NBC news
Ken Dilanian and Carol E. Lee
Oct 17, 2017
WASHINGTON — A group of American veterans filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against U.S. and European drug companies and medical device makers, accusing them of supporting an Iran-backed Iraqi militia that killed and wounded hundreds of Americans.
The suit is filed under a law that allows Americans injured by terrorism overseas to seek civil damages. The more than 100 plaintiffs include injured U.S. Iraq war veterans and their families. The defendants are either parent companies or subsidiaries of AstraZeneca plc (AZN); Johnson & Johnson (JNJ); Pfizer Inc. (PFE); Roche Holding AG (RHHBY); and the General Electric Company (GE).
The 203-page lawsuit accuses the companies of paying bribes to officials of Iraq's health ministry that benefited the Mahdi Army, an Iranian-backed militia that the suit says worked closely with Hezbollah, a Lebanese group that has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
It's a lengthy and detailed report, so read it in full at the link.
Here's the lawsuit.
Showing posts with label Pfizer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pfizer. Show all posts
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Pfizer's Viagra Market Share In China Challenged By Guangzhou Baiyunshan's "Golden Spear"
Sometimes a headline just demands a post.
"Golden Spear". So That's what they're calling them in China, Eh?
And no, there's no meme pic with this post for obvious reasons.
fierce pharma
December 10, 2015 | By Eric Palmer
Jin'ge (Chinese for "golden spear") from China's Guangzhou Baiyunshan is said to be on track to eclipse sales of Pfizer's ($PFE) Viagra in China in a few years with a price that is 60% less than the branded erectile dysfunction drug. The company is also said to be looking at taking the copy international. Before Jin'ge hit the market last year, Viagra reportedly had 60% of the market share and Eli Lilly's ($LLY) Cialis held 34.6%, FiercePharmaAsia reports.
Thank You Mr Palmer and Fierce Pharma.
"Golden Spear". So That's what they're calling them in China, Eh?
And no, there's no meme pic with this post for obvious reasons.
fierce pharma
December 10, 2015 | By Eric Palmer
Jin'ge (Chinese for "golden spear") from China's Guangzhou Baiyunshan is said to be on track to eclipse sales of Pfizer's ($PFE) Viagra in China in a few years with a price that is 60% less than the branded erectile dysfunction drug. The company is also said to be looking at taking the copy international. Before Jin'ge hit the market last year, Viagra reportedly had 60% of the market share and Eli Lilly's ($LLY) Cialis held 34.6%, FiercePharmaAsia reports.
Thank You Mr Palmer and Fierce Pharma.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Pfizer-Allergan Merger Marries Companies With History Of Fraud
fiercehealthpayer antifraud
The recent merger between Pfizer and Allergen is getting plenty of attention for its $160 billion pricetag, but one healthcare attorney wonders if fraud and corruption are part of each company's "corporate DNA."
Companies have paid a combined $4.5 Billion in federal settlements
In an editorial posted to Forbes.com, Erica Kelton, a partner with Phillips & Cohen LLP, underscores the fact that together, the two pharmaceutical giants have paid nearly $4.5 billion to settle federal fraud allegations, along with six criminal pleas and four corporate integrity agreements dating back to 2004.
In 2009, Pfizer paid $2.3 billion for off-label marketing of an anti-inflammatory drug, Bextra. At the time, it was the largest healthcare fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, largely because Pfizer's indiscretions occurred while it was negotiating another corporate integrity agreement of off-label use of Neurontin, Kelton writes
Since then, Allergen and Pfizer have agreed to settlements ranging from $1.7 million to $491 million. In October, an Allergen subsidiary agreed to pay $125 million for paying kickbacks to physicians to prescribe certain drugs, leading to thesurprising arrest of one of the company's executives.
"If nothing else, the merger of Pfizer and Allergan should be regarded as an invitation to whistleblowers around the world to continuously scrutinize the giant company's business practices," Kelton writes.
The pharmaceutical industry has a long history of paying large, multi-billion dollar settlements to evade fraud charges. Recently, however, the DOJ has altered its approach, indicating that it will target individuals entwined in corporate fraud schemes.
