Alzheimer’s drug results leave Lilly ‘excited’ but uncertain
The surprise positive effect shown by an experimental Alzheimer’s drug “excited” executives at Eli Lilly and Co., but it raised as many questions as it answered.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
WellPoint CEO’s critics suggesting replacements
Another plea for the ouster of WellPoint CEO Angela Braly is spurring discussions among investors and analysts about a replacement. Top suggestions include James G. Carlson, the chief of Amerigroup Corp., and David B. Snow Jr., the former chief of Medco Health Solutions Inc.
Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug trials show mixed results
Eli Lilly and Co.’s experimental Alzheimer’s drug failed to meet its primary goals in two separate clinical trials. However, when the results of both trials were combined, the drug appeared to have slowed the decline of cognition in some patients.
Big WellPoint investor Royal Capital calls for CEO’s ouster
Royal Capital Management LLC is calling for the ouster of WellPoint Inc. CEO Angela Braly in a letter to the health insurer, saying she has “failed miserably.”
Cutting bills fuels growth of Health Systems International
Health Systems is on pace this year for nearly $50 million in revenue, up from $42 million last year and just $4.5 million eight years ago. The Indianapolis company processes claims for health insurers when patients receive out-of-network care.
Rival’s strong results have WellPoint playing catch-up
UnitedHealth has been enjoying healthy profits, growing customer rolls and a rising stock price—things the Indianapolis insurer has been unable to match. That tough comparison lies behind some of the investor attacks on WellPoint CEO Angela Braly.
Mayor signs off on domestic-partner ordinance
The ordinance covering city employees offers insurance coverage to both same-sex and heterosexual unmarried couples. The mayor also signed the “Complete Streets” proposal.
FDA names Indiana farm tied to salmonella in melons
The Food and Drug Administration has identified a southern Indiana farm that produced cantaloupes linked to a deadly salmonella outbreak and says the operation has recalled its melons.
Health safety advocates want melon farm identified
Food safety advocates called on federal officials to release the name of an Indiana farm that recalled its cantaloupes amid a salmonella outbreak.
Pence asks Daniels to deny state-run exchange
Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence is asking Gov. Mitch Daniels to reject a state-run health insurance exchange called for by the federal health care law.
Humane Society clinic to open with even bigger goal in mind
The Humane Society of Indianapolis is ready to open its new Animal Welfare Center in Haughville, featuring a low-cost vaccination clinic. The group wants to raise $750,000 to add a low-cost spay-and-neuter clinic to the center.
GOP govs: Not enough Medicaid ‘flexibility’
The Obama administration is giving states like Indiana a little flexibility in how to expand their Medicaid programs—but nothing like what state officials hoped for after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the law in late June.
WellPoint dragged into Goldman Sachs suit
WellPoint Inc.’s $4.9 billion offer for Virginia-based Amerigroup Inc. apparently wasn’t the only—or even the most lucrative—offer for the Medicaid managed care company. But it was the deal surest to come to fruition before a key deadline for a big payout for Goldman Sachs & Co., according to a shareholder lawsuit filed Aug. 16 against the Amerigroup board of directors.
WellPoint competitor Aetna to buy Coventry for $5.6B
Aetna joins rivals WellPoint Inc. and Cigna Corp. in making big acquisitions as the U.S. government expands medical coverage.
Life sciences firm Hologic closing 200-worker Zionsville facility
Massachusetts-based Hologic Inc., the company that bought Suros Surgical Systems Inc., will phase out its facility in Zionsville, bringing an end to 200 local jobs.
WellPoint least popular insurer in poll of hospital execs
WellPoint Inc., the health insurer that’s lost 19 percent of its market value over two months, is the least popular carrier among hospital executives who have to negotiate with them, an industry survey shows.
Q&A
Alph Bingham spent more than 28 years at Eli Lilly and Co. and from there co-founded InnoCentive Inc., a Massachusetts-based organization that organizes crowdsourcing to help companies solve internal challenges. The Carmel resident spoke about the challenges now facing pharmaceutical companies, which are buckling under ever-rising costs to develop drugs with lower rates of success and worsening prospects for reimbursement. Bingham’s solution is for pharma to embrace crowdsourcing and other “open innovation” concepts in order to spread the risk of R&D among more partners.
EMR causes hospital wait times to soar
Columbus Regional Hospital saw wait times double in its emergency room after it began using electronic records in late June, according to the Associated Press. Even now, wait times are longer than usual, even though they have lessened.
Survey: Reform threatens retail, hospitality
Nearly half of employers in the sectors expect the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act to boost their health plan costs more than 3 percent in 2014.
WellPoint board member says Braly still backed as CEO
A WellPoint Inc. director said there’s no move by the board to fire CEO Angela Braly for poor performance. Meanwhile, an expert predicted Braly will have at least until early 2013 to right the ship as the company awaits the close of the $4.9 billion Amerigroup acquisition.