Guest guest Posted February 3, 2007 Report Share Posted February 3, 2007 For anybody interested in the machinations of the pharmaceutical industry, see Dr. Briffa¹s website. He keeps tabs on things like non-declaration of interests where doctors seem to be endorsing particular products, and the way in which the companies hide evidence which doesn¹t support clinical trials on new drugs, and the way statistical evidence is manipulated to make things sound better than they really are (this week statin drugs, non-effectiveness reported in the Lancet). Apart from being a confirmed pharma-skeptic, Briffa is a medical doctor who¹s turned himself into an alternative-style nutritionist, so you¹ll get loads of really useful dietary advice on his website too! Go to john@... to get a free weekly newsletter. Cheers, Jan > > > > > Posted by Menzies - Trull > > Business digest > > One of the most visible trends in the pharmaceutical industry currently is the > alarming number of firms slashing jobs because of the need to reduce costs. In > recent weeks, Pfizer, Astrazeneca and Ligand have all revealed plans to make > drastic cutbacks in staff, with the financial impact of generic rivals often > given as a key reason. So as many hundreds of pharmaceutical professionals > find themselves out of jobs, is the reason for this new trend down to generic > firms getting an easy ride or drug originators failing in their R & D pipelines. > > Healthcare > > Following on from Pfizer's recent announcement that it was shedding jobs, UK > pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has said that it is to axe 3,000 jobs, or > about 4.6% of its workforce. The cuts are designed to counteract declining > sales due to increased competition from generic drug manufacturers. Bad news > is said to come in threes and perhaps most dramatic of all is the news this > week that Ligand Pharmaceuticals has said that it is reducing its workforce by > 76%. Ligand will release 267 staff, although 62 employees will transfer to > King Pharmaceuticals based on a previous agreement. Continuing with the > negative theme, Merck & Co's profits in the final quarter fell an alarming 58% > due to lower sales of its cholesterol drug Zocor and costly legal expenses > regarding its painkiller Vioxx. > Company Information: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Ligand Pharmaceuticals, King > Pharmaceuticals, Merck & Co. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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