed care pharmacy program. PBMs will require pharmacies to accept below-cost reimbursement rates, which will devastate both Texas patients and employers.

“Seventy-five percent of the prescriptions we fill are for Medicaid and 10 percent are for Children’s Health Insurance Program, so 85 percent of our customers will be affected,” said Louis Rumsey, R.Ph., owner of Elam Road Pharmacy in Dallas, Texas. “The prescription reimbursement cuts that come with the move to Medicaid managed care will force me to close my business and my customers will be left without good options for their pharmacy services.”

As currently implemented, the move of pharmacy services to this model would cause widespread pharmacy closures resulting in a loss of access for many patients and thousands of job losses in the state. Texans in rural areas will be particularly impacted by this loss of access, as numerous patients will be forced to travel long distances to the nearest pharmacy.

Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst recently expressed his support for helping pharmacists in Texas continue to service Medicaid patients in response to a question asked by Martin during a November 17th Texas Tribune/TribLive event in Austin. Click here to listen to the conversation between the pharmacist, Dorinda Martin, and Dewhurst.

Martin asked Dewhurst, “We are very concerned about the implementation of Medicaid managed care. We would like to know, as a group of pharmacists in the State of Texas employing about 40,000 people, how you can help us in your present and future position to continue to service the Medicaid patients of this state?”

Dewhurst responded to Martin, “That is an excellent, excellent question … Our independent pharmacists play a huge role, and I want to make sure that we are containing costs, but we’re not driving people out of business. At the end of the day, you’ve got to be able to make a profit.”

The discussion surrounding this move comes at a time when pharmacies in other states across the country are experiencing the negative impact resulting from Medicaid managed care for pharmacy services. For example, Kentucky pharmacies are already seeing job loss and economic distress only weeks after moving from a state-run Medicaid prescription program to managed care.

“It is clear that this move would significantly threaten Texas pharmacies and all Texans,” said Tammy Gray, spokesperson for the Pharmacy Choice and Access Now (PCAN) coalition in Texas and owner of Buda Drug Store. “Our leaders must act to prevent the loss of thousands of jobs and the closure of numerous pharmacies, resulting in the loss of access to local pharmacies for patients who need it most.”

New regulatory measures to address concerns of pharma industry required: TN Governor

Evolving new regulatory measures to address the emerging concerns of Indian pharma industry in its multifaceted dimension is the need of the hour, according to Dr K Rosaiah, Governor of Tamil Nadu.

Inaugurating the golden jubilee national pharmacy week celebration organized by Indian Pharmaceutical Association (IPA), Tamil Nadu branch, the governor said the potential and expertise of the members of Indian pharmaceutical fraternity have to be utilized to hasten the growth of Indian pharma sector as it is now emerging as one of the major contributors to Indian exports. At present, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is ranking 4th in terms of volume and 13th in value terms. India accounts for the eight percent of global production and two percent of world markets in pharmaceuticals, Rosaiah said.

He suggested that priority areas for Indian pharmaceutical R&D have to be identified and the country’s expertise in developing new and innovative processes for known molecules needs to be explored. He also emphasized the need of initiating new drug development for diseases of relevance to the Indian population.

“With low cost innovation, low capital requirements, cost effective running facilities, well established manufacturing processes and R&D infrastructure, India is destined to emerge as an alternative source for affordable medicines. We need to look at pharmaceutical sector as a strategic and flagship industry,” he said.

Regarding pharmacist as a healthcare professional, Rosaiah opined that awareness on the role and responsibilities of a pharmacist as a healthcare professional should be brought in among people, authorities, pharmacists, students of pharmacies and chemists and druggists. For this, a concerted effort from associations like IPA is required. He further advised that the pharmacist should provide patient oriented services and be cautious on their adverse reactions.

Dr B R Jagashetty, drugs controller of Karnataka, G Selvaraj, director of drugs control, Tamil Nadu, PBN Prasad, deputy drugs controller, CDSCO Chennai, R Narayanaswamy, J Jayaseelan and MM Yousuf spoke on the occasion.

The Governor presented the Best Pharmacist award to S Manivannan, deputy drug controller, CDSCO, New Delhi, at the function.

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to Offer New Bachelor’s Degree Program in Chemistry

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences will offer a new bachelor’s degree program in chemistry beginning in fall 2012. The program is ideal for students with interests in both health and physical science.

All students in the Chemistry program at ACPHS will complete coursework that spans the five traditional areas of chemistry: analytical, organic, physical, inorganic, and biochemistry. Students may choose to focus their studies in the area of medicinal chemistry, where they will learn how to apply chemical concepts to the design, synthesis, and development of drugs. It is this ability to specialize in medicinal chemistry combined with the health oriented environment at the College that distinguishes the ACPHS chemistry program from those of most other institutions.

The Bureau of Labor (BLS) statistics reports that there are currently 84,000 chemists employed in the workforce with a significant number working in either scientific research/development or pharmaceutical/medicine manufacturing. According to the BLS, median annual wages of chemists as of 2008 were $66,230.

Students graduating from the ACPHS chemistry program will compete favorably for these positions with students from more traditional biology and chemistry programs because (1) their area of study is directly relevant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and (2) the interdisciplinary nature of the training that is part of this program.

For those not seeking employment in the pharmaceutical industry, additional options may include attending graduate school in the biological, chemical or pharmaceutical sciences; pursuing a professional program in an allied health field (e.g., medical school, pharmacy school, et al); or entering a teacher preparation program.

“Chemistry plays an integral role in the field of pharmacy, and so the expertise and resources required to offer this program have existed at the College for many years. As a result, we are well positioned to offer a program of exceptional quality that aligns with the College’s longstanding commitment to the advancement of health care,” said David Clarke, Ph.D., the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, which will oversee the program.

In addition to its Doctor of Pharmacy program, ACPHS now offers four bachelor’s programs and six graduate programs.

CVS Caremark today announced the promotion of three senior executives within its retail pharmacy organization. With more than 7,200 stores in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, CVS/pharmacy is the leading retail pharmacy in the United States.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090226/NE75914LOGO )

Judith Strauss Sansone has been named Senior Vice President of Merchandising for CVS/pharmacy. A seasoned merchant who has worked more than 30 years for the Company, Sansone brings deep industry knowledge to her new role. Most recently, she served as Vice President Merchandising and Pricing, responsible for general merchandise, consumables and front store pricing. During her career with CVS/pharmacy, she has served several roles including Vice President Healthcare Merchandising and Vice President Retail Innovation and Store Design. In addition, Sansone was part of the core team involved in the integration of the former Eckerd, Osco, Sav-on and Longs Drug as part of the acquisition of these chains by CVS/pharmacy.

Robert Price, Chief Marketing Officer of CVS/pharmacy, takes on an expanded role in the company with the addition of retail innovation and store design to his responsibilities. With more than 20 years of retail, strategy and marketing experience, Price will more tightly integrate the store and digital environments to create a more personalized experience for shoppers and patients. At the center of this effort are the proprietary insights drawn from CVS/pharmacy’s ExtraCare loyalty program, the largest of its kind.

Scott Baker, RPh, Executive Vice President, Internal Operations, Real Estate and Supply Chain, adds inventory management and logistics to his responsibilities. In his expanded role, Baker will provide senior level support for inventory management and product flow in partnership with the merchandising and pharmacy teams. Baker also has oversight of real estate, construction and facilities, and front store operations.

“These appointments tap the deep bench strength and diverse talents of our CVS/pharmacy team,” said Mark S. Cosby, President of CVS/pharmacy. “Through the focus of these leaders and their teams, we’re in the unique position to improve the lives of millions of Americans by providing easy, innovative solutions and personalized pharmacy health care at their neighborhood drug store, CVS/pharmacy.”

