Endocyte pulls trigger on European drug submission
Endocyte Inc. will submit its ovarian cancer drug EC145 for European market approval in the third quarter of this year after the European Commission granted it orphan drug status.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
Do electronic records really save money?
Even though researchers at the Indianapolis-based Regenstrief Institute Inc. demonstrated more than 20 years ago that electronic health records and test ordering systems significantly reduced costs in Indianapolis’ Wishard Health Services’ system, a recent study of electronic health records among office-based physicians came to the opposite conclusion.
Angel investors love health care deals
Health care venture capital has become scarcer in Indiana the past two years, but there are indications that angel investors are picking up some of the slack.
FTC asks critics of Express Scripts-Medco deal for ideas
Two pharmacy groups opposing Express Scripts Inc.’s proposed acquisition of Medco Health Solutions Inc. said they were asked by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to suggest ways to revise the $29.1 billion deal so it wouldn’t harm competition.
Lilly to try again to remove poison-pill provisions
Eli Lilly and Co.’s board is once again recommending the removal of a provision that makes the company an almost impossible target for hostile takeovers. The same proposal has fallen slightly short at each of the past two annual shareholder meetings.
Tornadoes may cost insurers $2B, risk modeler says
Tornadoes that slammed five states in the U.S. Midwest and South last week may generate as much as $2 billion in claims costs for insurers, risk-modeling firm Eqecat Inc. says.
Arcadia: Don’t buy our stock
Arcadia Resources Inc. is telling shareholders not to buy its stock because it is out of cash and faces a $40 million pile of debt that comes due on April 1.
Franciscan pulls back Greenwood plans
Franciscan St. Francis Health said its plans to build an emergency room and physician office building in Greenwood are on hold due to uncertainty over the effects of health care reform.
WellPoint replaces fired Medicare plan chief
Venkata Rajamannar Madabhushi will take control of the various Medicare Advantage plans WellPoint runs around the country, replacing Brian Sassi, whom WellPoint fired last month.
FDA removes hurdle in Endocyte’s path to drug approval
Endocyte Inc. can start enrolling patients again in a clinical trial of its experimental cancer drug, the company announced Monday, clearing away a hurdle to getting the drug approved in Europe.
Home Health Depot plans to add up to 80 jobs
The medical equipment company said it will invest $1.4 million to expand its headquarters on the north side of Indianapolis and its customer-fulfillment operations across the state.
AIT Labs exec succeeding founder Evans as CEO
The promotions of several executives follow the Indianapolis-based clinical testing company’s announcement in January that it was cutting jobs and restructuring its business.
Anthem seeking state rule change allowing doctors to practice online
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has renewed its push to bring online care to the Indiana market, including video. It has asked the state’s Medical Licensing Board to relax a 2003 rule that stands in its way.
Lilly settles Zyprexa marketing suit for $1.4 billion
Indianapolis-based Lilly pleaded guilty to one violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act on Thursday and agreed to pay $1.42 billion to settle both that criminal charge as well as civil lawsuits in which it did not admit wrongdoing.
New drugmaker code deprives docs of football, lunch for 2
Doctors can still get free samples of medicines, but not football tickets or lunch for their spouses, under a revised code of conduct drafted by a global drug industry trade group that counts Eli Lilly as a member.
IU Health names Kitchell chief financial officer
Ryan Kitchell, 38, replaces Marvin Pember, who left in July to take an executive position with Philadelphia-based hospital system Universal Health Services Inc.
Q&A
Threats to cut federal Medicare funds that pay for residency training for doctors have eased but not gone away since they were formally proposed by some members of the Congressional super committee last fall. Dr. Peter Nalin, the associate dean of graduate medical education at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said such cuts would be disastrous at a time when patient demands increasingly outstrip the supply of physicians.
Franciscan to mark Beech Grove closure
Franciscan St. Francis Health announced five years ago that it would consolidate its Beech Grove operations into an expanded hospital seven miles south, near Interstate 65 and Emerson Avenue. The last inpatient department to close at Beech Grove will be its emergency room, on March 16.
Study: Indy hospitals charge ‘excess’ prices
The Big 3 automakers spent 35 percent more in the Indianapolis area to provide health care for workers and non-elderly retirees than they did in other auto-heavy cities—and two-thirds of that difference can be blamed on “excess prices” by Indianapolis hospitals.