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Hospitals Treating Wealthy Foreigners To Assure Cash Flows
International patients spending $3 billion a year on care in the United States are helping fund a gap for hospitals waiting with bated breath to see how health care reform will affect them, Marketplace reports.
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World Medical Association Urges Sri Lankan President To Intervene On Behalf Of Government Doctors
The World Medical Association has urged the President of Sri Lanka to intervene on behalf of three government employed doctors, two of whom have been detained and the third taken to an unknown destination, after working in the conflict zone in Sri Lanka.
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Pfizer To Give Away 70 Of Its Most Widely Prescribed Drugs To Those Who Lost Jobs
Pfizer on Thursday announced a new program that would provide some of its existing customers access to more than 70 types of medications at no cost if they have recently been laid off or lost their prescription drug coverage, USA Today reports. The program -- called MAINTAIN, or Medicines Assistance for Those who Are in Need -- will begin July 1. To receive the drugs, individuals must show that they have been unemployed since Jan. 1 and that they no longer have prescription drug insurance. They also must prove that they cannot pay for their medications and that they were taking a medication listed under the program for at least three months prior to losing their jobs. Those who meet the eligibility requirements would receive their medications at no cost for up to one year, or until they have insurance coverage. Pfizer will accept applications through Dec. 31 (Petrecca, USA Today, 5/15).According to the AP/Detroit News, medications listed for the new patient drug-assistance program include some of Pfizer"s "top money makers," such as the anti-cholesterol drug Lipitor, the painkiller Celebrex, the fibromyalgia treatment Lyrica and the impotency treatment Viagra (Johnson, AP/Detroit News, 5/14).Ray Kerins, a spokesperson for Pfizer, declined to reveal how much the program would cost the pharmaceutical company or how many potential customers might benefit from it (Bloomberg/Miami Herald, 5/15).According to the AP/News, the program "could earn Pfizer some goodwill" after "long being a target of critics of drug industry prices and sales practices" (AP/Detroit News, 5/14). Scott Morgan, president of ad agency Brunner, said, "It goes beyond goodwill. There"s definitely a marketing strategy behind this about defending against generics and maintaining your consumer base. ... It"s a pretty savvy move" (USA Today, 5/15).
Medical Devices

Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. Awarded $1.67 Billion Patent Jury Verdict From Abbott Laboratories

Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. announced today that a federal jury has returned a verdict of $1.67 billion against Abbott Laboratories in a patent infringement suit. "We are pleased that the jury has ruled in our favor in the patent litigation case against Abbott," said Kim Taylor, President, Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc. The patent in question relates to the company"s anti-TNF class of arthritis treatments, and is co-owned by New York University and Centocor, for which Centocor is the exclusive licensee. "We are particularly gratified that the jury recognized our valuable intellectual property, finding our patent both valid and infringed. We will continue to assert intellectual property rights for our immunology therapies, as they offer significant advances in treatment for patients with a number of immune mediated inflammatory diseases," Taylor added. Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.


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