About CVS Caremark

CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States with integrated offerings across the entire spectrum of pharmacy care. We are uniquely positioned to engage plan members in behaviors that improve their health and to lower overall health care costs for health plans, plan sponsors and their members. CVS Caremark is a market leader in mail order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, and retail clinics, and is a leading provider of Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans. As one of the country’s largest pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), we provide access to a network of approximately 65,000 pharmacies, including more than 7,200 CVS/pharmacy® stores that provide unparalleled service and capabilities. Our clinical offerings include our signature Pharmacy Advisor™ program as well as innovative generic step therapy and genetic benefit management programs that promote more cost effective and healthier behaviors and improve health care outcomes.

Jeff Gelles: Probing the mystery of drug-supply disruption

Rheumatoid arthritis can be a painful, debilitating disease. But like some of its victims, Fred LeStourgeon was lucky enough to find long-term relief through drug therapy – in his case, with a combination of two widely available generic drugs.

Then something odd happened, and LeStourgeon has been asking questions ever since. Last fall, one of the medications he relied on, leflunomide, nearly vanished from the market – only a much higher-priced brand version, Arava, remained available. And when leflunomide returned, the price had jumped more than tenfold – from about $70 for a three-month supply at his Acme Markets pharmacy to $942.

Primary Care Pharmacies

Over the 20 years Mark Taylor has been a pharmacist, he’s seen customers come into his store and pull their pants down or yank their shoes off to see if he could identify a swelling or a rash.

That sort of behavior is likely on the rise: While the economy remains in a slump and people continue to lose health benefits, it’s becoming more common for them to turn to their pharmacists rather than their doctors to address minor health problems.

“It’s definitely more prevalent now than ever before,” said Taylor, who owns Jersey Shore Pharmacy in Egg Harbor Township.

To meet the needs of their customers, pharmacists today provide services that were once the province of primary care physicians. Many offer a battery of vaccinations, from the more common, like those for influenza and pneumonia, to the more specialized, like tetanus, diphtheria, and meningitis. And some of the chain drugstores like Walgreens and CVS now have walk-in clinics staffed with nurse practitioners who can diagnose, treat and write prescriptions for common illnesses like strep throat, bladder infections, pink eye, and ear infections.

This trend isn’t just about health and healing, however.

“We’re always looking to offer more services,” Taylor said. “You’re always looking for ways to get people into your store.”
A Late State

New Jersey was actually one of the last states to allow pharmacists to offer vaccinations. The Pharmacy Practice Act was signed into law in 2005, but lobbyists for the physician community requested that any rules regarding immunization be approved by both the New Jersey Board of Pharmacists and the state Board of Medical Examiners, a process that took about four years.

Some drugstores began offering vaccinations seven or eight years ago by bringing in nursing agencies that were already licensed to give them, but it wasn’t until 2009 that pharmacists were authorized to offer them — for people over the age of 18. They are still prohibited from vaccinating minors.

“It was a concession [to the physicians’ lobby] that these protocols be approved by both boards,” said Laurie Clark, legislative counsel for the New Jersey Pharmacists Association, the industry’s trade group. “The intent wasn’t to take business away from physicians. The intent was to make immunizations more available.”

In fact, fears of a pandemic may be what prompted New Jersey to finally pass the legislation, according to Kristen Binaso, a spokeswoman for the American Pharmacists Association and a practicing pharmacist in New Jersey.

“If you traveled to the West Coast, pharmacies there have been immunizing for at least 10 years. For some reason, the East Coast lagged behind,” Binaso said. “It wasn’t until New York had a champion in the New York City health department, who warned about a pandemic if vaccines weren’t readily available, that New York got legislation passed.”

New Jersey followed suit shortly thereafter, she said.
On the Rise

Since pharmacies began offering immunizations, the number of people vaccinated in the state has gone up, and that’s a good thing, said Linda Gooen, president of the New Jersey Pharmacists Association.

That trend comes as no surprise to pharmacists, who argue that they have more contact with patients than doctors do, so it makes sense that they should be the ones to take care of inoculations.

“Because we see them more often than they would go to their doctor, we have a relationship with them, and we can provide them with immunizations more promptly than a physician would,” said Joseph Tarallo, who owns Park Plaza Pharmacy in Matawan. “But if we have patients who are compromised, we will refer the person back to their physician for a follow-up to the vaccination.”

But immunizations are just part of a pharmacy’s expanded role.

“Pharmacies are really changing from community drugstores to community health destinations,” said John Colaizzi Jr., chairman of the New Jersey Pharmacists Association and a manager at Walgreens, where four of its stores have walk-in clinics. “If there’s anything severe, we would refer you to a physician or emergency room, but most visits to the ER are for minor illnesses, and those are things that our nurse practitioners can treat.”

The pharmacists growing role is making some doctors take pause. While they acknowledge that making immunization more accessible is good for society at large, they also argue that people are doing themselves a disservice if they’re turning to a drug store for healthcare and are no longer seeing a doctor. At-risk patients, such as those with diabetes or other chronic illnesses, for instance, need to see a doctor on a regular basis for monitoring and preventative care, said Lawrence Downs, CEO and general counsel for the Medical Society of New Jersey, which represents the state’s physicians.

“Clearly there’s a public health benefit for getting the most people vaccinated. That’s not disputed. But for at risk people, people with chronic conditions, those folks can benefit from having their vaccinations in a doctor’s office because there are underlying conditions that can be treated at the same time,” Downs said. “We want to make sure those people aren’t forgoing their physician visit just because they can get their vaccine at Walmart.”

How many people getting their vaccinations at a drugstore rather than a doctor’s office? Figures for New Jersey aren’t available, but the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes statistics for the entire country — and they offer some guidance.

According to the CDC, “For adults overall, a doctor’s office was the most common place (39.8 percent) for receipt of the 2010-11 influenza vaccine, with stores (e.g., supermarkets or drugstores) (18.4 percent) and workplaces (17.4 percent) the next most common.”

The federal agency continues, “The proportion of adults vaccinated in stores (18.4%) during the 2010-11 season increased in each age group compared with the 1998-99 and 2006-07 influenza seasons, when 5% and 7% of adults, respectively, were vaccinated in stores. This increase likely resulted partly from changes in state laws allowing pharmacists to administer influenza vaccinations to adults.”
Cutting Corners

Dr. Martin Neilan, a primary care physician in Wayne, says getting your healthcare in a drugstore is cutting corners.

“There’s nothing more important than establishing a relationship with your primary care provider or doctor,” he said. “To run in and run out of a pharmacy and get your shots is not a proper way to obtain healthcare.”

Neilan says if patients no longer see their doctors for vaccinations or when they get sick, they may no longer go in for their wellness visits either, which is where they talk to the doctor about other health issues that may have come up and where the doctor may catch something before it gets worse.

” We haven’t discovered some rare disease in someone through a well visit, but they do give people an opportunity to raise other health issues for us to discuss,” he said.

If the new system is working properly, pharmacists should be encouraging their patients to go for their checkups, said Clark of the Pharmacists Association.

People on the move: pharma jobs

Replacing Carmine is former president of Lilly USA Dave Ricks, who will take the role of senior VP and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines.

Also retiring from the firm is fellow long-term member Frank Deane, head of global manufacturing operations.

John Lechleiter, the firm’s chairman, president, and CEO, described Carmine and Deane as “pillars of the company who have had a lasting, worldwide impact on our people and our business.”

in-PharmaTechnologist presents its round-up of the latest career moves within the pharmaceutical industry, including news from Eli Lilly, Roche, and Merck.