For more:
- read the Forbes post
- read the Forbes post
Related Articles:
Pfizer pays $2.3B penalty for off-label drug marketing
Without accountability, pharma will happily keep dishing out kickback settlements
Pharma exec faces fraud charges after company's $125M plea deal
Healthcare executives beware: The DOJ wants you
UPDATED: Pfizer finally gets its inversion with $160B Allergan megamerger agreement
Pfizer pays $2.3B penalty for off-label drug marketing
Without accountability, pharma will happily keep dishing out kickback settlements
Pharma exec faces fraud charges after company's $125M plea deal
Healthcare executives beware: The DOJ wants you
UPDATED: Pfizer finally gets its inversion with $160B Allergan megamerger agreement
Thank You Mr Sweeny and FHPAF.
Monday, November 23, 2015
It's Official: Allergan, Pfizer to Combine In Biggest Ever Tax-Inversion, Defy Jack Lew
Zero Hedge
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/23/2015 07:02 -0500
As was extensively reported over the weekend, the Pfizer-Allergan tax-inverting, reverse-merger (in which the far smaller Allergan would end up "buying" Pfizer, courtesy of fungible debt which doesn't care where it ends up as long as there are cash flows) would be announced this morning, and sure enough, moments ago the long-awaited press release finally hit.
Here are the details:
Pfizer and Allergan to Combine
- Creates a new global biopharmaceutical leader with best-in-class innovative and established businesses
- Enhances revenue and earnings growth profile of innovative and established businesses
- Broadens innovative pipeline with more than 100 combined mid-to-late stage programs in development
- Transaction expected to close in the second half of 2016
- Expected to be neutral to Pfizer’s Adjusted Diluted EPS in 2017, accretive beginning in calendar year 2018 and more than 10% accretive in 2019 with high-teens percentage accretion in 20202
- Expect combined Operating Cash Flow in excess of $25 Billion beginning in 2018
- Increased financial flexibility facilitates continued investment in the United States
- Preserves opportunity for a potential future separation of innovative and established businesses
And the full press release:
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and Allergan plc (AGN) today announced that their boards of directors have unanimously approved, and the companies have entered into, a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer, a global innovative biopharmaceutical company, will combine with Allergan, a global pharmaceutical company and a leader in a new industry model – Growth Pharma, in a stock transaction currently valued at $363.63 per Allergan share, for a total enterprise value of approximately $160 billion, based on the closing price of Pfizer common stock of $32.18 on November 20, 2015. The transaction represents more than a 30 percent premium based on Pfizer’s and Allergan’s unaffected share prices as of October 28, 2015. Allergan shareholders will receive 11.3 shares of the combined company for each of their Allergan shares, and Pfizer stockholders will receive one share of the combined company for each of their Pfizer shares.
“The proposed combination of Pfizer and Allergan will create a leading global pharmaceutical company with the strength to research, discover and deliver more medicines and therapies to more people around the world,” stated Ian Read, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “Allergan’s businesses align with and enhance Pfizer’s businesses, creating best-in-class, sustainable, innovative and established businesses that are poised for growth. Through this combination, Pfizer will have greater financial flexibility that will facilitate our continued discovery and development of new innovative medicines for patients, direct return of capital to shareholders, and continued investment in the United States, while also enabling our pursuit of business development opportunities on a more competitive footing within our industry.”
“The combination of Allergan and Pfizer is a highly strategic, value-enhancing transaction that brings together two biopharma powerhouses to change lives for the better,” said Brent Saunders, Chief Executive Officer, Allergan. “This bold action is the next chapter in the successful transformation of Allergan allowing us to operate with greater resources at a much bigger scale. Joining forces with Pfizer matches our leading products in seven high growth therapeutic areas and our robust R&D pipeline with Pfizer’s leading innovative and established businesses, vast global footprint and strength in discovery and development research to create a new biopharma leader.”
Under the terms of the proposed transaction, the businesses of Pfizer and Allergan will be combined under Allergan plc, which will be renamed “Pfizer plc.” The companies expect that shares of the combined company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trade under the “PFE” ticker. Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined company is expected to maintain Allergan’s Irish legal domicile. Pfizer plc will have its global operational headquarters in New York and its principal executive offices in Ireland.
