November 7 - November 13, 2005
November 7th:
Guidant Corporation (GDT) Sues Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) To
Force $25.4B Acquisition
Medical device maker Guidant Corp. sued Johnson & Johnson on
Monday, seeking to force the health care company to complete a $25.4
billion acquisition of Guidant which has been shaken by a series of
recalls. J&J said it would vigorously oppose the suit.
Guidant, the heart devices maker facing U.S. probes and New York
state fraud claims, said today it is filing suit in U.S. district
court for the southern district of New York seeking an order for J&J
to consummate the transaction. Johnson & Johnson agreed in December
to buy Indianapolis-based Guidant, the second- biggest maker of
implantable defibrillators behind Medtronic Inc.
VNU And IMS Health (RX) In Talks To Cancel $7 Billion Deal
Following a shareholder revolt, Dutch publishing giant VNU NV is
in talks with U.S. pharmaceutical research company IMS Health Inc. (RX.N:
Quote, Profile, Research) over how to terminate their $7 billion
merger agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people
familiar with the situation.
Holders of nearly half of VNU's shares have said they would turn
down the plan to buy IMS, forcing the Haarlem, Netherlands-based
company to find a way to abandon its agreed purchase of IMS. But
after holding talks, the two companies cannot agree on terms to end
the deal, the paper reported.
November 8th:
Genentech, Inc. Says Ready to Seek FDA OK For Eye Drug;
Preliminary Data from Phase III Trial Show Lucentis Is the First
Investigational Therapy to Demonstrate Clinical Benefit Over
Visudyne In A Head-to-Head Study Of Patients With Wet AMD
Genentech, Inc. announced that a second Phase III clinical study
of the investigational drug Lucentis(TM) (ranibizumab), ANCHOR, met
its primary efficacy endpoint of maintaining vision in patients with
the wet form of age- related macular degeneration (AMD).
Approximately 94 percent of patients treated with 0.3 mg of Lucentis
and 96 percent of those treated with 0.5 mg of Lucentis maintained
or improved vision (defined as a loss of less than 15 letters in
visual acuity) compared to approximately 64 percent of those treated
with verteporfin (Visudyne®) photodynamic therapy (PDT) [p<0.0001]
during the first year of the two-year study.
November 9th:
Boston Scientific and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Receive
Canadian American Business Council 2005 Achievement Award
Boston Scientific Corporation and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
announced that they have jointly received the Canadian American
Business Council (CABC) 2005 Achievement Award, which recognizes
innovative and successful alliances between Canadian and American
firms. The award was presented today at the Council's 11th annual
business achievement awards ceremony and policy forum held in
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Amgen Files Lawsuit against Roche for Patent Infringement
Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, today announced
that it filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court in
Boston, Massachusetts against F. Hoffmann-LaRoche Ltd., Roche
Diagnostics GmbH, and Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc., seeking a declaration
by the Court that defendants' importation, use, sale or offer to
sell a pegylated version of recombinant human erythropoietin
infringe Amgen's patents. Amgen alleges infringement of six U.S.
patents owned by Amgen that claim erythropoietin (EPO) products and
pharmaceutical compositions, and processes for making EPO. Amgen
seeks a permanent injunction preventing the defendants from making,
importing, using, offering for sale or selling recombinant human EPO,
including pegylated EPO, in the United States.
November 10th:
Boston Scientific new surgical lead gets FDA approval
Boston Scientific said its new Artisan surgical lead for the
treatment of chronic pain, with use along with the spinal cord
stimulation system, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration.
Biophan to Receive Nano 50 ``Best of the Best'' Award for
Innovation in Nanotechnology at NASA Tech Briefs Conference
Biophan Technologies, Inc., a developer of next-generation
biomedical technology, announced today that it will receive a "Best
of the Best" award from Nanotech Briefs magazine this week as part
of its first annual Nano 50 Awards contest to recognize superior
scientific achievement and innovation. In addition, CEO Michael
Weiner will present the Company's nanotechnology strategic
initiatives.
November 11th:
St. Jude Medical Obtains Foreign Antitrust Clearance to
Acquire Advanced Neuromodulation Systems
St. Jude Medical, Inc. announced that the German Federal Cartel
Office confirmed that the acquisition of Advanced Neuromodulation
Systems, Inc. by St. Jude Medical may be completed. This approval,
together with the previously announced expiration of the waiting
period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of
1976, satisfies the antitrust approval condition set forth in the
parties' merger agreement. No other regulatory approvals are
required for the merger.
Guidant Completes Enrollment in International Drug Eluting
Stent Clinical Trial
Guidant Corporation today announced that the company has
completed enrollment in its SPIRIT II drug eluting stent clinical
trial.
SPIRIT II is a 300-patient randomized clinical trial evaluating
XIENCE(TM) V, an everolimus eluting coronary stent system utilizing
Guidant's cobalt chromium rapid-exchange MULTI-LINK VISION(R)
Coronary Stent System platform. This single-blind, prospective,
randomized, non-inferiority study further evaluates the XIENCE V
compared to the TAXUS(R) Express 2(TM) paclitaxel eluting coronary
stent system for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Results
of the SPIRIT II study will provide additional clinical data to
support the launch of XIENCE V in several countries outside the
United States. The primary endpoint of the trial is in-stent late
loss at six months.
Cardiomedics Announces Breakthrough in the Treatment of Heart
Failure
Cardiomedics Inc. today announced a clinical study on the use of
its non-invasive CardiAssist(TM) External Counter Pulsation (ECP)
System in the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) was
published in Congestive Heart Failure, a peer-reviewed journal. The
study showed a 90% reduction in mortality in the treatment of heart
failure and an 87.5% reduction in the number of hospitalizations in
the year following the ECP therapy. The study was conducted at six
clinical sites in the United States and employed Cardiomedics'
CardiAssist ECP System and new Graduated(TM) Pressure Regimen
(patent-pending) in the treatment of 127 New York Heart Association
(NYHA) Class II, III and IV CHF patients. The CardiAssist ECP System
uses a series of cuffs fastened with Velcro around the patient's
calves, thighs and buttocks. The cuffs are sequentially inflated,
synchronized with the patient's electrocardiogram, forcing blood up
the veins and arteries to the heart between heartbeats,
significantly increasing perfusion of the heart muscle. The therapy
is painless and non-invasive.
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