Eli Lilly has shuffled its leadership team after the retirement of Lilly Bio-Medicines leader Bryce Carmine, and the head of global manufacturing operations Frank Deane.

John Lechleiter, the firm’s chairman, president, and CEO, described Carmine and Deane as “pillars of the company who have had a lasting, worldwide impact on our people and our business.”

Replacing Carmine is former president of Lilly USA Dave Ricks, who will take the role of senior VP and president of Lilly Bio-Medicines.

He will be succeeded as Lilly USA president by Alex Azar, who has been VP of US managed healthcare services and Puerto Rico since 2009.

Deane’s replacement is Maria Crowe, who was previously Lilly’s senior VP for global drug product manufacturing.

Lechleiter added: “We’ll certainly miss Bryce and Frank and the extraordinary leadership they provided.

“At the same time, we’re very fortunate to have talented leaders who are well-prepared and ready to step into these critical roles.”

Roche has named Harsukh Parmar as the new head of translational and experimental medicine (TM) for the inflammation discovery and translational area.

Harsukh joins Roche from Astra Zeneca where he was VP and global head of early clinical development in the respiratory and inflammation therapeutic area.

In his new position – based at the company’s Nutley, US, division – he will be take charge of TM’s role in delivering first-in-class compounds to the lifecycle investment point.

Of his new appointment, Jacques Banchereau, Nutley’s chief scientific officer said: “He will provide valuable expertise and advice on target selection and the development of early stage compounds in our Inflammation pipeline.”

Merck has announced that its chairman Richard Clark will retire from the company and the board of directors.

The news comes after Clark stepped down from his role as president and CEO, handing over to Kenneth Frazier. In his stead, Frazier will also become chairman.

Clark said: “I have been a part of Merck for more than 39 years – I always have and always will consider Merck to be an important part of my life and my extended family.”

The Council of Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals (CORAR) has selected Michael Guastella as its new executive director.

He replaces founding executive director Henry Kramer, who will retire later this year.

Guastella was most recently theVP of marketing and product development for the Nuclear Pharmacy Business of Cardinal Health – a position he held for seven years.

John Butler has become the new CEO at Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals.

The company is the only biopharma focused exclusively on the development and commercialisation of new treatment options for people with hemophilia.

Butler has more than 20 years experience in the field of commercialisation for innovative therapies.

He replaces Michael Griffith, who will become chief scientific officer, and will remain as president at Inspiration.

Big pharmacy’s influence feared in Canada’s patient care guideline authors, says study

Too many doctors and researchers who help create guidelines for patient care have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, according to a study that investigated conflict of interest among a group of major Canadian and U.S. health care organizations.

More than half of panel members who develop clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of diabetes and high cholesterol — conditions which generated $70 billion in drug sales in 2010 — have received compensation by pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. researchers report. The compensation is in the form of consultancy payments, honorariums, speakers’ fees and research grants.

The study, published online Wednesday in BMJ: The British Medical Journal, found the problem was more serious in Canadian specialty organizations, with 83 per cent of panel members having industry ties. Among the American specialty organizations, 58 per cent of panel members had such ties.

“That indicates there is a potential risk of industry influence on guideline recommendations,” said Dr. Jennifer Neuman, the study’s lead author and instructor in the department of preventive medicine at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

“Guidelines serve to standardize care and inform evidence-based practice and ultimately to protect patients. Their freedom from bias is very important.”

The study evaluated 14 sets of clinical care guidelines — three from Canada and 11 from the U.S. — published between 2000 and 2010. The guidelines are a key reference for physicians who screen and treat patients for high cholesterol and diabetes.

The investigators found more than half of those who chaired guideline panels had conflicts. They also found one out of nine panellists who had reported no conflict of interest did have industry ties.

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society, a 2,000-member medical specialty society whose mandate is, among others, to promote cardiovascular health and care through knowledge translation, had the highest prevalence of conflict among organizations included in the study. Every one of their 23 panel members had a conflict of interest — three of which were not declared — at the time the society published its 2009 practice guidelines for high cholesterol.

The Canadian Diabetes Association, the other Canadian specialty organization included in the study, released practice guidelines in 2008. At the time, 73 members of its 93-member panel had industry ties. The Canadian Diabetes Association was not available for comment.

Canadian Cardiovascular Society president Dr. Blair O’Neill said the organization’s process for developing guidelines has been updated in the last few years, specifically to address the issue of conflict.

Each of the society’s panels has two chairs, none of whom has done research funded by industry. And of the remainder of the panel, 50 per cent plus one of the members can have no such ties.

But, O’Neill added, it’s impossible for all of them not to have such ties because the level of expertise would be diluted. He explained that there is a limited pool of experts in Canada to begin with and the best ones inevitably have their research funded by industry because the government funding just isn’t there.

“The experts in the field . . . have done research funded by industry because government granting agencies’ purse strings have become ever tighter,” O’Neill said.

While O’Neill argues that the panels had never been biased in the past, the public should now have full confidence in their work, he said.

Neuman said their study found government sponsored panels had significantly fewer members with conflict of interest, which shows that expert panels can be composed of people without ties to industry.

She said health care organizations must be held to one standard to minimize conflict of interest, and that mandates for panel members to disclose industry ties may not be enough to prevent industry bias from influencing practice guidelines.

Trudo Lemmens, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s law and medical schools, said more must be done to eliminate real and potential conflicts of interest.

“It’s a question of establishing public trust in the system” said Lemmens, who holds the William M. Scholl chair in health law and policy, in the faculty of law.

“The perception of conflict alone creates doubt about the process. It makes you unsure about the level of independence when making decisions,” he said.

Counterfeit drugs targeted by technology in India

Fake drugs like these counterfeit Viagra pose a huge health risk to patients – and destroy confidence in genuine pharmaceuticals

Making pills that could save lives both in India and abroad, Indian pharmaceutical companies are growing faster than ever before.

Worth over $12bn, the industry is expected to grow more than four-fold in the coming decade.

But even as global attention is focused on the healthy growth in India, it is threatened by a serious malaise – counterfeiting. Fake drugs in the system risk not just lives of patients, but also the reputation of drug makers.
Faking it

There are varying estimates of how big the problem is. Up to 25% of the medicines consumed in poor countries could be counterfeit or substandard, according to the World Health Organisation. They define a counterfeit as “a medicine, which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source”.

Counterfeit drugs are a $200bn (£128bn) industry worldwide. Producers need very little investment to set up the manufacturing process and can make huge profits.

With manufacturing costs nearly 40% cheaper than other countries, the authorities are worried India could become an easy target for counterfeiters.

This is why the government has launched a campaign against counterfeit medicines. The drug controller of India says while they have task forces that regularly raid producers, it is increasingly difficult to spot fakes.

Very often consumers cannot work out if they have been treated with a counterfeit product, which may contain non-active or even toxic ingredients.

Deputy drug controller general of India, Dr D Roy, says counterfeit medicines often resemble the originals in chemical composition. But he thinks the biggest problem is the packaging.

Holding up two strips of a medicine for the common cold, he points out that its nearly impossible to find any differences in them.

“This is how consumers are deceived,” he says.

“Retailers too would find it difficult to identify a fake. The packaging industry is not regulated by us. The need of the hour is to evolve a more holistic approach that ensures involvement of all stakeholders in the supply chain.”

Currently, when a company suspects that its drugs are being counterfeited in a particular area, they alert the local office of the drug controller to take action.

The authorities then conduct a raid and seize any fake products found.
Testing times

When a consumer suspects that a drug is counterfeit, the process to get it tested in a government laboratory is slow and expensive.

Technology is now being used to speed up the process.

