Contender to the crown
More impressive revenue growth, a strong move into Japan, and a predicted takeover of the No. 1 spot in worldwide sales among prescription drugs earned Abbott’s Humira the Med Ad News Medicine of the Year honor for a second consecutive year.
By Joshua Slatko

To the point
Troubled waters
By Christiane Truelove

20th annual report • Top 200: World’s best selling medicines
Lipitor claimed the top spot for the ninth consecutive year despite declining U.S. sales; Plavix and Advair remained at No. 2 and No. 3 for 2009; Remicade overtook Enbrel for fourth place; Seroquel and Humira make their debut in the top 10.
By Andrew Humphreys

Layers of security
By combining multiple security measures, both on drug packaging and on dose, pharmaceutical marketers are protecting the supply chain and making life difficult for the bad guys.
By Steven Niles

Prevention attention
Functional tools and cause-marketing tactics provide helpful reminders to patients and increase awareness of the dangers of disease and infection.
By Gina-Louise Monari


Sales & marketing
Pharmaceutical executives doubt that big pharma will be able to innovate sufficiently from within to replace lost revenue from patent expiration.
By Joshua Slatko

Business
Abbott's planned acquisition of Piramal Healthcare Ltd.'s Healthcare Solutions business is expected to give Abbott the No. 1 position in the Indian pharmaceutical market with a share of about 7%.
By Steven Niles

People on the Move
A new appointment at AstraZeneca aims to provide a single point of senior accountability as the company continues to improve R&D productivity and efficiency.
By Gina-Louise Monari

Ad Agency Update
A new medical education company called Group 31 Communications Inc. has risen from the ashes of the now defunct S+R Medical Communications.
By Gina-Louise Monari

Interactive & digital marketing
Two of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies are offering physicians greater access to medical information through their mobile devices.
By Joshua Slatko

FDA Focus
If approved for opioid dependence, Alkermes Inc.'s Vivitrol would be the first and only non-narcotic, non-addictive medication for the treatment of opioid dependence available in a once-monthly formulation.
By Steven Niles

Drug approvals
FDA's approval for Genzyme Corp.'s Lumizyme marks an important milestone for patients living with late-onset Pompe disease in the United States.
By Gina-Louise Monari
 

Promotional analysis of the top 20 products for 2009
The competitive intelligence research company PharmaVoxx has analyzed the promotional activity of the top 20 pharmaceutical brands by revenue as ranked by Med Ad News.
By Steven Niles

Transparency 21
FDA's Transparency Task Force has released 21 draft proposals for public comment on public disclosure policies aimed at helping consumers, stakeholders, and others understand how the agency operates.
By Steven Niles