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NATIONAL ROUNDUP
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Lilly Expands
Disease Management Program
To Reach
Growing Asian-American Population
To
expand its patient education outreach, Lilly is translating portions of its
award-winning Health Education Answers program, an online health and wellness
tool, into Mandarin — one of the most common languages spoken by
Asian-Americans.
This will
provide easy-to-access, interactive health information to Asian-Americans — one
of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, with an annual growth
rate of 5.2 percent, says Lilly. By the year 2050, the Asian-American population
is expected to increase to 37.6 million, comprising 9.3 percent of the U.S.
population, Lilly continued.
Already
available in Spanish and English, Health Education Answers is a Web-based
program designed to help managed care and public payer organizations further
drive the standard of patient care through educational outreach. Patients
accessing the program can progress through several health and disease management
modules, including ADHD, bipolar disorder, depression, diabetes, diabetes
complications, manage your weight, medication safety, men's health,
schizophrenia, smoking and addictions, and women's health. The Diabetes, women's
health and Smoking and addictions modules are now available in Mandarin, and
Lilly plans to translate the remaining modules in the future.
"By providing
Health Education Answers in Mandarin, the program will reach a broader
Asian-American audience and offer them an interactive, easy-to-use tool to learn
about health and wellness," said Alex M. Azar II, vice president, Lilly USA.
"For nearly a decade, Lilly has funded disease management programs to help
improve patient care and reduce overall health care costs. We're proud to
continue this outreach by expanding the Health Education Answers program to
address the needs of Mandarin-speaking patients."
03/04/10 |

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Patient and
Provider Education at the Heart of New
Prenatal and
Early Childhood Diagnosis Program
The
U.S. Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA),
Genetic Services Branch, awarded Genetic Alliance, in partnership with the
National Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics and other
partners, a four-year $3.28 million cooperative agreement for the implementation
of the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act (PPDCAA).
PPDCAA is dedicated to improving the system of information and support for
prenatal and early childhood diagnosis. The partners will develop models for
diagnosing congenital conditions, beginning with Down syndrome, spina bifida and
dwarfism. The program will create replicable, sustainable mechanisms for patient
and provider education.
“Receiving
prenatal or early childhood diagnosis is a life-changing event with countless
challenges,” explained Sharon Terry, president and CEO of Genetic Alliance.
“Families have to navigate a fractured health care system to attain the services
and care their children deserve. The Congenital Conditions Program will provide
individuals, families and providers with access to accurate, evidence-based,
timely, unbiased, quality information to foster informed decision making that
will impact all aspects of a child’s life.”
The goal of
the Congenital Conditions Program is to collect and disseminate evidence-based
information, while coordinating the availability of supportive services for
parents whose child receives a diagnosis prenatally, at birth, or up to one year
after birth. Program partners will work with HRSA to expand and improve:
u
Awareness of
national and local peer-support programs
u
Creation of
awareness and educational programs for health care providers who provide,
interpret and inform parents of confirmatory diagnosis results
u
Public use of the
Genetics and Rare Diseases Information Center
u
Integration of the
Quality Assessment Toolbox, as developed through a Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention cooperative agreement for the Access to Credible Genetics
Resources Network
“This
initiative provides an opportunity for family-centered groups to work with
health professionals, regional and state programs, federal agencies, and other
stakeholders in a cohesive program that increases awareness, educates families
and providers, and delivers information during a critical time in a child’s
development,” said Joseph D. McInerney, executive director of the National
Coalition for Health Professional Education in Genetics.
DCAA paved
the way for funding supporting the diagnosis of conditions that impact many
individuals throughout their lifespan. Down syndrome, the most commonly
occurring chromosomal condition in the United States, occurs in one in every 733
babies annually. Today there are more than 400,000 people living with Down
syndrome. The National Center for Health Statistics indicates that spina bifida,
a condition that affects the neural tube, is found in one newborn in 2,500.
Types of dwarfism occur in one in every 95,000 newborns. Although the program
will focus on these three conditions initially, it will create and solidify a
model that can be applied to other conditions.
“I look
forward to building on the work of organizations committed to Down syndrome,
spina bifida, dwarfism, and other congenital conditions. This project will be
fueled by collaboration,” said Natasha Bonhomme, project director of the
Congenital Conditions Program and the vice president of strategic development at
Genetic Alliance.
03/04/10 |