A committee set up by the Indian Ministry of Health has approved a proposal to put 2D barcodes and scratch-off labels on medicines.

The label works like a telephone recharge coupon. The user scratches off the cover and texts what is underneath to a freephone number, to find out if a pill is real.

Quick response (QR) codes are also being tested. These printed squares are an advanced version of the 2D barcodes. Anyone with a camera-enabled phone and web access can scan the code and be taken instantly to the pharma company website to authenticate the drug.

Leveraging the extensive mobile usage in the country and cloud computing, the pharma industry hopes to increase their credibility. Computer companies see a huge business potential in offering technology solutions to the whole industry.

Hewlett-Packard is one of the companies offering a solution, a cloud-based platform called Global Authentication Service.

This barcode lets pharma companies track drugs through the supply chain

Pharma companies can buy two-dimensional bar codes which will be printed on the packaging material.

The companies can then use the cloud service to monitor the movement of products through their global supply chains. The system is used to trace and authenticate medicines in Nigeria and Ghana.

A Appadurai of HP India says they have used the system in Africa with non-profit social enterprise mPedigree. In India, they are in talks with pharma manufacturers like Cipla, Tablet India and the Chemical & Alkeli Merchants Association (CAMA).

Mr Appadurai says the technology would not be very expensive.

“The two dimensional barcodes would cost around one rupee each. This may mean a firm’s expenditure may rise marginally. However, compared to the litigation costs some pharma companies face, this cost is nothing.”
Bonding moment

In an effort measure the amount of fake drugs in the market, the pharma industry and the authorities have come together.

Measures under consideration include a certification system for pharmacists, and an open source website where consumers and companies can access data on fake drugs.

Bilcare Technologies makes anti-counterfeiting, security and brand protection technologies. These include a handheld scanner to track their security technology nonClonableIDT.

This scanner can check the authenticity of packets of pills

It’s almost like a fingerprint that can be put on any product. The company claims it provides a reliable means to track and trace products across the supply chain – from manufacturer to consumer.

Another company, PharmaSecure, has come up with a technology called UIMV – unique identification mobile verification. It is a unique code for each product which can be verified by sending texts to the number given.

Manufacturers print these codes on packaging, and monitoring begins the minute the product leaves the factory. This way consignments are protected while in transit until they reach their destination.
Profits warning

Bejon Misra of the Partnership for Safe Medicines says counterfeiting eats into profits and affects the development of new formulations for medicines.

Consumers can text this number to a freephone number to find out if their medicine is real or fake

“In the perennial search for new drugs to tackle viruses and bacteria that are constantly mutating and developing resistance to current medications, the pharmaceutical industry spends billions of dollars every year towards research and development.

“If we fail to reduce the menace of spurious medicines, the cost towards health care can increase phenomenally.”

Prafull D Sheth of the South East Asian Regional Pharmacy Forum says that even if a small percentage of the overall market is found to be counterfeit, it has a big impact financially.

According to the WHO the most frequently counterfeited medicines in wealthier countries are new, expensive lifestyle medicines, such as hormones, steroids and antihistamines.

Government regulations mean drug manufacturers will have to bar code their products

While in developing countries it is those used to treat life-threatening conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

The majority of fake drugs available are said to originate in India and China.

India is also one the world’s fastest-growing hubs for generic drug production. A majority of the medicines available in Africa come from Indian generic drug laboratories.

Meanwhile the World Trade Organization says fake anti-malaria drugs kill 100,000 Africans a year and the black market deprives governments of 2.5-5% of revenue.

The government hopes barcoding will give credibility to the generics leaving the country. From 1 October 2011, it will be mandatory for all pharmaceutical exporters to print bar-codes on their tertiary or outer-most packaging.
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It’s important for India to reassure consumers worldwide of the safety and credibility of drugs made here”
Paul Lalvani
Empower School of Health

The order also stipulates the compulsory implementation of a track and trace system will also include secondary-level packaging from 1 January, 2012 and primary packing from 1 July, 2012.

Paul Lalvani is dean of Empower School of Health.

He says around $5bn is invested by the big donor funds in anti-malarial and anti-retro viral drugs.

“80-90% of this comes from India. Drug makers impact the lives of over 6m people around the world who are on anti-retro viral drugs and 200m people on anti-malarials.”

“So it’s important for India to reassure consumers worldwide of the safety and credibility of drugs made here.”

Ensuring that poor people get access to quality drugs is a top priority says the government. But counterfeiting is seriously impacting the growth the pharmaceutical sector has so far been enjoying.

Until the government is able to crack down on fake products in the marketplace, popping a pill could be life threatening.

Walgreens Adds To Leadership Team In Pharmacy, Health And Wellness Division

Dr. Jeffrey Kang will join the company on Oct. 31 as senior vice president of health and wellness services and solutions, reporting to both President and CEO Greg Wasson and President of Pharmacy, Health and Wellness Kermit Crawford.

In addition, Mike Ellis has joined Walgreens as vice president of specialty pharmacy and infusion, reporting to Crawford.

“To advance community pharmacy and our role in the integration and cost-effective delivery of healthcare, we are continuing to strengthen the talent and leadership of our pharmacy, health and wellness organization,” said Crawford. “Jeff comes to Walgreens after a long and diverse career in the healthcare industry. He has experienced the industry from all sides – as a practicing physician, from inside government and in the private sector. With his extensive background in health care, Jeff has the breadth of experience and strategic insight to lead our health and wellness businesses, building a dynamic organization that helps us meet customers’ needs for access to quality, affordable healthcare.”

Most recently Kang, 55, was chief medical officer at CIGNA, where he was responsible for health strategy and policy for its medical, pharmacy and behavioral products. Kang also was responsible for CIGNA’s pay for performance programs, including its patient centered medical home and accountable care organizations. Prior to his position at CIGNA, he served as chief clinical officer at the Health Care Financing Administration (now Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) from 1998 to 2002. He also was chief medical officer for the Office of Managed Care from 1995 to 1998.

Kang began his career as the executive director of the Urban Medical Group, a not-for-profit, private group practice in Boston that pioneered the use of physician and nurse practitioner teams to care for frail, elderly patients.

Counterfeit drugs targeted by technology in India

Making pills that could save lives both in India and abroad, Indian pharmaceutical companies are growing faster than ever before.

Worth over $12bn, the industry is expected to grow more than four-fold in the coming decade.

But even as global attention is focused on the healthy growth in India, it is threatened by a serious malaise – counterfeiting. Fake drugs in the system risk not just lives of patients, but also the reputation of drug makers.
Faking it

There are varying estimates of how big the problem is. Up to 25% of the medicines consumed in poor countries could be counterfeit or substandard, according to the World Health Organisation. They define a counterfeit as “a medicine, which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source”.

Counterfeit drugs are a $200bn (£128bn) industry worldwide. Producers need very little investment to set up the manufacturing process and can make huge profits.

With manufacturing costs nearly 40% cheaper than other countries, the authorities are worried India could become an easy target for counterfeiters.

This is why the government has launched a campaign against counterfeit medicines. The drug controller of India says while they have task forces that regularly raid producers, it is increasingly difficult to spot fakes.

Very often consumers cannot work out if they have been treated with a counterfeit product, which may contain non-active or even toxic ingredients.

Deputy drug controller general of India, Dr D Roy, says counterfeit medicines often resemble the originals in chemical composition. But he thinks the biggest problem is the packaging.

Holding up two strips of a medicine for the common cold, he points out that its nearly impossible to find any differences in them.

“This is how consumers are deceived,” he says.

“Retailers too would find it difficult to identify a fake. The packaging industry is not regulated by us. The need of the hour is to evolve a more holistic approach that ensures involvement of all stakeholders in the supply chain.”

