Reporters Notebook
Calling it a “flawed decision,” the National Association of Chain Drug Stores responded quickly and angrily to a recent court ruling and legal interpretation in West Virginia that the group says undermines the role of pharmacists as health care providers. At issue: an article in the legal publication The West Virginia Record. Entitled “Pharmacies don’t provide health care, Supreme Court rules,” the article reports on a June 28 opinion of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals that deems pharmacies unable to benefit from a 1986 law limiting damage awards in malpractice lawsuits against health care providers. “NACDS believes the court misinterpreted the damages cap law, and should not call into question the role of pharmacists as health care providers,” the organization noted in a response. NACDS noted that other West Virginia laws specifically list pharmacists as “health care providers.”
Medicine Shoppe India, owned by U.S.-based Cardinal Health, plans to open 500 drug stores in India within the next two to three years. The company plans to add another 100 retail stores this year to its current chain of 130 stores, which are mostly located in the western regions of Maharashtra and Goa. In addition, Viraj Gandhi, managing director of Medicine Shoppe India, has indicated that the company plans another 300 to 400 locations in the western region in the next two years.
Ranbaxy, India’s largest pharmaceutical company, started production of its first authorized generic drug, Isoptin SR, following an agreement with North Carolina-based FSC Laboratories. “The commercialization of Isoptin SR heralds Ranbaxy’s entry into the authorized generics space,” said K. Venkatachalam, vice president and regional director of North America. Verapamil, a calcium ion antagonist or channel blocker, is indicated for the management of hypertension and angina.
GlaxoSmithKline and Targacept in July formed an alliance in therapeutics that selectively targets specified neuronal nicotinic receptors, including Targacept’s two current lead product candidates for pain. Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will make an initial upfront payment of $35 million to Targacept, including an investment of $15 million for the purchase of 1,275,502 shares of Targacept common stock. Targacept also is eligible to receive up to $1.5 billion in payments from GSK, contingent on the achievement of specified discovery, development, regulatory and commercial milestones across five therapeutic focus areas, as well as tiered double-digit royalties dependent on sales achieved. GSK would have an exclusive option to license product candidates in development in the alliance.