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Pharmaceutical
Research Companies Donate $35
Million to
Relief Efforts in Haiti; More Help Coming
As
the need for health care assistance mounts after the recent catastrophic
earthquake in Haiti, America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology
companies continue to provide help, according to a news release from the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). So far, more than
$35 million in medicines, medical supplies and cash have been committed to
relief efforts ¾
and that amount is still growing. The total does not include the contributions
of PhRMA member company employees and the many companies committed to matching
the pledges of their workers, says the release.
PhRMA
companies making donations include Abbott, Amgen Inc., Astellas Pharma US Inc.,
AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer
Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Daiichi Sankyo
Inc., Eisai Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Inspire
Pharmaceuticals Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly and Company, Lundbeck Inc.,
Merck & Co. Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novo Nordisk Inc.,
Otsuka America Inc., Pfizer Inc., Purdue Pharma L.P., sanofi-aventis U.S.,
Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. and Talecris.
PhRMA
president and CEO Billy Tauzin said: "The day the news broke about the tragedy
in Haiti, America's biopharmaceutical companies got to work
¾
coordinating efforts with relief organizations and health care groups already on
the ground ¾
making sure everything from simple antibiotic creams to critical medicines were
made accessible to victims. And the more the need for medicinal aid is defined,
the more our companies are providing it."
Some of the
medical and disaster relief organizations that PhRMA companies are coordinating
with in Haiti include the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Red Cross
(via various national associations), as well as Americares, Catholic Medical
Mission Board, Direct Relief International, MAP International, Partners in
Health, Project HOPE, Save the Children and World Vision.
PhRMA is also
involved in the Haitian effort through the Rx Response program. This program,
which was developed following Hurricane Katrina, has shed light on the most
effective methods to donate medical products and the most efficient ways medical
professionals can volunteer for the Haiti response effort.
"The vital
role of PhRMA companies and their employees in the global community is clearly
defined by such catastrophic situations. It's our civic responsibility to
provide health care professionals the tools they need to help save lives, and
we're proud to take part in this effort, which will lead to the eventual
recovery of Haiti," Tauzin said.
PhRMA
represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology
companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live
longer, healthier, and more productive lives.
02/24/10 |

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Rite Aid
Whacked With $2.5 Million
Verdict Over
Mis-filled Prescription
Rite
Aid, a national pharmacy chain, was setback last month with a $2.5 million
verdict in Montgomery County, Alabama for mis-filling a prescription of pain
medication with a strong steroid, according to the Law Office of Greg Davis.
In late 2006,
a pharmacist for Rite Aid, and its wholly owned subsidiary Harco Drugs,
mistakenly filled Reva Tosh's prescription of pain medication for rheumatoid
arthritis with the powerful steroid Decadron.
Mrs. Tosh
took large doses of the steroid for 28 days and developed Cushing's Syndrome, a
disorder of the adrenal glands which caused her to suffer mental disorders and
other physical ailments.
"The central
issue at the trial was whether Mrs. Tosh's injuries and present condition were
due to the effects of the steroid she was mistakenly given or due to the effects
of her existing illness of rheumatoid arthritis," noted attorney Greg Davis who
along with Dan W. Taliaferro represented Mrs. Tosh and her husband, Gerald.
Davis added,
"Rite Aid gave her over seven times the customary dose of steroids for almost a
month, causing Mrs. Tosh, who once had an active lifestyle, to suffer from
severe physical ailments and psychiatric disturbances, and confining her to a
wheelchair."
The jury,
which deliberated for about three hours before returning its verdict, awarded
Reva Tosh $2 million in compensatory damages for her injuries, and awarded her
husband $500,000 for the loss of his wife's companionship and services.
Rite Aid
Corporation operates its drugstores in 31 states across the country and in the
District of Columbia. As of February 28, 2009, it operated 4,901 stores. In its
stores, Rite Aid sells prescription drugs and an assortment of other
merchandise, which it calls front-end products.
During the
fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 (fiscal 2009), prescription drug sales
accounted for 67.2 percent of its total sales.
02/24/10 |

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ASCP Foundation
Awarded Grant for Medication
Optimization
Study Using Monitor-Rx
The
American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) Foundation has been awarded a
grant in the amount of $93,465 from the Center for Technology and Aging for a
research project utilizing Monitor-Rx to optimize the medication regimens of
older adults. The ASCP Foundation was selected as one of five grant recipients
out of 47 applicants to the Center's Medication Optimization Diffusion Grants
Program.
The purpose
of the grants program is to encourage further use of technologies that help
improve medication use by older adults with chronic health conditions, lead to
improvements in the cost and quality of care, and improve medication
reconciliation, medication adherence, and/or medication monitoring.
Monitor-Rx (www.monitor-rx.com)
is a web-based clinical tool that associates medication effects with physical,
functional, and cognitive decline and provides medication monitoring
recommendations to foster early recognition of adverse drug effects that can be
avoided, managed, or reversed. The ASCP Foundation's project will utilize
Monitor-Rx to optimize the medication regimens of older adults in three practice
sites that provide comprehensive pharmacist services. The project's goals are
to:
u
Increase clinicians'
knowledge of medications as a cause or aggravating factor contributing to
physical, functional, or cognitive decline, which should lead to more referrals
to pharmacists for medication review.
u
Identify medications
an individual is taking that may cause, aggravate, or contribute to common
geriatric conditions, which will assist clinicians in the problem identification
process when evaluating complex medication regimens and inform pharmacists'
recommendations for changes in drug therapy.
u
Reduce
anticholinergic medication burden to reduce the risk for physical and cognitive
decline or improve physical/cognitive function.
u
Reduce the number of
inappropriate and unnecessary drugs an individual is taking to reduce costs and
avoid potential medication problems.
Monitor-Rx is
a joint venture of the ASCP Foundation and the Interactive Aging Network (IANet),
a non-profit consultancy that supports national aging services organizations,
foundations, and government agencies in the use of information technology to
enhance programs and expand services. Rey Muradaz, chief technology officer of
IANet and consultant in the development of the Monitor-Rx technology, will
provide technical support to implement Monitor-Rx at the project sites.
02/24/10 |