Currently, when a company suspects that its drugs are being counterfeited in a particular area, they alert the local office of the drug controller to take action.

The authorities then conduct a raid and seize any fake products found.
Testing times

When a consumer suspects that a drug is counterfeit, the process to get it tested in a government laboratory is slow and expensive.

Technology is now being used to speed up the process.

A committee set up by the Indian Ministry of Health has approved a proposal to put 2D barcodes and scratch-off labels on medicines.

The label works like a telephone recharge coupon. The user scratches off the cover and texts what is underneath to a freephone number, to find out if a pill is real.

Quick response (QR) codes are also being tested. These printed squares are an advanced version of the 2D barcodes. Anyone with a camera-enabled phone and web access can scan the code and be taken instantly to the pharma company website to authenticate the drug.

Leveraging the extensive mobile usage in the country and cloud computing, the pharma industry hopes to increase their credibility. Computer companies see a huge business potential in offering technology solutions to the whole industry.

Hewlett-Packard is one of the companies offering a solution, a cloud-based platform called Global Authentication Service.

Pharma companies can buy two-dimensional bar codes which will be printed on the packaging material.

The companies can then use the cloud service to monitor the movement of products through their global supply chains. The system is used to trace and authenticate medicines in Nigeria and Ghana.

A Appadurai of HP India says they have used the system in Africa with non-profit social enterprise mPedigree. In India, they are in talks with pharma manufacturers like Cipla, Tablet India and the Chemical & Alkeli Merchants Association (CAMA).

Mr Appadurai says the technology would not be very expensive.

“The two dimensional barcodes would cost around one rupee each. This may mean a firm’s expenditure may rise marginally. However, compared to the litigation costs some pharma companies face, this cost is nothing.”
Bonding moment

In an effort measure the amount of fake drugs in the market, the pharma industry and the authorities have come together.

Measures under consideration include a certification system for pharmacists, and an open source website where consumers and companies can access data on fake drugs.

Bilcare Technologies makes anti-counterfeiting, security and brand protection technologies. These include a handheld scanner to track their security technology nonClonableIDT.

It’s almost like a fingerprint that can be put on any product. The company claims it provides a reliable means to track and trace products across the supply chain – from manufacturer to consumer.

Another company, PharmaSecure, has come up with a technology called UIMV – unique identification mobile verification. It is a unique code for each product which can be verified by sending texts to the number given.

Manufacturers print these codes on packaging, and monitoring begins the minute the product leaves the factory. This way consignments are protected while in transit until they reach their destination.
Profits warning

Bejon Misra of the Partnership for Safe Medicines says counterfeiting eats into profits and affects the development of new formulations for medicines.

“In the perennial search for new drugs to tackle viruses and bacteria that are constantly mutating and developing resistance to current medications, the pharmaceutical industry spends billions of dollars every year towards research and development.

“If we fail to reduce the menace of spurious medicines, the cost towards health care can increase phenomenally.”

Prafull D Sheth of the South East Asian Regional Pharmacy Forum says that even if a small percentage of the overall market is found to be counterfeit, it has a big impact financially.

According to the WHO the most frequently counterfeited medicines in wealthier countries are new, expensive lifestyle medicines, such as hormones, steroids and antihistamines.

While in developing countries it is those used to treat life-threatening conditions such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

The majority of fake drugs available are said to originate in India and China.

India is also one the world’s fastest-growing hubs for generic drug production. A majority of the medicines available in Africa come from Indian generic drug laboratories.

Meanwhile the World Trade Organization says fake anti-malaria drugs kill 100,000 Africans a year and the black market deprives governments of 2.5-5% of revenue.

The government hopes barcoding will give credibility to the generics leaving the country. From 1 October 2011, it will be mandatory for all pharmaceutical exporters to print bar-codes on their tertiary or outer-most packaging.
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It’s important for India to reassure consumers worldwide of the safety and credibility of drugs made here”
Paul Lalvani
Empower School of Health

The order also stipulates the compulsory implementation of a track and trace system will also include secondary-level packaging from 1 January, 2012 and primary packing from 1 July, 2012.

Paul Lalvani is dean of Empower School of Health.

He says around $5bn is invested by the big donor funds in anti-malarial and anti-retro viral drugs.

“80-90% of this comes from India. Drug makers impact the lives of over 6m people around the world who are on anti-retro viral drugs and 200m people on anti-malarials.”

“So it’s important for India to reassure consumers worldwide of the safety and credibility of drugs made here.”

Ensuring that poor people get access to quality drugs is a top priority says the government. But counterfeiting is seriously impacting the growth the pharmaceutical sector has so far been enjoying.

Until the government is able to crack down on fake products in the marketplace, popping a pill could be life threatening.

Avon’s Magellan melds two drug-benefit units

Under pressure to curb rising drug costs, Avon’s Magellan Health Services Inc. is combining its two drug-benefits administrator divisions into one, and named Magellan newcomer Kim M. Mageau to run it.

The new Magellan Pharmacy Solutions unit will include its ICORE specialty pharmaceutical management busineses and the division that previously oversaw its state-sponsored pharmacy benefits programs.

Mageau, who joined Magellan in March to manage the drug-benefit management division, was named president of Magellan Pharmacy Solutions. She reports to Magellan President Karen S. Rohan.

“The pharmaceutical industry is in the midst of monumental change. While traditional pharmacy costs have been trending negatively, specialty drugs — provider-administered drugs, in particular — continue to threaten the provision of affordable health care,” Rohan said in a statement announcing the consolidation.

Before joining Magellan, Mageau was president and interim chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Prime Therapeutics LLC, a Minnesota pharmacy benefit manager.

She received her law degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., and her B.S. in accounting from the Carlson School of Business and Management at the University of Minnesota.

Courtney Opposes Pharmacy Merger

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney let the Federal Trade Commission know he strongly opposes the proposed merger of two of the three biggest companies that manage pharmacy benefits, Express Scripts and Medco Health Solutions.

The merger is reportedly valued at about $25 billion.

“Like many of my colleagues, I have concerns that the proposal will lead to further market concentration in an industry—where there are already few choices—without realizing cost savings for consumers,” Courtney wrote in a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “At the same time, this concentration will squeeze community pharmacies, forcing some out of business and creating job losses.”

He’s not alone in his opposition.

“Our members are very concerned about what this proposed merger will mean to patients, employers, state government and pharmacists,” Margherita R. Giuliano, executive vice president of the Connecticut Pharmacists Association, said in July when the merger was announced.

“These large Pharmacy Benefit Managers already have too much power when it comes to controlling health care dollars and they have clearly placed their own corporate earnings first and foremost. This merger will only broaden the power they wield which will ultimately lead to increased prescription drug costs,” Giuliano said.

Appearing before a House antitrust subcommittee two weeks ago, Express Scripts Chief Executive George Paz and Medco Chief Executive David Snow said the market for PBMs was rapidly evolving and includes more competitors than the top three.

But what worries independent pharmacies the most is not only the management of pharmacy benefits for many insurers, governments, and employers, but also the fact that Express Scripts and Medco own their own mail order pharmacy.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, Medco’s Snow reassured independents at a Sept. 20 Congressional hearing that the company wouldn’t have more leverage to steer customers to fill prescriptions by mail order.

But in Connecticut a deal brokered between the state and the labor unions forces the more than 45,000 state employees to get their maintenance drugs, such as blood pressure medication, through mail order.

And while the state gave independent pharmacies a chance to join the mail order program, it was unable to negotiate any rate since the savings were already locked in as part of the labor agreement.

