We put together a wrap up of the past week’s top diagnostic news stories and wanted to share them here.

Regulatory Updates

• In an effort to curb radiation hazards, the FDA has instructed the makers of X-ray machines to take all steps needed to minimize radiation hazards for children. NPR.org

• Changes in addiction diagnoses and their financial, insurance effects. The New York Times

Company Developments

• Germany’s largest drugmaker Bayer is considering the sale of its blood glucose meters business as it offers few synergies with its other healthcare activities, sources say. Reuters.com

• Vermillion announces CEO succession plan and next commercial phase. MarketWatch.com

Diagnostic Discoveries

• June’s Journal of Thoracic Oncology says molecular biomarkers in the tissue and fluid lining the lungs might be an additional predictive technique for lung cancer screening. MedicalXpress.com

We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s news stories, so if you have reactions to the above articles, post them here.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

Here’s our latest look at happenings in the medical device industry – if you’ve got more to add, let us know what else we should be paying attention to.

Acquisitions

• ConvaTec acquires critical care device maker, AbViser Medical, LLC. MarketWatch.com

• Smith & Nephew acquires Kalypto Medical, Inc., adding to Smith & Nephew’s wound management business. DeviceSpace.com

Innovation & Growth

• As Smith & Nephew grows in China and India, it next looks to focus on Brazil. MassDevice.com

• Medical device companies to watch for innovation. MedCityNews.com

Device Proposals

• The FDA’s medical device user fee agreements overcome GOP clamor and push toward approval in both houses of Congress as legislators hope to pass the bill before election season. MassDevice.com

• AdvaMed asks the IRS to be reasonable when it determines complex constructive pricing rules in the 2.3% medical device excise tax. HealthImaging.com

Personnel Updates

• Advanced Cardiac Therapeutics announces several key appointments, including Bill Olson to president and CEO. MarketWatch.com

• Maria Sainz, formerly general manager of Concentric Medical, joins CardioKinetix as president and CEO. BusinessWire.com

Be sure to comment with your reactions or supplemental articles.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

We pulled together the top stories from the pharmaceutical industry and put them all here for you to review, comment and let us know what else we should be paying attention to this week in pharma news.

Generics & Biosimilars

• Court rules generic drug manufacturers cannot use federal law to fend off personal injury suits that allege flaws in a drug’s design. ThomsonReuters.com

• The road to biosimilar availability in the U.S. Forbes.com

• Pfizer’s Lipitor losing U.K. patent protection, the Times reports. Bloomberg.com

• Coherus launches with Daiichi Sankyo biosimilar pact PharmaTimes.com

Drug Pricing

• Prices of cancer medicines are dropping dramatically after India allowed Hyderabad’s Natco Pharma Ltd to sell a copy of German firm Bayer AG’s patented cancer drug Nexavar under compulsory licensing. LiveMint.c0m

• How reimbursement decisions can affect the practice of medicine. The New York Times

Government Activity

• CMS delays Sunshine Act data collection FierceHealthcare.com

• Indian lawmakers report collusion between Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and pharmaceutical companies; pharmaceutical companies refute charges. The Wall Street Journal

Drug Discovery & Development

• NIH says that Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly will provide 24 of their compounds for pilot phase of a project in which researchers, with government backing, discover new uses for the compounds. Reuters.com

• Johnson & Johnson asks U.S. regulators to approve its Xarelto blood thinner for a new use. Chicago Tribune

Acquisitions

• GlaxoSmithKline to take Human Genome Sciences buyout offer to shareholders The Washington Post

We hope you’ve found this week’s articles to be informative and post other updates you’d like to add to our wrap up.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

We put together a wrap up of the past week’s top diagnostic news stories and wanted to share them here.