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NATIONAL PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
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Infinity’s
Adelene Perkins Wins Stevie Award
Adelene
Perkins, CEO, Infinity
Pharmaceuticals Inc., was named the 2009 "Best Executive: Non-Services
Business" in the 6th Annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. The award
was presented at the Annual Awards Dinner and Ceremony held late last year in
New York City.
Perkins was
selected from more than 1,100 nominees across several categories at the
international awards competition. A board of 50 judges and advisors from around
the world selected the Stevie Award winners from among the finalists. Perkins
was recognized as "best executive" for non-service organizations with up to
2,500 employees. In 2008, she was a finalist for the "Lifetime Achievement
Award."
Perkins has
more than 25 years of general management experience in the health care,
pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. She joined Infinity early in its
history, and has been an integral figure in establishing Infinity's strategic
plan and leading the company through significant growth. She has played a
central role in structuring and executing all of Infinity's strategic alliances,
including its global strategic alliance with Purdue Pharmaceutical Products L.P.
and Mundipharma International Corporation Limited. Perkins also maintains
executive responsibility for all of Infinity's business functions, including
corporate and product development, commercial affairs, corporate communications,
finance, human resources, and legal affairs.
Perkins
joined Infinity in 2002 after helping to build TransForm Pharmaceuticals, where
she served as vice president of corporate and business development. She
previously held senior leadership positions at Genetics Institute and Bain and
Company.
03/04/10 |

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NCQA
President Receives Picker Institute Award
Margaret
O'Kane, president of
the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has been awarded the 2009
Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of
Patient-Centered Care, "in recognition of her leadership of the National
Committee for Quality Assurance and her lifetime achievement in improving
patient-centered healthcare through measurement, reporting and accountability."
O'Kane
received the award during recent ceremonies at The International Society for
Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) in Dublin, Ireland.
The Picker
Awards for Excellence were established in 2003 as an educational component of
improving patient-centered care and are named for the late Harvey Picker, one of
the nation's leading proponents of improving care. According to the Institute,
the awards are intended to honor people and organizations that have made
significant contributions to achieving this goal, and to highlight them as role
models for others in the health care field. 03/04/10 |

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XOMA Appoints
Neal Business Development VP
James
R. Neal has joined XOMA
Ltd., a leader in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies, as
vice president, Business Development. Neal will oversee XOMA's business
development strategy and lead the team to execute key licensing initiatives to
build and support XOMA's proprietary therapeutic pipeline and biodefense
programs, to market the company's antibody technologies and to assess commercial
opportunities and develop product candidates commercially.
Neal brings
more than 25 years' experience forming and maximizing valuable business and
technology collaborations globally and in bringing novel products and
technologies to market. Most recently, Neal was acting CEO of Entelos Inc., a
leading $22 million biosimulation company, where he was responsible for
multi-million dollar partnerships with companies including Eli Lilly and
GlaxoSmithKline. Previously, in 2007, Entelos acquired Iconix Biosciences, a
privately held company where Neal served as CEO.
03/04/10 |

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Pelican Names
Two New Executives
Paul
Britton has
joined Pelican Products in the newly created position of technical sales manager
and Scott Nicholson has been promoted to senior director of Worldwide
Quality.
With more
than 20 years of reusable packaging experience, Britton will report directly to
the vice president of sales and will focus his efforts on supporting and
developing relationships with key Pelican defense customers including government
engineering centers and major defense contractors. Prior to joining Pelican, he
was national sales manager for Zarges Case Company.
In his new
position, Nicholson will work with the extended Pelican Products quality team to
identify key core processes (internal and customer facing) that need to be
implemented company-wide. His new responsibilities will extend to all areas and
regions of Pelican’s combined businesses, including the Advanced Area Lighting
Group and Case Centers. Prior to his promotion, he was Pelican’s director of
quality and has worked at the company in various manufacturing engineering and
quality management capacities.
03/04/10 |

