Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... Good Morning

Good morning, everyone. Yet another snowy day here on the picturesque Pharmalot corporate campus, where we are arming ourselves with numerous shovels and cups of stimulation. Nonetheless, we intend to maintain the usual flow of interesting items and, with that in mind, here are a few tidbits to get you going. Hope your day goes well and stay in touch...

Mitsubishi Tanabe Recalls Injectables Not Properly Tested (Bloomberg News)

The Man Who Sold Maximuscle To Glaxo (The Daily Mail)

Pfizer And Progenics Recall Relistor Injection Kits (Bloomberg News)

Servier Founder Quits As Head Of Industry Group (Pharma Times)

Allegra Is Approved For Over The Counter (Boston Globe)

SinoPharm Plans $760M In Acquisitions (Bloomberg News)

FDA Wants Data On Gilead-Tibotec HIV Drug (San Francisco Business Times)

Bristol-Myers Will Keep Zymogenetics In Seattle (Seattle Times)

FDA Extends Exclusivity For Plavix (Associated Press)

Glaxo Loses Dutch Patent Case On Advair (Reuters)

Former Merck CEO John Horan Dies At 90 (NorthJersey.com)

Smiley pic thx to Green Diva on Flickr

1 Comment

Condor Jan 26, 2011 - 1:00pm

A note, if I may -- on the passing of John J. Horan (1921-2011) -- mentioned above (Thanks, Ed!):

There are probably more than ten million people, worldwide, who have been spared the exquisitely-torturous pain, and ultimately, complete blindness brought on by a common water born parasite, due in large part to Mr. Horan's visionary support of Merck's ivermectin program. Now, that's a legacy.

He has passed peacefully at age 90 in Sea Girt, New Jersey; and was a giant in the "Camelot" days of pharmaceuticals discovery and development. He will be missed.

These (below) are the sorts of accomplishments we should all hope to be eulogized for, after nine wonderful, productive decades on the planet (from Merck's press release, of yesterday):

. . . .John J. Horan. . . died on Saturday, January 22, of natural causes. He was 90 years old. Mr. Horan served as chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of Merck & Co., Inc., from 1976 to 1985. By the end of his tenure, Merck had grown into the largest pharmaceutical company in the world and would soon become the most admired company in America on Fortune magazine's well-known list.

Horan was instrumental in supporting Merck research that led to the development of ivermectin, a medicine to help prevent and treat the devastating tropical disease known as river blindness, and a long running global partnership with a range of governments, intergovernmental agencies and non-profit organizations that serves as the pioneering model for governmental and business cooperation in humanitarian efforts in developing nations.

Upon his retirement as Merck's CEO, Horan continued to serve as a member of the Board of Directors and as its vice chairman until 1993. He earlier served as the company's president and chief operating officer. . . .

In sum, he led Merck in a time when -- and with a vision that -- if the science was put first, the money would generally care of itself. And it did. Those times have passed -- and the world is too complicated now, to return to such a simple drug discovery model -- but it is well to remmeber these philosophical roots.

Namaste, one and all. . . .