In Connecticut, pharmacies are looking at potentially losing thousands of state employees as patients, Guiliano said.

“The recent SEBAC agreement negotiated with the state mandates that state employees receive their chronic medications through the mail or at a CVS pharmacy,” Giuliano said. “In the latest proposal, any willing pharmacy will be allowed to participate in the mandatory mail order program at the same reimbursement as the CVS/Caremark owned mail order pharmacy – a situation that in most cases will not be affordable to small
pharmacies.”

Rick Carbray, a CPA member and owner of Apex Pharmacy in Hamden, went on to add that “we are also deeply concerned that this PBM merger could mean the further closure of many Connecticut community pharmacies.“

“This is a sad day because there is a world of difference between the personal one-on-one, face-to-face care that community pharmacies offer. It will ultimately also be a loss for the many state residents who are these pharmacies’ patients, as well as a loss for the State of Connecticut due to the lack of revenue and increased unemployment if pharmacies close.

Fifty years later, card store stays relevant in technology-driven world

Fifty years ago, Duey and Virginia McBride moved to Kitsap County “on a lark” to open a pharmacy where Arnold’s Furniture now stands in Bremerton.

The decision to move from Seattle’s Wedgwood neighborhood to Bremerton came after Duey McBride was convinced by a pharmaceutical drug salesman to check out an empty pharmacy building. The aspiring pharmacist saw possibility inside the vacant store, but he had no idea where it would lead.

“We didn’t know what we were doing when we came over, just a couple of kids with a baby and a 2-year-old,” Duey McBride said.

The couple opened McBride’s Westgate Pharmacy in 1961. Seven years later, they expanded, opening the county’s first stand-alone Hallmark card store at 133 Pacific Ave., next to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Before opening the second store, Duey McBride said he didn’t even know what a Hallmark card store was.

Fifty years later, the pharmacy is gone, but three Hallmark stores still carry the McBride family name in Kitsap. Duey and Virginia McBride no longer run the stores, they passed the business on to son Scott McBride and his wife, Stacy Ryan. The family also owns Hallmark stores in Tacoma, Oak Harbor and Anacortes.

“Since I was old enough, I probably collapsed cardboard boxes,” Scott McBride said of his first role in his parents’ business. After graduating from college and then working alongside them for years, he bought the business when his parents retired.

A lot has changed since Duey and Virginia McBride opened their first Hallmark store. The couple operated the stores largely during an era when penned correspondence was the primary way to communicate with friends and family living outside the area. It was a time when handwritten thank you notes were the norm and not a novelty.

In recent years, the family has had to expand its offerings in the shops beyond the birthday, anniversary and get well cards. The stores now offer a bag line by designer Vera Bradley, Christmas ornaments, women’s apparel, Yankee Candle Co. candles, gift wrap and other items to bring in income and stay relevant.

Duey McBride says the change is the result of the Internet and the ever-evolving way society communicates.

“Today, the industry is being overtaken by the Internet, Twitter and Facebook,” Duey McBride said. “There’s no expansion in the (gift card) market at all, it’s shrinking.”

Duey McBride doesn’t like the Internet, but he admits it has made it easier to stay in touch with a cousin living in Norway.

His son has a slightly different take on how the industry has changed in recent years. Yes, the business has added new products to its inventory, but greeting cards remain “the backbone of the business,” he said.

“People are always looking to communicate feelings and thoughts and sometimes they struggle to put it in their own words,” Scott McBride said. “Getting a card in a mailbox is more meaningful than an email or a text.”

The family celebrated its 50 years in business over the weekend with customers, offering cake and refreshments and a special sale. Giving back to the community was a long-standing practice of Duey and Virginia McBride when they ran the stores, and it is something Scott McBride and his wife have carried into the next generation. Over the years, the family has raised money for breast cancer research, the Kitsap Humane Society, the YWCA’s ALIVE shelter and Harrison Medical Center’s annual Festival of Trees event.

Business news in brief

Amerisource buys drug-services firm

AmerisourceBergen Corp. said it agreed to buy TheraCom L.L.C., which supplies consulting and reimbursement services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, for $250 million. TheraCom is a unit of the drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits provider CVS Caremark Corp. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year. AmerisourceBergen, Valley Forge, is a distributor of pharmaceuticals. – Paul Schweizer
The Bancorp to buy back stock

The Bancorp Inc., Wilmington, said its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 750,000 shares of the company’s common stock, or about 2.5 percent of the total outstanding. The shares are trading at about $7.05, making the repurchase currently worth about $5.3 million. The company operates The Bancorp Bank, which has assets of $2.5 billion and offices in Philadelphia, Exton, Warminster, and several Southern and Midwestern cities, in addition to Delaware.

New UnitedHealth Business Starts Offering Hearing Aids

Health-insurance giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) is adding a new dimension to its increasingly broad suite of health-care products: hearing aid sales.

A new UnitedHealth business is launching on Monday four different kinds of hearing aids, made by supplier IntriCon Corp. (IIN), with a goal of helping reach millions of people who don’t get the devices due to high costs and lack of insurance coverage.

The move comes as insurers kick off marketing efforts for their 2012 Medicare-based plans. UnitedHealth is offering new hearing-aid benefits in such plans, but is also selling devices on a retail basis over the Internet, injecting it into a multi-billion-dollar market where major players include European firms Sonova Holding AG (SOON.VX), Siemens AG (SI, SIE.XE) and William Demant (WDH.KO).

UnitedHealth is using its scale–the entire company projects $101 billion in sales this year –plus a proprietary web-based hearing test to offer an alternative to a supply chain it says can lead to devices that are too expensive for many people. The move drew criticism from a professional group for hearing experts, which said online hearing tests can’t replace a face-to-face exam.

“Our goal is to put better hearing within reach of more Americans, including the 47 million with Medicare, which does not cover the significant cost of hearing devices,” said Lisa Tseng, chief executive of the new hearing-aid business, called hi HealthInnovations.

UnitedHealth, based in Minnetonka, Minn., has been expanding its business far beyond the bounds of health insurance. It has a broad array of health-services offerings, including its pharmacy-management business, and it has also acquired physician groups. The latest venture marks UnitedHealth’s first foray into medical-device sales, which the company believes is an industry first.

The U.S. market for hearing aids and other so-called audiology devices is valued at more than $5.7 billion, according to Vancouver-based firm iData Research. About 36 million Americans have hearing loss, and the number is poised to grow as baby boomers age.

The UnitedHealth businesses’ hearing aids will retail for between $749 and $949, which compares with typical prices that can reach thousands of dollars. The new business is also contracting with several UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans to make devices available to plan members; there will be no out-of-pocket hearing-aid costs for some Medicare Advantage members, the company said.

Previously, the company said industry Medicare plans had some discounts on the devices, but such discounts have been limited by high costs and lack of Medicare coverage.

UnitedHealth is keeping costs low by simplifying the route for patients to get hearing tests and, if necessary, hearing aids. It has an online test designed to work with earphones and is planning a mobile application for smart phones and tablet computers. Based on the results, hi HealthInnovations will custom program hearing devices.

“We’re really leveraging UnitedHealth Group’s scale and our membership base” to keep costs low, Tseng noted. The company will refer patients onto physicians if hearing tests indicate more serious problems, Tseng said.

Therese Walden, president of the American Academy of Audiology, a professional group for hearing experts, said mark-ups for hearing aids cover the cost of important services that benefit patients. An online test can’t take into account all the variables that impact successful treatment for hearing loss, she said, and audiologists help patients maximize the potential of their hearing aids.

“Skimping on the cost-effective tests and care provided by the audiologist, which helps to ensure accurate diagnosis and effective short and long-term care, is not smart,” Walden said.

