Vaccines: Just in Time for Big Pharma

January 1st, 2010. By janem

Big Pharma breathed a big sigh of relief when it realized vaccines can give a lot more bang for the buck than many “blockbuster” drugs. For pharmaceutical companies like Wyeth (now owned by Pfizer), Glaxo, Sanofi-Aventis and Novartis AG, pandemic flu threats–H1N1 in particular–couldn’t have come at a better time.

For instance, Wyeth’s pediatric pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar makes over $3 billion in annual sales–that should help cover product liability claims for its diet drug Fen-phen. (To date, the drug giant has set aside $21 billion to cover claims.)

And Merck & Co, already making shingles and cervical cancer vaccines, recently got into the US market via a deal to distribute seasonal flu vaccine made by Australia’s CSL Ltd, just in time to pay $4.85 billion in its Vioxx claims.

“Vaccines, vaccines, wonderful business,” quipped Chris Viehbacher, CEO of Sanofi-Aventis, which anticipates earnings of $6 billion in vaccine revenues this year and double its sales by 2013. In the last quarter of 2009, its H1N1 vaccines sales reached $500 million.

Novartis expected to generate $700m in fourth-quarter sales alone from its H1N1 vaccine, but GlaxoSmithKline is the main player in vaccines, holding 22 percent of the global market, and is set to cash in with Brazil, China and India as their burgeoning economies spell bigger budgets for healthcare spending. Glaxo is betting big time on the vaccine business: it just purchased a vaccine operation in Quebec for $1.4 billion, which may tighten the purse strings after paying almost $1billion to resolve lawsuits over its antidepressant Paxil.

Other big spenders are Abbott Laboratories ($6.6 billion on Belgian flu vaccine maker Solvay) and Johnson & Johnson (it just bought 18 percent of Dutch vaccine firm Crucell). “More companies are investing in vaccines as a way of diversifying away from prescription drugs,” says Michael Boyd of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations. “New technologies, such as cell culture, are enabling them to produce more sophisticated vaccines.”

With nearly 1 billion doses of H1N1 vaccine ordered in 2009, analysts predict the global vaccine industry will reach $40 billion by 2012: Cha ching. Perhaps this means we won’t see so many “blockbuster” new drugs entering the market in the next few years. After all, product liability litigation has been expensive.

Huh? Pleading Ignorance looks to 2010 & your Legal Questions

December 31st, 2009. By Kristine B

Damnum Absque Injuria. Res Ipsa Loquitur. Causa Sine Qua Non. Brutum Fulmen! BRUTUM FULMEN!!

Uhh…say what? Sounds pretty fire & brimstone—so did we just get back from Christmas Mass at the Vatican and have a little leftover Latin-on-the-brain? Not quite. All the above lingo (lingua Latina!) are legal phrases that no one (except lawyers) really knows a damnum thing about. “Latin’s a dead language!” you say? Well, those in the legal profession didn’t get that memo…and they’re not going to…and that’s why we started the Pleading Ignorance blog posts this year.

And now the year is officially at a close—and I have to say, it’s been a pleasure writing Pleading Ignorance over the past few months. From negligence to financial issues and from whistleblowers to mandatory arbitration, I’ve covered topics that can sort give you that glazed-over, no-blessed-clue-what-you’re-talking-about look when you’re listening to someone (a lawyer?) ramble on about ’em.

Why can’t they just speak English? Or at least a language that didn’t get sacked by Visigoths and Vandals (and then some) some fifteen hundred plus years ago? I suppose you can either argue that the industry is steeped in tradition, or in need of a newfangled 12-step program to just “let it go”.

Regardless, the lingo is here to stay and I enjoy the role of interpreter—so I’m looking forward digging into whatever we’re all pleading ignorant on in 2010…  

In the meantime, I’m throwing it over to YOU, our readers, to see if you have any questions about legal issues or concepts. Are there any topics that LawyersAndSettlements.com covers that you would like to see discussed in this forum? Let me know!

Just keep in mind—I’m not a lawyer—don’t even play one on TV—so I won’t be offering any legal advice. But, as a legal writer, I do have to know a thing or two about legal-speak, legalese, legal jargon—things like the fact that jury-rigging has nothing to do with a jury—but you can still claim a jury’s been rigged—and that right there is a Linda Richman “Coffee Talk”-let’s-discuss moment just itching to happen tonight at your New Year’s Eve soiree. 