Pfizer’s innovative businesses will be significantly enhanced by the addition of a growing revenue stream from Allergan’s durable and innovative flagship brands in desirable therapeutic areas such as Aesthetics and Dermatology, Eye Care, Gastrointestinal, Neuroscience and Urology. The combined company will benefit from a broader innovative portfolio of leading medicines in key categories and a platform for sustainable growth with diversified payer groups. With the addition of Allergan, Pfizer will enhance its R&D capabilities in both new molecular entities and product line extensions. A combined pipeline of more than 100 mid-to-late stage programs in development and greater resources to invest in R&D and manufacturing is expected to sustain the growth of the innovative business over the long term. Through product approvals, launches and inline performance the combined company aspires to be a leader in growth.
The combination of Pfizer and Allergan will significantly increase the scale of Pfizer’s established business, and their complementary capabilities will maximize the combined established portfolio. The addition of Allergan’s Women’s Health and Anti-Infectives portfolio will add depth to Pfizer’s established business, and Pfizer will expand the reach of Allergan’s established portfolio using its existing commercial capabilities, infrastructure and global scale. In addition, Allergan brings topical formulation, manufacturing and its Anda distribution capabilities to the combined company.
As a result of the combination with Allergan and subsequent integration of the two companies, Pfizer now expects to make a decision about a potential separation of the combined company’s innovative and established businesses by no later than the end of 2018.
Financial Highlights
Pfizer anticipates the transaction will deliver more than $2 billion in operational synergies over the first three years after closing. Pfizer anticipates that the combined company will have a pro forma Adjusted Effective Tax Rate1 of approximately 17%-18% by the first full year after the closing of the transaction. The transaction is expected to be neutral to Pfizer’s Adjusted Diluted EPS1 in 2017, modestly accretive beginning in calendar year 2018, more than 10% accretive in 2019 with high-teens percentage accretion in 2020. These expectations include the impact of expected share repurchases following the transaction. The combined company is expected to generate annual operating cash flow in excess of $25 billion beginning in 2018.
The transaction is not expected to have an impact on Pfizer’s existing dividend level on a per share basis. It is expected that the combined company will use its combined cash flow to continue to support an attractive dividend policy, targeting a payout ratio of approximately 50% of Adjusted Diluted EPS.1
Independent of the transaction and consistent with 2015, Pfizer anticipates executing an approximately $5 billion accelerated share repurchase program in the first half of 2016. Pfizer has approximately $5.4 billion remaining under its previously announced repurchase authorization.
Transaction Details
The completion of the transaction, which is expected in the second half of 2016, is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of regulatory approval in certain jurisdictions, including the United States and European Union, the receipt of necessary approvals from both Pfizer and Allergan shareholders, and the completion of Allergan’s pending divestiture of its generics business to Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which Allergan expects will close in the first quarter of 2016.
Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, the Allergan parent company will be the parent company of the combined group. A wholly owned subsidiary of Allergan will be merged with and into Pfizer, and subject to receipt of shareholder approval, the Allergan parent company will be renamed “Pfizer plc” after the closing of the transaction. Immediately prior to the merger, Allergan will effect an 11.3-for-one share split so that each Allergan shareholder will receive 11.3 shares of the combined company for each of their Allergan shares, and the Pfizer stockholders will receive one share of the combined company for each of their Pfizer shares. Pfizer’s U.S. stockholders will recognize a taxable gain, but not a loss, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The transaction is expected to be tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes to Allergan shareholders.
Pfizer stockholders will have the opportunity to elect to receive cash instead of stock of the combined company for some or all of their Pfizer shares, provided that the aggregate amount of cash to be paid in the merger will not be less than $6 billion or greater than $12 billion. In the event that the aggregate cash to be paid in the merger would otherwise be less than $6 billion or greater than $12 billion, then the stock and cash elections will be subject to proration.
Following the transaction, and assuming that all $12 billion of cash is paid in the merger, it is expected that former Pfizer stockholders will hold approximately 56% of the combined company and Allergan shareholders will own approximately 44% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.