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In Memorium:
John W. Walsh III
Jack
“Coach” Walsh died of
congestive heart failure last fall. He was 94. Jack Walsh was the father of
John W. Walsh, president and CEO of the Alpha-1 Foundation.
Walsh became
well-known to Alpha-1 sufferers across the country after his twin sons, John and
Fred, were diagnosed with Alpha-1 in 1989. He made a personal commitment to
support his Alpha-1-affected children in creating awareness and increasing
detection of Alpha-1.
The Alpha-1
Foundation was co-founded by son John Walsh in 1995. It is a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to providing leadership and resources for increased
research, improved health, worldwide detection, and a cure for Alpha-1. The
majority of the board of directors are either diagnosed with Alpha-1 or have a
family member diagnosed with Alpha-1.
Three of the
four surviving Jack Walsh children are Alphas; the fourth is an Alpha-1 carrier.
Alpha-1
antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a condition passed down through families in
which the liver does not make enough of a protein that protects the lungs and
liver from damage. The condition can lead to emphysema and liver disease.
For more
information about the Alpha-1 Foundation, visit
www.alphaone.org.
03/04/10 |

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NACDS’ Rosato
Honored by Temple University
Temple
University recently honored National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ (NACD)
senior vice president of Pharmacy Affairs and NACDS Foundation president
Edith A. Rosato with the distinguished 2009 Gallery of Success Award.
Rosato is a 1982 graduate of the Temple University School of Pharmacy and was
recognized for her achievements and leadership in the pharmacy profession. She
has over 30 years of experience in community pharmacy, the pharmaceutical
industry and association management.
Each of
Temple University’s 17 schools and colleges honor two alumni annually who serve
as inspirations to the next generation of Temple graduates. Rosato was selected
by the School of Pharmacy for her distinguished career achievements and her
dedication to improving patient care in the health care industry. Gallery of
Success award recipients, including Rosato, will have their photos and
biographies displayed on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia, Penn.,
throughout the academic year.
03/04/10 |

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ISPE Announces
Board of Directors Election Results
The
International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), a global
not-for-profit association of 24,000 pharmaceutical science and manufacturing
professionals, announced the results of its 2009-2010 International Board of
Directors election, revealing a slate of representatives that hail from nearly
every corner of the globe.
The following
pharmaceutical industry professionals have been elected to positions on the
2009-2010 ISPE International Board of Directors:
Chairman —
Alan Mac Neice, most recently the project director for Biologics at Elan’s
Biopharmaceutical Science’s campus in Ireland.
Vice Chairman
— Andre Walker, director of Manufacturing Engineering for Biogen Idec’s
Commercial and Clinical Operations in Cambridge, Mass.
Treasurer —
Arthur (Randy) Perez, executive expert of IT Quality Assurance for
Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Secretary —
Charlotte Enghave Fruergaard, senior consultant in the Finished Product
Department at NNE Pharmaplan in Denmark.
Directors —
Damian Greene, director/team leader of Pfizer’s API Operations Team;
Winnie Cappucci, a quality and compliance computer validation specialist
working in a highly regulated environment; Doyle R. Johnson, a consultant
at CDI Life Sciences, working on Genzyme's Cell Culture Expansion Project in
Framingham, Mass.; Andrzej Szarmanski, quality director at Polpharma SA,
a European pharmaceutical manufacturer with headquarters in Poland; Morten
Stenkilde, quality director at Novo Nordisk’s insulin filling plant in
Tianjin, China; and Antonio Buendia, project engineering manager
for Eli Lilly and Company’s Alcobendas, Spain facility.
03/04/10 |

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GPhA Names
Senior V.P. of Government Affairs
Bill
Head has been named to
the newly created position of senior vice president of government affairs in the
Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA). In this position, he will be
responsible for developing and executing the association’s federal legislative
strategies as well as coordinating GPhA government affairs activities with
member companies and coalitions. He will report directly to GPhA president and
CEO Kathleen Jaeger.
Head joins
GPhA from Medco Health Solutions, where he most recently served as vice
president, federal government affairs. In this position, which Head held from
2006, he was responsible for leading Medco's strategic objectives on numerous
issues including privacy regulations, antitrust legislation, e-prescribing, and
generic drugs. Prior to that, Head was vice president of policy and government
affairs for the National Alliance for Health Information Technology where he
opened the federal affairs office and led in the development and implementation
of legislative policy for the 100+ member organization.
03/04/10 |

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Schutte Named
to NCPA Foundation Board
John
Schutte, Louisville,
Ky., president of GeriMed, has been named to the National Community Pharmacists
Association (NCPA) Foundation board of directors.
He fills the
seat left open by his father, H. Joseph Schutte, who died in January 2009.
02/24/10 |

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