Insurer WellPoint plans online care option
WellPoint plans to build a network of primary care doctors and specialists who will be available any time to consult with
patients.
Health Care & Life Sciences
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Arcadia sees smaller quarterly, fiscal-year losses
Despite losses, company sees growth in its DailyMed pharmacy services, which packages the right dosages of prescriptions to
make it easier for patients to follow their regimens.
Research reforms will force Lilly, others to test how drugs stack up
The federal government is currently doling out $1.1 billion in stimulus funds to pay for research that compares multiple medical
treatments against one another to determine which is most effective. Drug companies like Eli Lilly and Co. are wary that comparative-effectiveness
research could threaten their sales.
Avon gives senior-living facility tax abatement
Leo Brown LLC’s 20-acre, $36 million senior-living community is expected to create 132 jobs with an average salary of $37,000
when it is completed in 2011.
Lilly taps O’Connor as state lobbyist
O’Connor, chief deputy mayor under former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, started Monday as Lilly's director of
state government affairs—working again under Peterson.
Study: Online doc ratings mostly positive
Angie’s List physician rating service has been controversial since it started in 2008. But an academic journal article
is now telling the docs to relax. Nearly 90 percent of patient comments on sites like Angie’s List are positive.
Obama gives states $250 million to review insurance premiums
WellPoint may face the most threat from more aggressive reviews. The Indianapolis insurer is the leader in small-business
and individual policies, areas that have seen the biggest increases in recent years.
55 employees of mail-order MHP Pharmacy firm losing jobs
Indianapolis-based MHP Pharmacy’s facility on North Meridian Street will close in August as a result of the company’s purchase
by In Touch Pharmaceuticals in Valparaiso.
Erbitux fails to stop colon cancer before it spreads
Eli Lilly and Co. and Merck KGaA drug failed to slow tumors in a study designed to expand the medicine’s use to patients whose
disease is in an earlier stage.
WellPoint spent $1.4M lobbying government in first quarter
The Indianapolis-based insurer’s first-quarter spending is 16 percent more than it spent in the same quarter last year and
in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Indiana Seed Fund nearing end of $6 million stash
Having invested in 10 companies since 2005 and with its $6 million pot of money running low, the Indiana Seed Fund is nearing
a crossroads.
OrthoWorx initiative names executive director
Not-for-profit launched last year by BioCrossroads and Indiana’s orthopedic companies names Zimmer Inc. executive Brad Bishop
to lead the initiative.
SynCare withdraws abatement request
Locally based SynCare LLC has withdrawn a request for a property tax abatement tied to the creation of 114 jobs. SynCare owner
Stephanie DeKemper said she pulled the request to ensure the employment projections are accurate.
Health care firm plans to create 114 jobs
SynCare LLC’s expansion hinges on city approval of property tax abatement. The Metropolitan Development Commission is set
to vote on the request Wednesday.
St. Vincent closes in on new hospital deal
A deal in which St. Vincent Health would buy or lease Bedford’s Dunn Memorial Hospital is in the final stages, according
to the Times-Mail of Bedford. The hospital board held two hours of closed-door talks on May 26, and one board member
predicted a decision within days.
Expert: Reform can improve communities
The much-maligned health care bill provides a huge opportunity for local communities to improve the health of their citizens
and for local health care providers to win bonus payments from federal health insurance programs. That's the message Len
Nichols, a Beltway veteran and health policy expert, will bring to attendees at the All Healthcare is Local conference today.
Genetic testing could spur Erbitux drug sales
The drugmakers are counting on screening for the so-called K-ras gene to spur use of Erbitux in metastatic colorectal cancer.
Lilly grows Alimta’s sales by shrinking market
In 2008, Eli Lilly and Co. asked drug regulators to change the label on Alimta so Lilly could no longer promote it as a treatment
for all patients suffering from non-small-cell lung cancer, but for only about 70 percent of the patients. Since then, sales
of the drug have accelerated, growing a whopping 48 percent last year.
Positron has billion-dollar hopes for medical-imaging scanner
A maker of medical imaging equipment that recently moved its headquarters to Fishers has grand plans to reach $1 billion in
sales and build a multimillion-dollar cyclotron facility in five years. But history shows Positron Corp. has been far better
at losing money than making it.
Cancer researcher battling Semafore in court
Former collaborator alleges firm breached its agreement with him and refused to pay royalty income.