Governance and Leadership
Pfizer plc’s board is expected to have 15 directors, consisting of all of Pfizer’s 11 current directors and 4 current directors of Allergan. The directors from Allergan will be Paul Bisaro, Allergan’s current Executive Chairman, Brent Saunders, Allergan’s current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and two other directors from Allergan to be selected at a later date. Ian Read, Pfizer’s Chairman and CEO, will serve as Chairman and CEO of the combined company. Brent Saunders will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of the combined company. He will be responsible for the oversight of all Pfizer and Allergan’s combined commercial businesses, manufacturing and strategy functions.
Guggenheim Securities, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Centerview Partners and Moelis & Company are serving as Pfizer’s financial advisors for the transaction, with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and A & L Goodbody acting as its legal advisors.
J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are serving as Allergan’s financial advisors for the transaction with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Arthur Cox acting as its legal advisors.
Thank You Mr Durden and ZH.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
20 Highest Paid Biopharma CEOs of 2012
Fierce Pharma has;
20 Highest Paid Biopharma CEOs of 2012by Tracy Staton
Call it a rite of spring. Every year about this time, FiercePharma takes a look at executive compensation in the industry, and we rank the highest-paid CEOs. If you're a regular reader, you'll notice that this year's list is longer than previous editions. And there's a reason for that: curiosity.As we were beginning to gather numbers from biopharma companies' proxy statements and annual reports, news surfaced that Valeant Pharmaceuticals ($VRX) and Actavis ($ACT) had been in merger talks. The former CEO of Mylan ($MYL), one of Actavis' rivals, regularly appeared on our highest-paid executives list, so we looked up the numbers on Actavis. No dice; CEO Paul Bisaromay have pulled off his biggest merger ever last year, but $8.66 million in compensation still didn't qualify him for our ranking.
Then, we pulled out Valeant's proxy statement. And while CEO Michael Pearson didn't earn enough in 2012 to make the cutoff--his compensation just surpassed $6 million--he should have been at the top of the list last year. Pearson's 2011 pay package broke $36 million. He collected more than $18 million in stock and option awards, plus a special $13.7 million dividend payment, stemming from agreements negotiated years before.
We hate to miss a scoop. Naturally. So, we vowed to avoid making the same mistake this time around. Rather than limit our executive-pay search to the biggest pharma companies and biotechs, plus the usual suspects who often make CEO-pay rankings, we used a bigger net. We collected compensation information from 50 companies, including numbers for CEOs, CFOs, R&D chiefs and other top executives.
Partly because of this search, but mostly because of big bonuses and awards at fast-growing Regeneron ($REGN), we have a brand-new No. 1 on our list. That's Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer, whose 2012 compensation totaled $30.047 million. You'll notice some other newbies, such as Leonard Bell from Alexion ($ALXN), whose pay bump put him in 12th place. And then there are familiar faces, such as Pfizer ($PFE) CEO Ian Read; Johnson & Johnson's ($JNJ) former chairman and CEO, William Weldon; and Eli Lilly ($LLY) CEO John Lechleiter, who hung on in 10th place.
Many of the companies we researched pay their top people far less than the $10 million that served as our cutoff figure. Novo Nordisk ($NVO) CEO Lars Sorensen, who has presided over double-digit growth there for several years, collected a package of cash and stock awards worth about $5 million for 2012. GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) CEO Andrew Witty made less than $6 million himself; he took a pay cut for the year because of Glaxo's shortfall on certain performance targets.
And then there are others who would have made the list, had their titles been different. There's Regeneron R&D chief George Yancopoulos, whose extraordinary $81 million in compensation shows how much the company appreciates its newly minted blockbuster, Eylea. There's Mylan Chairman Robert Coury, who used to be a fixture on our list until Heather Bresch took over as CEO; he made more than $28 million last year. Novartis' ($NVS) former chairman Daniel Vasella could have qualified for 12th place with his $13.98 million in compensation.
Vasella, then, gives us a quick segue to the ongoing debate over executive pay. In Switzerland, populist dismay at some high-profile compensation figures led to a public vote earlier this year. Citizens voted in new restrictions on common bonuses, such as golden parachutes, and gave shareholders a binding vote on executive pay. And local analysts figure that late-breaking news of Vasella's behind-the-scenes noncompete agreement--worth some $78 million over 5 years--helped pay activists to get out the vote. (Vasella ended up refusing the deal, by the way.)
