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WILMINGTON, Del. — AstraZeneca has launched a new technology on two of its products' websites to give consumers an option to contact a live AstraZeneca customer service representative with just a click of a button.

PARIS — An investigational drug helped patients survive longer when combined with chemotherapy as a second-line treatment for colorectal cancer that had spread to other parts of the body, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial announced by French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis and U.S.-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

The phase-3 trial combined the drug Zaltrap (aflibercept) with a combination of the chemotherapy drugs folinic acid (leucovorin), 5-fluorouracil and irinotecan, also known as the FOLFIRI regimen.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for an epilepsy drug made by GlaxoSmithKline, the drug maker said Monday.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Drug maker AP Pharma has appointed two new executives and may receive financing of up to $4.5 million, the company said Monday.

AP announced the appointment of John Whelan as president, CEO and director, and Michael Adam as SVP and COO.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first vaccine for preventing meningococcal disease in children as young as 9 months old, the agency said.

The FDA announced the approval of Menactra, made by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines arm of French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis. Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening illness caused by Neisseria meningitidis bacteria that infect the bloodstream and the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is taking its case directly to Cephalon’s shareholders in its effort to acquire the Frazer, Pa.-based drug maker.

In a letter to the shareholders Thursday, Valeant said its $73-per-share offer, totaling $5.7 billion, was a 29% premium over the 30-day stock price of Cephalon, noting that the price had declined over the last five years and that the average stock price in the month before the offer was $57, which Wall Street analysts didn’t expect to rise above $60.

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline and Valeant last week responded to the Food and Drug Administration's complete response letter for the companies' investigational anti-epileptic drug.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is looking to curb the growing national epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse, according to a plan unveiled Tuesday.

Elements of the plan include expansion of state-based prescription drug monitoring programs, recommendation of convenient and environmentally responsible drug-disposal methods, education and reduction of doctor shopping.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded Salix Pharmaceuticals three patents related to a drug used for travelers’ diarrhea.

Salix announced Wednesday that it had secured patents for the drug Xifaxan (rifaximin) covering its methods of treating travelers’ diarrhea, as well as two related to the drug’s chemical composition.

The patents are set to expire between 2024 and 2029.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — U.S. spending on drugs grew 2.3% to $307.4 billion in 2010, according to a new report by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, part of industry research firm IMS Health.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has given approval to Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals to manufacture the main ingredient of a treatment for leukemia, the drug maker said.

Sigma-Tau was approved to manufacture L-asparaginase, the primary ingredient in the drug Oncaspar (pegaspargase). Sigma-Tau began seeking approval when the previous manufacturer ceased production. The drug is used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia, also known as ALL.

NEW YORK — A U.S. drug maker and its Japanese partner have started a late-stage clinical trial of a drug for treating elevated phosphate levels in the body, the two announced Monday.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals and Torii Pharmaceutical, the pharmaceuticals subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, started a phase-3 trial of Zerenex (ferric citrate) in Japan for patients with hyperphosphatemia. The drug also is in phase-3 trials in the United States as a treatment for hyperphosphatemia in patients with end-stage kidney disease on dialysis.