FDA Gives OK To Wyeth’s Pristiq
March 2, 2008
The U.S. Food And Drug Administration has approved Wyeth’s new antidepressant Pristiq.
Pristiq is the successor to Effexor, which accounted for about seventeen percent of Wyeth’s total revenue with sales of $3.8 billion.
Since generics are expected to chip into that profit margin, a new antidepressant with the benefit of patent protection will certainly help the company’s bottom line.
It’s not the end of the line for FDA evaluation, however. Approval was conditional on the drugmaker agreeing to multiple post-marketing commitments, which will include submission of data from multiple studies.
“PRISTIQ is an important new therapeutic option for patients and clinicians because no single therapy works for all people with major depression,” said Philip Ninan, M.D., Vice President of Wyeth Medical Affairs, Neuroscience.
“PRISTIQ is approved at a once-daily 50-mg dose that does not require titration, allowing physicians to start their patients at the recommended therapeutic dose. We are encouraged by the tolerability profile seen in clinical studies.”
Berkshire Hathaway Has Another Healthy Year
March 1, 2008
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had quite a healthy 2007, resulting in an 11% net worth gain during the year.
Actually, it would be healthy for the mortals of the world — Berkshire’s per-share book value has grown by an astounding 21% per year since the man took over for decades ago.
However, he has no plans to play with his portfolio from the afterlife.
“I’ve reluctantly discarded the notion of continuing to manage the portfolio after my death - abandoning my hope to give new meaning to the term ‘thinking outside the box,’” he mused.
Betting on the Brazilian real turned out to be a big winner, even though it was a move that Buffett himself admitted was untraditional at best.
“After all, during the past century, five versions of the Brazilian currency have, in effect, turned into confetti,” he admitted.
But the move worked and according to the Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders, the position earned Berkshire $100 million in 2007.
Paramount Abandons HD DVD, After Tuesday They’re Out
February 29, 2008
It’s long been expected that Paramount would be jumping off the HD DVD train and hopping aboard the Blu-ray express. After all, the high definition format is officially kaput.
Today the company has made it official, announcing that the March 4th HD DVD releases of both Into The Wild and Things We Lost In The Fire will be their final two discs using the format.
Paramount had a slate of top-notch movies scheduled to be released in HD DVD throughout the spring, including The Kite Runner, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and the Paul Thomas Anderson epic There Will Be Blood.
It’s expected that they will all reemerge on Blu-ray, but no official word has been given on the matter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first Blu-ray discs from Paramount are expected to roll out this summer.