In the U.S., where executives are paid more than anywhere else in the world, shareholders at some companies have successfully lobbied for a greater emphasis on performance pay and against extraordinary bonuses, such as change-in-control payments that send top executives on their way with tens of millions after a merger. Other companies have instituted "say-on-pay" advisory votes for shareholders, but those often end up as rubber stamps for the status quo.
Now, we're interested in what you have to say about executive compensation. Are the CEOs on this list worth their price? What's a supersuccessful new drug worth? Should CEO pay be docked for R&D failures? What about failed launches? Should other, lower-paid executives earn more? Tweet your opinions to @FiercePharma using the hashtag #FPexecpay, leave your comments below or email us. We'll collect your thoughts in a future article.
As always, feel free to send us your thoughts on our coverage. And if we missed a well-paid CEO, be sure to let us know.
-- Tracy Staton (email | Twitter)
For more:
Top 10 Biotech CEO Pay Packages of 2012
Top 10 Pharma CEO salaries of 2010
Top 10 Pharma CEO salaries of 2009
2012's 10 highest-paid Med Tech CEOs
Top 10 Medical Device Industry CEO Salaries for 2011
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Monday, April 8, 2013
Confirmed: BATMAN SHOOTER JAMES HOLMES WAS ON PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS
Infowars has;
Confirmed: 'Batman' Shooter James Holmes Was On Psychotropic Drugs
Confirmed: 'Batman' Shooter James Holmes Was On Psychotropic Drugs
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
April 5, 2013
Infowars.com
April 5, 2013
James Holmes
Newly released court documents confirm that ‘Batman’ shooter James Holmes was taking the anti-depressant drug Zoloft before he conducted his massacre in an Aurora theater last July, underscoring yet again the prevalent yet underreported connection between psychotropic drugs and mass shootings.
While it was known that prescription medication was seized during the search of Holmes’ property, the precise identity of the drug has remained unknown for nearly 9 months – until now.
During their execution of the search warrant on Holmes’ apartment, police, “found prescription medication for sertraline, a generic version of Zoloft used to treat depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder; and Clonazepam, usually prescribed to treat anxiety and panic attacks,” reports the L.A. Times.
Zoloft is the same psychotropic drug that Columbine killer Eric Harris was taking before his rampage.
Clonazepam, also known under its brand name Klonopin, has been labeled “the world’s deadliest pill,” in that it “dramatically affects the functioning of the brain” and is highly addictive. Long term use of the drug has been linked with “violence and aggression”.
The connection between Zoloft and violent outbursts is well documented. Countless studies identify Zoloft as being responsible for more than 1,000 suicides and hundreds of episodes of mania and aggression.
While this represents yet another example of antidepressant drugs being linked to mass shootings, the mainstream media is loathe to make the connection, preferring instead to blame the Second Amendment in concert with the Obama administration’s gun control agenda.
“How long do we have to wait until there is a thorough investigation into the dangers these drugs pose to society? It’s far easier to blame video games and use the tragedies to target innocent gun owners. Big Pharma and their bought and paid for stooges in government must be stopped,” writes Lew Rockwell.
As CCHR documents, psychiatric drugs have been involved in at least 31 different school shootings and other massacres over the last 25 years.
It has not yet been revealed whether or not Sandy Hook killer Adam Lanza was also on psychotropic drugs, although Louise Tambascio, a family friend of the shooter and his mother, told 60 Minutes, “I know he was on medication and everything….I knew he was on medication, but that’s all I know.”
The recently revealed search warrant for Lanza’s home reveals that books on autism and Asperger syndrome were found. The symptoms of Asperger’s are commonly treated with psychotropic drugs linked with violent outbursts, although no specific mention of any medication Lanza was taking has been made.
*********************
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.
This article was posted: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 11:34 am
Tags: pharmaceutical
Thank You Infowars and Mr. Watson
But nobody peddling these drugs knows about this 'side effect' huh?
State Police Registration for being poisoned with Risperdal in California is just one of those unsolved mysteries the 'Mental Health' crackpots need more time and more of everyone else's money to 'Research', Right?
Because they don't know Why their victims need to be State Police Registered, Right? And it's not Their Fault, Right?
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