Acquisitions

• Qiagen acquires AmniSure. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Diagnostic Innovation

• Company developing mobile cardiac biomarker testing device for emergency rooms to rapidly determine whether someone is having a heart attack and the likelihood of one occurring in the near future. MedCityNews.com

• OncoMed teams with Genomic Health to develop predictive biomarkers to utilize in early clinical stages of development. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

• Researchers use online crowd-sourcing to diagnose malaria RDMag.com

• Screening for breast cancer without X-rays: Lasers and sound merge in promising diagnostic technique Phys.org

Diagnostic Coding

• New Autism diagnosis may restrict many children from services EmaxHealth.com

We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s news stories, so if you have reactions to the above articles, post them here.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

Chicago, IL – This July in downtown Chicago, Q1 Productions will launch its first-ever Global Learning & Leadership Development Congress.  In an increasingly globalized marketplace, strong and outstanding leaders are best developed in a multi-disciplinary, collaborative, multicultural, practice-oriented learning environment.  To reflect globalization and pervasive international operations, companies need to make internal shifts in learning and leadership culture along with tailoring their strategies to the new and coming workforce generations.  Corporate leaders will share their valuable insights and experiences in identifying the future’s high-potential leaders who will inspire colleagues, clients and drive business globally.

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Media Contact: Paul Hernandez
(312) 602-9683
phernandez@q1productions.com

About the Organizer
Q1 Productions designs and develops webinars, training courses, conference programs and forums aimed at specifically targeted audiences in order to provide strategic and timely information. Through a rigid production process focused on end-user research and design, our team is able to understand the immediate business concerns of today’s leading executives. Whether focusing on new or pending legislative issues, enhanced business processes or technologies that will drive efficiency and customer service, our programs provide solutions to the urgent needs of our attendees. Visit www.q1productions.com

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Here’s our latest look at happenings in the medical device industry – if you’ve got more to add, let us know what else we should be paying attention to.

Acquisitions

• Haemonetics to acquire the business assets of the blood collection, filtration and processing product lines of Pall Corporation. DeviceSpace.com

• PolyTouch Medical Acquired by Covidien Qmed.com

• Haemonetics to acquire Hemerus Medical, LLC. DeviceSpace.com

• Johnson & Johnson acquires a China-based medical device maker, Guangzhou Bioseal Biotech, to broaden its business in China and expand its collection of products designed to control surgical bleeding. NJ.com

• Covidien completes acquisition of Newport Medical Instruments, expanding its Airway & Ventilation product line. Qmed.com

• Royal DSM to acquire medical device maker, Kensey Nash for $360 million. CNBC.com

Regulatory Activity

• FDA Expands Investigator Disqualification To All Products Thompson.com

• The Global Harmonization Task Force releases a new document that it hopes will create a standardized and transparent grading system of QMS nonconformities to communicate the findings of a regulatory audit across the world’s regulation authorities. CMIO.net

• In the wake of the PIP breast-implant trouble, European regulators are proposing several measures to strengthen their control over medical devices. MedCityNews.com

Personnel Updates

• Lee Brody, formerly SRS Medical COO, is named the company’s new CEO. MassHighTech.com

Be sure to comment with your reactions or supplemental articles.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

We pulled together the top stories from the pharmaceutical industry and put them all here for you to review, comment and let us know what else we should be paying attention to this week in pharma news.

Company Developments

• Pfizer takes risks in its plans to stay profitable. The New York Times

• Novartis International AG / Sandoz to acquire Fougera Pharmaceuticals, becoming the number one generic dermatology medicines company globally and in the U.S. Reuters.com

Study Findings

• New study finds children usually excluded from clinical drug trials HealthDay.com

• Pharmaceutical companies, particularly European drugmakers, rank among the world’s best corporate communicators online, according to a new analysis. PharmaTimes.com

Government Enforcement

• Two Florida CVS Stores May Get Their Licenses Pulled In Prescription Drug Crackdown HuffingtonPost.com

• 11 charged in pharma warehouse theft. The Miami Herald

Brandeds & Biosimilars

• In a move that is sure to raise debate about the path forward for biosimilars, Abbott Petitions FDA To Prevent Humira Biosimilars Forbes.com

We hope you’ve found this week’s articles to be informative and post other updates you’d like to add to our wrap up.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

We put together a wrap up of the past week’s top diagnostic news stories and wanted to share them here.

