MYERS: The life-saving benefits of working together
We often forget that as a society there are real advantages to working (and investing) together for a common purpose.
We often forget that as a society there are real advantages to working (and investing) together for a common purpose.
Eli Lilly and Co.’s foray into combination drugs is well-timed because the company could take advantage of some the world’s most successful biotech medicines, which are about to see their patents expire.
Marsh Supermarkets is reoccupying a portion of its long-vacant headquarters building and has snagged a plum tenant to sublease most of the rest of the space.
The recently announced 16 Tech District adds a new tool to Indianapolis’ strong life sciences arsenal.
The Indianapolis Star is halting publication of its free weekly stand-alone Metromix section after the June 23 edition, but some of the content intended to appeal to young readers will be posted online.
Swiss health care giant Roche Holding AG has selected its diagnostics division in Indianapolis as the site for a new North America human resources center, a move that will add 50 employees to its local operations.
Monday's Supreme Court decision is a victory for companies that collaborate with universities in research. Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. was among the companies that supported Roche.
When customers are few, it’s time for a price cut. With only 177 Hoosiers signed up for the federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan created by the 2010 health reform law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decided to drop premiums 26 percent. Now adults aged 45-54 can buy into the plan for $284 per month or $295 for a health savings account. The plan was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. health care reform) to provide coverage to Americans until 2014, when health insurers will no longer be allowed to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Nationwide, only 18,000 people have signed up for the plan—far below expectations. The department cut prices 40 percent or more in 17 states. In addition, the government will begin paying insurance agents and brokers this fall for connecting eligible participants to the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.
Roche Diagnostics Corp. landed an $11.4 million contract to provide laboratory testing services at military hospitals in the Washington, D.C., area. Switzerland-based Roche operates its North American diagnostic headquarters out of Indianapolis, where it employs 2,900 people. The new contract with the Medcom Contracting Center North Atlantic was awarded May 19 and will run until Sept. 30, but has four one-year renewal options. Roche equipment will conduct tests of blood and other fluids at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., as well as the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. Roche Diagnostics sells mid- and high-volume laboratory analyzers, such as its new cobas 8000 machine, to hospitals and academic medical centers. It also sells diagnostict machines for use by physicians in their offices and for other small-scale situations. In all, Roche's professional diagnostics business accounts for one-third of its total North American sales, or about $880 million. Roche Diagnostics also makes tests for diabetes and genetic traits, as well as gene sequencers and other diagnostic equipment. Its North American sales totaled $2.6 billion last year.
International Medical Group Inc., an Indianapolis-based seller of international health insurance policies, had signed a marketing partnership with a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, the New York-based insurance and consulting firm. IMG’s products, which provide coverage for and coordination of medical care to individuals and groups while traveling abroad, will be marketed nationally under the Gateway brand name.
In a monthly feature that runs in the first issue of the month, through October, IBJ is identifying influential players in eight different industry categories. Formidable brainpower sums up the individuals included in our list of Who’s Who in Life Sciences.
Roche Diagnostics Corp. landed an $11.4 million contract to provide laboratory testing services at military hospitals in the Washington, D.C., area.
Scientists with Roche Holding AG, the parent company of Indianapolis-based Roche Diagnostics Corp., may have found a way to overcome a blood barrier that keeps drugs from directly entering the brain, potentially opening new pathways to attack Alzheimer’s disease.
DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines, a chain of gourmet sandwich shops based in Rochester, N.Y., is scouting for locations for between six and eight new restaurants in central Indiana.
A New York socialite is expected to plead guilty to federal charges she duped corporations—including Indianapolis-based Roche Diagnostics Corp.—out of millions of dollars.
Shares of Endocyte Inc. have doubled since the company’s initial public offering in February—even though the common wisdom is it won’t see sales from its first cancer drug until 2014.
Profits flowing from earlier investments could mean more available capital, but firms continue to be selective in placing their bets.
Roche Diagnostics Corp. won regulatory approval for a new HPV test, giving it a technological edge in the $300 million market for automated cervical cancer tests.
The Indiana University School of Medicine has licensed a pediatric psychiatrist’s patent on
an alcohol-dependency drug that the doctor discovered improves the language and social skills of autism patients. IU has licensed the patent to Indianapolis-based Confluence Pharmaceuticals Inc.
In this installment of IBJ's Who's Who series, meet key members of the city’s banking and finance sector. They include bankers, fund managers, venture capitalists, lawyers, financial planners and others who influence the movement and availability of money in the local economy.
With economic growth in the United States sluggish, Indiana companies are joining the race to capitalize on the fast-growing Chinese economy—even as hundreds of millions of Chinese move into the middle class and adopt a Western-style thirst for goods and services.
Zimmer Holdings Inc. and Biomet Inc., both based in Warsaw, are among the bidders for AstraZeneca Plc’s Astra Tech, a Swedish unit that makes dental implants and medical devices, reported Bloomberg, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Astra Tech may sell for $1.8 billion to $2.1 billion, according to a research note by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. Astra Tech, which also makes medical devices for urology and surgery, had sales last year of $535 million. It employs 2,200 and operates in 16 markets. Separately, Zimmer won a $13.5 million contract to sell orthopedic implants to the U.S. Department of Defense. The new contract is guaranteed for one year, with the possibility of four one-year renewals.
Elanco, the animal health unit of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., which this month agreed to acquire Johnson & Johnson’s European animal health unit, also had its eyes on another target, according to a Reuters report. A now-abandoned joint venture between the animal health businesses of New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc. and France-based Sanofi-Aventis SA anticipated selling off some assets for roughly $1 billion, according to unnamed sources cited by Reuters. The news agency reported that Elanco paid roughly $300 million to Johnson & Johnson, in order to acquire 50 animal health medicines sold under the name Janssen Animal Health. Elanco is the world’s fourth-largest animal health company, with $1.4 billion in annual revenue.
How’s this for financing drug development? Even though it hadn’t brought a single product even close to the market, Carmel-based Marcadia Biotech Inc. was sitting on $37 million in cash when it agreed to sell itself in December to Switzerland-based Roche. The money piled up not from venture capitalists but through Marcadia’s research partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies, primarily with New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc. “Our venture-capital firms were going crazy. They never had a company that had to pay taxes,” said Fritz French, former CEO of the 11-person firm, which had attracted $15 million from investors early in its existence. French and his management team sold Marcadia for $287 million, with the possibility of reaping $250 million more if one of Marcadia’s experimental diabetes drugs makes it to market.
Elkhart General Healthcare System and Memorial Hospital and Health System of South Bend have agreed to merge. The two hospitals signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a parent organization that will operate both systems. Memorial CEO Phil Newbold will lead the combined organization. According to Newbold, the affiliation will attract more physicians to engage with the new system and help direct its future. “Together, Elkhart General and Memorial will have more than 700 highly skilled, well-trained physicians on staff. This shared medical expertise will enable us to attract even more specialized professionals to the area and produce the region’s highest quality of care,” Newbold said. Memorial Hospital boasts 526 beds. Elkhart General has 325 beds.