Sigma’s clean bill of health

Chairman Brian Jamieson and his then-new chief executive Mark Hooper decided last year that Sigma Pharmaceuticals, despite its near-death experiences, did have a down-sized independent future and rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer in the group’s distressed circumstances. Today’s results would appear to vindicate that decision.

While Sigma rejected the $650 million bid from South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, it did strike a deal with its suitor to sell its pharmaceutical division to that group for $900 million. That wiped out Sigma’s net debt, allowed it to pay a special dividend, and created a simpler and less volatile healthcare business focused on wholesaling and distribution and its own retail pharmacy brands.

Today Sigma reported a $26.7 million profit for the six months to end-July, which compares with a $211 million loss for the same half last year. That’s despite losing a contract to distribute Pfizer’s products, representing about 15 per cent of its sales, when Pfizer decided to distribute directly to pharmacists last year.

Sigma’s underlying sales grew 9 per cent and its earnings before interest and tax were up 55 per cent, so Hooper is generating some momentum in what remains a tough sector, where ongoing reform of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme means the wholesalers are under continuing pressure.

Sigma was destabilised by a combination of poor management, too much debt and the difficult industry environment in which its former pharmaceutical business was operating in.

Its inability to extract synergies from acquisitions, blow-outs in inventory levels that inflated its working capital requirements, overly generous payment terms offered to large customers and heavy discounting were contributing factors.

The sectoral issues that afflicted its pharmaceutical business – intense competition for market share in generics in anticipation of a range of blockbuster drugs coming off patent over the next few years – were also an influence in Pfizer’s decision to take control of its own distribution.

Hooper has steadily reduced the group’s working capital position by improving (from Sigma’s perspective) the terms offered to customers and getting its inventory position under control. A year ago, working capital stood at $777 million. Today it is about $522 million.

He’s improved margins and cash flow conversion, with the group’s operating cash flows rising from $40 million to $106 million. Sigma has no net debt – it has net cash of about $88.5 million after making major debt repayments and paying the 15 cents a share special dividend earlier this year.

Future results should also benefit from Sigma’s coup in winning a contract to supply about 300 pharmacies previously aligned with its rival, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as from further reductions in costs and improvement in the detail of its businesses.

Its now pristine balance sheet, rising cash flows and improving returns on capital provide insurance against the probable contraction in the PBS scheme next year and the continuing ripples from the Pfizer decision.

Sigma may remain a work-in-progress but the decisions to reject Aspen’s bid, sell the pharmaceutical business and concentrate on better managing what was left appear to be paying off.

‘Good Leadership’ll Change Nigeria in 6 Months’

Former Minister of Health and Chairman Juli Pharmacy Plc, Prince Julius Adeluyi, has declared that Nigeria can turn around in six months, if only it has a good leadership, governance, and transparent structure in place.

Adeluyi was the guest speaker at the 2011 seminar and luncheon of the Professional Practice Group (PPG) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) tagged: ‘A Roadmap to Enhance the Professional Business Environment: Best Practice’.

He said Nigeria was not faced with the issue of poverty alone but added that that there also exists a poverty of leadership and ideas.

In his words, “Nigeria does not have any business being poor because Nigeria naturally is not poor. All this can turn around in 6 months if we have good leadership. There is a poverty of leadership which we must address. The biggest problem we have in this country has to do with governance; the quality of governance at every level must be addressed.”

According to him, 80 per cent of all the money is in the hands of one per cent of the people, urging the chamber to press for good and transparent governance through an authoritative democracy. “If this is in place and we have good people to implement them, Nigeria will change in six months and this poverty will disappear,” he said.

“I will say there is a displaced priority. Until we have good leadership, governance, transparency and integrity driving the system corruption will continue, and when there is corruption progress is excluded,” he added.

He pointed out that it was difficult to preach ethics in Nigeria due to poverty, adding that the challenges were too many to be unethical.

In his words, “There are lots of people talking about ethics today that do not even practice it. Sometimes it is almost a crime to be ethical in a non-ethical setting. This is where the chamber of commerce must come out and say they are celebrating not because of their bottom line but showing people that even in this harsh operating environment business can still be done ethically.

“We must never give up. The Chamber, after it has strengthened itself, must make sure that it continues to do advocacy. If this chamber must change, it must select and utilise the younger generation and also partner with similar chamber formations. If you team up, you will have a good network and then you will have a good net worth such that if your name is mentioned in any particular forum what you will get is response and respect,” he said.

The President, LCCI, Otunba Femi Deru, said the theme of the seminar was significant to the declining ethical standards in the corporate world. He said best practices should be promoted and practiced by professionals in the country because it was the only way to curb unwholesome practices in the business community and the economy at large.

The Chairperson, PPG, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, said the seminar was another opportunity to bring into focus important issues affecting the professionals and the economy.

She said, as part of the group’s contribution to the development of the professional practice, it was organising interactive sessions such as this seminar to address topical issues affecting the sector and the economy as a whole, while proffering solutions to the problems confronting operators within the sector.

She added that the group was one of the active and vibrant organs of the chamber, focusing on the impact of professional practice on the economy.

Sigma’s clean bill of health

Chairman Brian Jamieson and his then-new chief executive Mark Hooper decided last year that Sigma Pharmaceuticals, despite its near-death experiences, did have a down-sized independent future and rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer in the group’s distressed circumstances. Today’s results would appear to vindicate that decision.

While Sigma rejected the $650 million bid from South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, it did strike a deal with its suitor to sell its pharmaceutical division to that group for $900 million. That wiped out Sigma’s net debt, allowed it to pay a special dividend, and created a simpler and less volatile healthcare business focused on wholesaling and distribution and its own retail pharmacy brands.

Today Sigma reported a $26.7 million profit for the six months to end-July, which compares with a $211 million loss for the same half last year. That’s despite losing a contract to distribute Pfizer’s products, representing about 15 per cent of its sales, when Pfizer decided to distribute directly to pharmacists last year.

Sigma’s underlying sales grew 9 per cent and its earnings before interest and tax were up 55 per cent, so Hooper is generating some momentum in what remains a tough sector, where ongoing reform of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme means the wholesalers are under continuing pressure.

Sigma was destabilised by a combination of poor management, too much debt and the difficult industry environment in which its former pharmaceutical business was operating in.

Its inability to extract synergies from acquisitions, blow-outs in inventory levels that inflated its working capital requirements, overly generous payment terms offered to large customers and heavy discounting were contributing factors.

The sectoral issues that afflicted its pharmaceutical business – intense competition for market share in generics in anticipation of a range of blockbuster drugs coming off patent over the next few years – were also an influence in Pfizer’s decision to take control of its own distribution.

Hooper has steadily reduced the group’s working capital position by improving (from Sigma’s perspective) the terms offered to customers and getting its inventory position under control. A year ago, working capital stood at $777 million. Today it is about $522 million.

He’s improved margins and cash flow conversion, with the group’s operating cash flows rising from $40 million to $106 million. Sigma has no net debt – it has net cash of about $88.5 million after making major debt repayments and paying the 15 cents a share special dividend earlier this year.

Future results should also benefit from Sigma’s coup in winning a contract to supply about 300 pharmacies previously aligned with its rival, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as from further reductions in costs and improvement in the detail of its businesses.

Its now pristine balance sheet, rising cash flows and improving returns on capital provide insurance against the probable contraction in the PBS scheme next year and the continuing ripples from the Pfizer decision.

Sigma may remain a work-in-progress but the decisions to reject Aspen’s bid, sell the pharmaceutical business and concentrate on better managing what was left appear to be paying off.

