New Merck Names "The Fosamax Guy" As Its New Chief Medical Officer

The man apparently led a development efforts on Fosamax (a drug a theme of over 900 lawsuits alleging jaw line bone death, as a side effect of receiving it, longer term). Let's hope his instincts have softened given then. we trust he is better than which would suggest -- here is his before life, in summary fashion:
. . . .Dr. Rosenblatt has served as Dean of Tufts University School of Medicine given 2003. Prior to Tufts University, Dr. Rosenblatt hold a appointment of George R. Minot Professor of Medicine during Harvard Medical School as well as Chief of a Division of Bone as well as Mineral Metabolism Research during Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). He served as a President of BIDMC from 1999-2001. Previously, he was a Harvard Faculty Dean as well as Senior Vice President for Academic Programs during CareGroup as well as BIDMC as well as a owner of a Carl J. Shapiro Institute for Education as well as Research during Harvard Medical School as well as BIDMC.

Prior to that, he served as Director of a Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences as well as Technology. And earlier, he was Senior Vice President for Research during Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Laboratories where he co-led a worldwide development team for alendronate (FOSAMAX), Merck's bisphosphonate for osteoporosis as well as bone disorders. In leading most of Merck's international research efforts, he determined two vital simple research institutes. He also headed Merck Research's worldwide University as well as Industry Relations Department.

Dr. Rosenblatt is a target of a Fuller Albright Award for his work on parathyroid hormone as well as a Vincent du Vigneaud Award in peptide chemistry as well as biology, as well as a Chairmans Award from Merck. Dr. Rosenblatt perceived his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Columbia as well as his M.D. magna cum laude from Harvard. His internship, residency, as well as endocrinology precision were all during a Massachusetts General Hospital. . . .
Well, we theory Merck just found a permanent consultant declare for the defense of these cases -- as well as probably cheaper (all-in) than his day-rate, too.

Pharmalot Has a Great Vioxx/Zetia Perspective Piece Up

Ed Silverman has it all, on his glossy brand new Pharmalot site -- do go read it there, though here is the tiny taste (it covers both Vioxx, as well as Zetia):
. . . .The debate over conflicts of seductiveness is receiving the turn as the former Merck executive and the medical biography are teaming up to lash out at doctors who have criticized drugmaker behavior in published studies, as well as have also served as expert witnesses in product-liability litigation. . . .
Do go read it all, together with comments -- such as this one:
By: Casper the Friendly Ghost
December 15th, 2009 @ 11:11 am

I support anything created (or not) by Laurence Hirsch. . . .
Hilarious!

Fosamax "Bellweather Case" Trials: Updated Scheduling Orders

Judge Keenan will incidentally name an particular Fosamax box -- to add to his hearing calendar -- upon Feb 1, 2010, as a deputy "bellweather" case, given a Fleming box was dismissed. He has additionally scheduled a new hearing date in a "Runaway Jury"/previous mistrial of a Boles Fosamax box for June 2, 2010.
. . . .The hearing of Louise H. Maley v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. 1:06-cv-04110-JFK remains scheduled to embark upon April 19, 2010.

The retrial of Shirley Boles v Merck & Co., Inc., No. 1:06-cv-09455-JFK will embark upon June 2, 2010. Counsel for Merck as well as a Plaintiffs Steering Committee are destined to appear during a discussion in Courtroom 20-C upon Feb 1, 2010, during 11:00 a.m.

The box selected by a Court at random from a hearing pool during a Feb 1 discussion will replace a recently-dismissed Flemings action as an early trial.

Conference set for 2/1/2010 during 11:00 AM in Courtroom 20C, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007 prior to Judge John F. Keenan.

Signed by Judge John F. Keenan upon 12/7/09

Filed In Associated Cases: 1:06-md-01789-JFK-JCF, 1:06-cv-04110-JFK, 1:06-cv-09455-JFK. . . .
As ever, I'll keep you posted. we consider there is another bellweather Fosamax box scheduled for hearing prior to a very-able Judge Keenan, in mid-January 2010.

A Pretty Comprehensive "Forward-Look" -- At New Merck

Slightly too boosterish, in my opinion, though a satisfactory demeanour at almost all of a risks as great as upsides New Merck will expected face, by 2012 -- in a very prolonged web-press-release (do go read it all):
. . . .With a brand brand new expansion formula in place, a complimentary product portfolio as great as larger geographical reach, it will be a uninformed begin for a brand brand new Merck in a New Year. Merck, which has a clever balance piece with cash as great as investments of about $8 billion, has already hinted which it is not going to be restored about acquisitions as great as which it will be eyeing tube possibilities with a greatest probability of success as great as licensing opportunities. This might be a great formula to solidify a company's position at a forefront of innovation as great as enhance its systematic as great as technological leadership. . . .
We shall see.

FDA Advisory Committee -- Solo Slide

And, here it is:



Ahem -- Yawn. Background, here.

Vertex Closes $442.8 Million Secondary Stock Offering

At a very heady price per share, to boot:
. . . .Vertex Pharmaceuticals today closed upon the agreement to sell 11,500,000 shares of the common stock in a firmly-committed underwritten charity during a price to a public of $38.50 per share, which resulted in total gross proceeds of $442.8 million. . . . Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as a sole book-running manager for a offering, in an charity underneath which BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., as well as Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated acted as co-managers. . . .
Regular readers will stop that Vertex is leading New Merck (as successor to Schering-Plough's investigate in this area) in a race for next-gen Hep C treatments. This nearby half billion will give (the rather small) Vertex one more coherence to accelerate the outlay upon the Phase III efforts, as well as expected correspondingly digest the time to approval during FDA.

Sunday Evening: Food For Thought -- From TruthOut.Org

The excellent websites called TruthOut.org (most famous for their being campaigns -- against smoking) are carrying the timely-blog entry/op ed, introspective health caring reform, as well as directions it ought to take. The writer is Dr. Philip Caper, M.D. -- do go review it all -- but this much caught my eye, as well as imagination:

. . . .Prior to about the mid-1970's, American health caring institutions, like those in alternative developed countries, were overwhelmingly nonprofit, locally tranquil entities driven by their mission (not money) -- comforting the sick, curing seizure as well as promoting healing. . . .

Pharmaceutical companies were. . . mostly driven by George Merck's ethic: "If we develop medicines which cure disease, the money will take caring of itself."

By the mid-1970's, leaders in American health caring fell in love with business. They began to hold which government could be improved as well as costs tranquil by the stiff dose of great aged American commercial operation know-how. As the result, initial MBAs, as well as then full-fledged corporatism, began to overflow as well as renovate healing care. Hospital administrators became CEOs, services became product lines, patients became market share as well as so on. . . .

Insurance companies combined opposite state lines, as well as ownership was eliminated from nonprofit local corporations to for-profit multistate as well as inhabitant corporations. As pharmaceuticals became the incomparable part of healing care, curative companies grew, became more essential as well as merged, eventually creating outrageous multinational conglomerates. Ownership was eliminated from in isolation (often family) hands, to apart shareholders by lucrative open offerings. . . .
A worthy Sunday evening read, indeed.