So, if you’ve got some questions about legal concepts that don’t quite make sense, or legal words or phrases you just don’t use when you’re picking up some groceries or answering your phone at work, drop me a line at Pleading Ignorance. Can’t promise I’ll get to answer every one, but I’ll sure try! 

I hope everyone has a happy New Year and a fantastic start to 2010. And for those of you who have been affected by someone else’s wrongdoing, I hope you get the chance to have your case heard, or at the very least, to share your story with others. 

Most of all, I hope 2010 proves to be a wonderful year, for everyone. 

Thanks for reading!

Sex Toys Need to Be Safe

December 31st, 2009. By Hunter West

It’s a titillating subject to be sure and one that would be expected to serve as the butt of many a joke in the locker rooms of the nation. The fact remains, however that sex toys comprise a legitimate product component in the retail industry—and like any product that is used for the purposes to which they were designed, it needs to be safe. 

It may not be. 

Earlier this month in Canada (known affectionately as the Great White North where it gets so cold in the winter that residents alternate between outdoor sports and the indoor variety with their…well…never mind), a Liberal Member of Parliament issued a communiqué to the Canadian Health Minister with regard to sex toys manufactured with the dreaded bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. 

The latter are chemicals used to make plastic sex toys soft and flexible. 

All playfulness aside, the safety concern for sex toys is not unlike previous health issues that have surfaced over the chemical’s use in things such as baby bottles, the lining of food cans and Read the rest of this entry »

Max Did It His Way for Libby

December 29th, 2009. By Hunter West

The final vote on what will be an historic event precluding the passage of President Obama’s health care bill Christmas Eve was preceded by a close vote in the Senate in the wee hours last Monday morning. It passed by the slimmest of margins—and that’s after weeks of lobbying and wrangling individual senators to gain their support.

The Republicans have been crying foul. Other critics say that the bill reeks of political pork and pet projects in exchange for support and precious votes. 

On the surface the criticism seems justified—although defenders point out that a union of states (which is what the United States of America is) remains a democracy and negotiation is just part of the process. True, say the critics—but that kind of stuff just drives the price of health care reform through the roof by advocating for the few, to the detriment of the many.

But dig a little deeper and you suddenly begin to understand…

Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) is chairman of the Finance Committee and principal author of the health care bill. So one has to wonder if he had anything to do with a cryptic proposal, which The New York Times described on Sunday as ‘inconspicuous’, expanding Medicare to cover certain victims of “environmental health hazards.”

“The intended beneficiaries are identified in a cryptic, mysterious way,” writes Robert Pear in the Read the rest of this entry »

Asbestos News Roundup: 12.29.09

December 29th, 2009. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Jefferson County, Texas: Maudry Granger, the widow of an equipment operator, has filed a lawsuit against 30 companies, alleging their asbestos-containing products caused her husband’s death. She filed the lawsuit individually and on behalf of the estate of Rufus Granger, who was allegedly “required to work with and around asbestos and asbestos containing products while engaged in the course of his employment as a heavy equipment operator, truck driver and laborer.” His exposure to asbestos during work allegedly caused him to suffer from asbestos-related diseases. 

The named defendants include: A.W. Chesterton, American Optical, Bechtel, Crane Co, Fluor Enterprises, Foster Wheeler, Henry Vogt Machine, Honeywell, Ingersoll Rand, John Crane Inc, Lockheed Martin, 3M, Sepco Corp, Treco Construction Services, Uniroyal, Washington Group and Zurn Industries.

Asbestos Hot Spots

Drayton Valley, Alberta, Canada: The renovation of the Shangri-La Lodge, a seniors home, has revealed asbestos in a portion of the building that dates back to the 1970s. A predetermined removal process will be followed, and precautions taken to ensure the residents  are protected from any asbestos-related ill effects. (draytonvalleywesternreview.com)

Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada: A report released this month shows that people living near Thetford Mines, an asbestos mine in the Canadian province of Quebec, are at risk for developing asbestos-related illnesses including asbestos mesothelioma. The risk for lung cancer and mesothelioma was found to be 17 times higher than normal. This is due, largely, to the higher concentrations of airborne asbestos dust and fibers present in both the indoor and outdoor areas of the community. (theglobeandmail.com)