Acquisitions & Alliances

• Varian Medical Systems, Siemens Healthcare announce global collaboration RDMag.com

• Hologic acquires Gen-Probe, growing Hologic’s diagnostics portfolio across the globe. BostonHerald.com

Federal Activity

• Senate bill, Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act, seeks to curb 25% cut for same-day imaging. CardiovascularBusiness.com

Diagnostics Development

• A blood test that can detect breast cancer decades before the disease develops could be available soon, researchers announce. Telegraph.co.uk

Personnel Changes

• SeraCare names two new chief executives. MassHighTech.com

We’d love to hear what you think of this week’s news stories, so if you have reactions to the above articles, post them here.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

Here’s our latest look at happenings in the medical device industry – if you’ve got more to add, let us know what else we should be paying attention to.

Federal Activity

• Congressional bill, PATIENTS’ FDA Act, may help the way professionals with medical device sales jobs and pharmaceutical sales representatives sell a company’s products by speeding up the approval process and reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens. MedReps.com

• New laws setting up a formal regulatory system for medical devices have been approved by the Malaysian government, according to report. MassDevice.com

Alliances & Partnerships

• Asahi Kasei Corporation’s subsidiary completes takeover bid of ZOLL Medical Corporation’s shares and announces merger of the America-based subsidiary and ZOLL Medical Corporation. Reuters.com

• St. Jude Medical and Abbott announce an expanded marketing relationship, and striking a new distribution partnership such that they can present a bundled package of cardiovascular products to hospital customers – leading to increased return on sales effort. MedCityNews.com

Innovation & Development

• MIT hip implant coating may prevent failures MassHighTech.com

Personnel Changes

• Synergetics’ COO Kurt Gampp Jr. resigns St. Louis Business Journal

Be sure to comment with your reactions or supplemental articles.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community

We pulled together the top stories from the pharmaceutical industry and put them all here for you to review, comment and let us know what else we should be paying attention to this week in pharma news.

Acquisitions

• Human Genome Sciences rejects GlaxoSmithKline’s takeover bid and intends to explore other options, which could include a potential sale of the company. Boston.com

• Valeant Pharmaceuticals to acquire assets from Atlantis Pharma in Mexico, expanding its business in Central America. MarketWatch.com

• AstraZeneca acquires Ardea Biosciences, the first of several possible deals for AstraZeneca this year. Bloomberg.com

• Australia’s Biota Holdings to take over U.S.’s Nabi Biopharmaceuticals in Biota’s efforts to develop and commercialize its products in the U.S., a more valuable market. Chicago Tribune

• Watson Pharmaceuticals to acquire Actavis, a deal that would create one of the world’s largest generic drug manufacturers. The New York Times

• Amgen to acquire Turkey’s Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals, continuing its international expansion. PharmaTimes.com

Learn more about strategic alliances between life science companies and organizations at Q1′s 2nd Annual Life Science Licensing Partnership and Alliance Management Conference.

Generics & Biosimilars

• Comments Sent to FDA on Its Draft Biosimilars Guidance Mostly Conveyed Discontent Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

• Caraco court win a win for generic drug makers against brand-name drug makers. Reuters.com

• Congress seeks changes to pharmaceutical sales warnings on generic drugs MedReps.com

• Novartis CEO Sees Big Potential In Biosimilars The Wall Street Journal

• FTC loses its latest attempt to block deals to delay the production of cheaper, generic drugs that brand-name drug companies make with competitors. Reuters.com

We’re excited to look deeper into the evolution and future of generics and biosimilars at our upcoming Regulatory Clearance and Commercialization of Generic Drugs and Biosimilars Conference.

Pharmaceutical Sales

• Supreme Court considers whether representatives of pharmaceutical companies who visit doctors’ offices to promote their companies’ products are entitled to overtime. The New York Times

• New study says costs of clinical trials stifling pharmaceutical sales MedReps.com

FDA Oversight

• FDA says it now spends as much effort and resources on surveilling a drug after it is approved as it does in the pre-approval process. Reuters.com

Personnel Changes

• AstraZeneca CEO, David Brennan, to step down with Simon Lowth, the company’s chief financial officer, taking over as interim chief executive. The New York Times

We hope you’ve found this week’s articles to be informative and post other updates you’d like to add to our wrap up.

Alliant is an exclusive sponsor of Q1 Productions’ life science news reviews and the endorsed insurance broker for the life science community