GlaxoSmithKline

Over the weekend, with the bird flu threat getting major media play, details of the government's plan for coping with a pandemic were emerging. Officials said they expect local agencies to take the lead in the event of an outbreak. Less stress is placed on military involvement than critics had feared. The Department of Health and Human Services said it thinks a major outbreak could kill as many as 1.9 million Americans and affect about half the population. Anxiety was heightened by …

The Justice Department said that British pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to pay a $150 million fine to settle fraud charges stemming from its pricing and marketing of two antinausea drugs. The company is accused of inflating the prices it charged Medicaid and Medicare programs for Zofran and Kytril. The two drugs are commonly used to combat nausea caused by radiation treatments. story  

Researchers in Asia published a paper which criticizes western governments for not sharing access to drugs which can guard against the avian flu and said that the drug Zanamavir should be stockpiled in case of a possible pandemic. Writing in the Lancet, the group argues that experts have been overly conservative in ruling out the antiviral Zanamavir, which is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Relenza. Until now, most experts have argued that Oseltamivir, sold by Roche as Tamiflu, is …

> Northern Virginia-based Proxicom said it would pay $20 million to pick up struggling health IT consultant Daou Systems. Story

> A new study released by the Center for Policy Initiatives concludes that some employees at Children's Hospital of San Diego are unable to afford employer subsidized insurance. …

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee made up of 14 lung specialists meets today to decide if three popular asthma medicines are safe enough to remain on the market. The drugs under consideration are Advair and Serevent, both made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Foradil, made by Novartis but marketed in the US by Schering Plough. All three have been linked to "severe asthma exacerbations" in a small number of patients. The manufacturers involved are expected to present data showing …

GlaxoSmithKline announced plans to launch five new vaccines over the next five years. All told, the new drugs have a projected market value of $11 billion to $18 billion. The five include Cervarix, designed to protect against cervical cancer; Rotarix, which fights rotavirus gastroenteritis; and Streptorix, for pneumococcal disease. The company is also touting an improved flu vaccine and a new combination designed to combat meningitis.

- see this story from the Philadelphia Business Journal

> Critics attacked new HIV figures released by the Indian government, saying the estimates are far too low. Story

> The Kaiser Family Foundation releases a report on medical malpractice. Report

> GlaxoSmithKline has high hopes for its new vaccine for cervical cancer. …