Judge’s ruling raises uncertainty for health care execs
After a federal judge in Florida struck down the entire health reform law, investors shrugged. But the uncertainty for executives in health care companies increased.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
Execs from WellPoint, peers meet to hone health-law lobby
Top executives from WellPoint Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. are meeting almost monthly with their counterparts from Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp. and Humana Inc. in an informal lobbying alliance aimed at blunting parts of the health-care law, say sources with knowledge of the sessions.
Loopholes give smoking ban bill a better chance
A proposed statewide smoking ban now has so many exemptions that health advocates say it nearly loses its meaning.
Endocyte plans to raise about $78 million in IPO
The West Lafayette company does not yet market a product and has not yet reported a profit.
King Systems’ two top execs exit company
An executive at the Noblesville firm’s parent company said the departures of CEO Don Dumoulin and Chief Financial Officer Yun Kim were the result of a “mutual agreement.” A search is under way for replacements to lead one of the area’s largest medical device manufacturers.
Marketing firm VMS plans growth, new jobs
Event-planning powerhouse VMS Inc. plans to invest more than $1.5 million to expand its Indianapolis life sciences marketing operation and create as many as 102 jobs over the next four years, state officials said Friday morning.
Indiana Health Information Exchange hires new CEO
Harold Apple takes over for J. Marc Overhage, who will remain with the organization as its chief strategic officer and national policy adviser. IHIE is one of four operational exchanges in Indiana that allows for the sharing of medical records electronically.
Lilly’s fourth-quarter profit surges, topping analysts’ predictions
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker earned $1.2 billion in the quarter, compared with $915 million in the same period a year ago. Profit per share beat Wall Street forecasts by a penny.
WellPoint profit better than analyst estimates
Excluding special charges, WellPoint’s profit fell 2 percent to $524.7 million in the fourth quarter from $536 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. But earnings per share improved thanks to stock buybacks.
Lilly product gets boost; Wall Street yawns
Eli Lilly and Co. probably will get approval for its newly acquired imaging agent used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, but so far analysts are unimpressed.
Q&A
Chris Sears is a health care and employee-benefits attorney at Ice Miller LLP in Indianapolis. He spoke about how employers are sizing up health insurance reforms that hit in 2014, which would set up government-subsidized insurance as a new option for workers but also would penalize most employers if they stop sponsoring employee health benefits.
Life sciences to drive Purdue’s next decade of building
Over the past 10 years, Purdue University has built Discovery Park into a thriving research and business incubation center, launching more than 30 companies and hosting dozens more. Now Purdue will spend more than $164 million to construct a Life and Health Sciences Quadrangle next to Discovery Park.
Vanderbilt rejected by high court on Cialis patents
Supreme Court justices on Monday left intact a ruling throwing out a lawsuit pressed by the Nashville, Tenn., university against Eli Lilly’s Icos subsidiary.
Zionsville retirement village plans $32 million expansion
Hoosier Village Retirement Center in Zionsville announced plans Monday morning for a $32 million project that will expand its campus and allow the center to add 50 full-time workers.
Lilly seeks to block imports of cancer drug copy
The local drugmaker told the International Trade Commission on Thursday that the generic version of Gemzar violates its patent on the process for making the active ingredient.
Lilly imaging drug fails to win FDA panel’s backing
Eli Lilly and Co.’s Amyvid isn’t ready to be approved to detect Alzheimer’s-related deposits in the brain, according to FDA advisors. The medicine could still be approved if Lilly establishes a training program and a way to ensure that the results of brain scans are read consistently, they said.
FDA panel sees promise in Lilly imaging drug
A federal panel of medical experts said Thursday a first-of-a-kind imaging chemical designed to help screen for Alzheimer's disease could be useful pending additional study and training for physicians.
21st Century Fund pockets a payoff from sale
The state’s principal fund investing in high-tech companies has reached a milestone—for the first time recouping all the money it granted an emerging company, and then some.
California judge bars Conseco Life from boosting rates
A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Wednesday that Carmel-based Conseco Life Insurance Co. may not follow through with a plan to raise policy rates for more than 50,000 mostly elderly policyholders.
Uptick in M&A activity suggests a turnaround
Fourth quarter helps to bolster 2010 deal-making.