WellPoint Wants To See Express Scripts, Walgreen Mend Rift

Health-insurer WellPoint Inc. (WLP) is hoping pharmacy-benefit manager and business partner Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) can mend fences with drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (WAG), and still sees a chance for resolution, a WellPoint executive said Tuesday.

Express Scripts, which handles prescription-drug benefits and claims for employers and health-insurer clients, signed a 10-year deal to serve WellPoint in December 2009. Express Scripts’ customers could lose access to thousands of U.S. pharmacies starting next year because it hasn’t been able to resolve differences over a new contract with Walgreen to replace one that expires at year end.

Though the public dispute has indicated broad differences, “I would not say we’re at the point of no return,” said Wayne DeVeydt, WellPoint’s chief financial officer, during a Morgan Stanley health-care conference.

“We’ve talked to both parties,” he said. “We want to see them settle their dispute.”

DeVeydt noted that WellPoint would like Walgreen to remain in Express Scripts’ network, but also said the insurer can live without Walgreen there, and that the key is getting WellPoint members the best available price. Walgreen has suggested losing access could hurt Express Scripts’ customer relationships, while Express Scripts has countered that it won’t run afoul of access provisions in its contracts and that its customers will have convenient access to other drugstores.

DeVeydt said WellPoint doesn’t see a business impact from the dispute, and that there are “other alternatives available to the customers.”

“Express Scripts is doing very much what we do with hospitals and providers, which is they are trying to get the best rate possible for the consumer,” DeVeydt said. “At the same time, we understand what Walgreens is trying to do as well.”

Express Scripts and Walgreen have offered different views of sticking points in their talks; the drugstore has said its costs are in line with other retail pharmacies, for example, but Express Scripts has said Walgreen would be the highest-cost pharmacy in its network under proposed rates.

Walgreen said last week that talks between the two sides “remain at an impasse” and that it has started informing patients it won’t be part of Express Scripts’ network starting next year. Express Scripts also has been preparing clients and members for the change.

Amid this dispute, Express Scripts plans to acquire rival benefit-manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) in a deal that would create a clear industry heavyweight, and was valued at $29.1 billion when first announced in July. The drugstore industry has strongly opposed the deal.

As for the Walgreen talks, “our goal is to really focus that our consumers don’t get hurt in the negotiations,” WellPoint’s DeVeydt said.

The insurers’ shares recently traded up 3.9% to $65.87, following a sectorwide upswing fueled by comments from rival Aetna Inc. (AET), which said its full-year earnings view has improved based on signs that health-care usage trends have remained weak in the current quarter. WellPoint, meantime, confirmed its 2011 earnings estimate in a regulatory filing late Monday.

Mississippi Pharmacy Recognized on Inc. 5000 List

Transcript Pharmacy lands on the Inc. 5000 List of the Fastest Growing Privately Owned Businesses in America for the fourth year in a row and is ranked 116 in the health industry.

“We are blessed to be trusted by so many health care professionals and so many patients who, month after month, give us the opportunity to serve their needs,” said Cliff Osbon, president of Transcript Pharmacy. “We are successful only because of the trust others place in us, which we believe we have to earn with excellent service.”

Osbon says the Jackson-based pharmacy’s high-touch patient model focuses on giving patients, nurses and doctors nationwide direct access to their staff – they can actually talk to someone on the phone when they call; they don’t have to work with a complicated phone system.

“Our personalized service feels like a ‘mom and pop’ drugstore of years past, while being supported by a high-tech, behind-the-scenes software system which guarantees the best service possible,” said Osbon.

Osbon says maintaining personal relationships with both patients and clinic staff is Transcript’s key to success. Patient intake coordinators say the nurses they work with tell them that Transcript helps save them 45 minutes to an hour when getting prescriptions for their patients.

“One of our nurses in Memphis says her patients tell her they are impressed with the personal service and care they receive from Transcript,” said LaDanna Goodloe, a Transcript patient intake coordinator. “She says they never hear complaints and that everyone at Transcript really cares about each and every patient.”

Rosie DeHart, also a patient intake coordinator, says it is rewarding to hear satisfaction from nurses who work directly with patients.

“A nurse in Dayton, Ohio, told us that they have worked with a lot of specialty pharmacies, but they’ve never experienced this type of ‘grade A’ service from any other pharmacy,” said DeHart. “She said Transcript really knows how to treat people; from clients to patients, catering to people is definitely a priority.”

This high-touch patient model is the same for offices and patients across the country. Transcript’s consistency has garnered positive feedback from health care professionals nationwide.

“Another nurse I work with in Little Rock says that Transcript Pharmacy provides exceptional customer service,” said DeHart. “She says we have a friendly, dedicated staff that truly puts the patient first and that Transcript is her specialty pharmacy of choice.”

Osbon says his staff cares about the end result for the patient and strives to see better health outcomes.

“Our patient care service model results in better adherence to prescribed treatment regimens, which translates into better outcomes and lower overall health care costs, in many cases,” said Osbon.

In fact, a yearlong study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has shown that through personalized communication with each patient, Transcript has improved compliance. Better compliance leads to fewer doctor and hospital visits, which can significantly reduce medical costs for patients.

Sigma’s clean bill of health

Chairman Brian Jamieson and his then-new chief executive Mark Hooper decided last year that Sigma Pharmaceuticals, despite its near-death experiences, did have a down-sized independent future and rejected what appeared to be a reasonable offer in the group’s distressed circumstances. Today’s results would appear to vindicate that decision.

While Sigma rejected the $650 million bid from South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare, it did strike a deal with its suitor to sell its pharmaceutical division to that group for $900 million. That wiped out Sigma’s net debt, allowed it to pay a special dividend, and created a simpler and less volatile healthcare business focused on wholesaling and distribution and its own retail pharmacy brands.

Today Sigma reported a $26.7 million profit for the six months to end-July, which compares with a $211 million loss for the same half last year. That’s despite losing a contract to distribute Pfizer’s products, representing about 15 per cent of its sales, when Pfizer decided to distribute directly to pharmacists last year.

Sigma’s underlying sales grew 9 per cent and its earnings before interest and tax were up 55 per cent, so Hooper is generating some momentum in what remains a tough sector, where ongoing reform of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme means the wholesalers are under continuing pressure.

Sigma was destabilised by a combination of poor management, too much debt and the difficult industry environment in which its former pharmaceutical business was operating in.

Its inability to extract synergies from acquisitions, blow-outs in inventory levels that inflated its working capital requirements, overly generous payment terms offered to large customers and heavy discounting were contributing factors.

The sectoral issues that afflicted its pharmaceutical business – intense competition for market share in generics in anticipation of a range of blockbuster drugs coming off patent over the next few years – were also an influence in Pfizer’s decision to take control of its own distribution.

Hooper has steadily reduced the group’s working capital position by improving (from Sigma’s perspective) the terms offered to customers and getting its inventory position under control. A year ago, working capital stood at $777 million. Today it is about $522 million.

He’s improved margins and cash flow conversion, with the group’s operating cash flows rising from $40 million to $106 million. Sigma has no net debt – it has net cash of about $88.5 million after making major debt repayments and paying the 15 cents a share special dividend earlier this year.

Future results should also benefit from Sigma’s coup in winning a contract to supply about 300 pharmacies previously aligned with its rival, Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, as well as from further reductions in costs and improvement in the detail of its businesses.

Its now pristine balance sheet, rising cash flows and improving returns on capital provide insurance against the probable contraction in the PBS scheme next year and the continuing ripples from the Pfizer decision.

Sigma may remain a work-in-progress but the decisions to reject Aspen’s bid, sell the pharmaceutical business and concentrate on better managing what was left appear to be paying off.