IndyStar.com: Health Care & Pharma
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Lilly's big cancer bet: seeking new blockbusters
While the risks are huge, the rewards could be giant In a corner of an Eli Lilly and Co. cancer laboratory, biologist Julie Pomeroy squeezes drops of a fluorescent stain onto mice tumor tissues, trying to make their mysterious world more visible...
Lilly's research chief to retire in February
Steven Paul to leave in February; successor now at AstraZeneca Dr. Steven M. Paul, the top research executive at Eli Lilly and Co. who helped launch antidepressant Cymbalta and blood-thinner Effient, will retire in February after six years of...
Lilly to pay $24M settlement to Utah over Zyprexa claims
Salt Lake City — Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to a $24 million civil settlement with the state of Utah over claims the drug maker engaged in off-label marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff’s...
Indiana AIDS infection rate higher among blacks in 2008
State officials are urging black residents and other minorities to learn more about HIV and AIDS and get tested for the virus. The state Department of Health, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and the Indiana Minority Health...
Wishard gets to work on its future
Land received for new hospital; officials will seek low bond rates Wishard Health Services capped off its election victory Wednesday by officially obtaining the land where its new hospital will be built. Marion County voters on Tuesday granted the...
Drug makers find whistle-blowing a bitter pill to swallow
Employees who expose wrongdoing are forcing billions in payouts If rising costs and demanding regulators aren’t enough to torment pharmaceutical executives, here’s one more thing to worry about: Some of your employees might be wearing a...
Biologic drugs could face competition from generics
Health-care reform bills call for 12 years of exclusivity WASHINGTON — A fast-growing category of prescription drugs that are among the most expensive on the market could, for the first time, face competition from generic competitors under the...
Lilly, Amylin get OK for use of diabetes drug by itself
Indianapolis — Federal authorities have approved a synthetic hormone co-marketed by Eli Lilly and Co. and another pharmaceutical business for use without other medications. Byetta, injected twice daily, is a synthetic hormone that spurs...
Lilly to cut up to 191 workers in Indiana by end of 2009
Eli Lilly and Co. has informed the Indiana Department of Workforce Development that it will cut up to 191 employees in a restructuring of its osteoporosis, diabetes and neuroscience sales force. The job reduction is part of Lilly’s plan,...
Lilly opens biotech center in San Diego
Nearly 200 scientists to key on cancer, diabetes, autoimmune ills Eli Lilly and Co. is taking another big step in its goal to become a major biotechnology player, opening a research complex in San Diego that will develop and test drugs for cancer,...
Recession and flu take toll on WellPoint's bottom line
Indianapolis — The largest publicly traded health insurer, WellPoint, on Wednesday reported that profits slipped 11 percent in its third quarter. A trio of factors weighed down results, including a recession-forced drop in workers who use...
Lilly pays CVS Caremark to try to get doctors to prescribe Cymbalta
Dr. Daniel Carlat, a Massachusetts psychiatrist, was puzzled as he read through the letter that had arrived in an official-looking envelope marked: “Confidential — May Include Protected Health Information.” Often, such letters warn...
Lilly has buyer for its drug complex
German manufacturer Evonik plans to offer jobs to 700 workers A year after announcing that it might close a huge factory near Lafayette, Ind., drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. has found a buyer that plans to offer jobs to all 700 full-time workers and...
Lilly and Connecticut settle Zyprexa marketing case
Hartford, Conn. — Connecticut officials say Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to a $25 million settlement with the state over claims the drug maker marketed its anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa for unapproved uses and harmed patients. Attorney General...
Ex-WellPoint exec helped write health-care bill
Liz Fowler, a former public affairs executive for Indianapolis-based health insurance giant WellPoint, helped to craft health-care reform legislation being proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus. It’s a connection that is...
Cook fears taxes will hurt industry
Medical device maker says proposal would slow job growth Cook Medical, one of Indiana’s largest and fastest-growing technology companies, is protesting a U.S. Senate proposal that would add billions of dollars in new taxes on the medical-device...
Federal judge upholds patents on Lilly's Evista
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of Eli Lilly and Co. on its method-of-use patents for its Evista osteoporosis treatment, blocking an attempt by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to sell a generic version of its drug. U.S. District Judge...
Warsaw's orthopedics initiative gets $7M grant
Warsaw received a big boost Wednesday in its effort to promote and build something for which the Northern Indiana community is already famous: the orthopedics industry. The Lilly Endowment, an Indianapolis-based private foundation, has awarded a $7...
WellPoint says economy could prompt it to cut more jobs
WellPoint is mulling more job cuts, although the company isn’t saying where the reductions would be made or how many positions could be trimmed. The Indianapolis-based health insurance giant said Tuesday it was considering work-force reductions...
Ricks named Lilly USA chief
Indianapolis — David Ricks, general manager of Lilly China, has been promoted to president of Lilly USA, according to an announcement Tuesday from drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. Ricks will succeed Enrique Conterno, who will lead...
Lilly and WellPoint are named to Working Mother's 'best' list
New York — Drug maker Eli Lilly and Co. and health insurance provider WellPoint were the only Indiana-based businesses named Tuesday to the “100 Best Companies 2009” list in Working Mother magazine. The list honors companies...
Lilly takes $1.4 billion charge for Zyprexa
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Judge orders Lilly to pay $615M in Zyprexa case
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Lilly selling rights to medicine
Indianapolis — Adolor Corp. is paying as much as $72 million for rights to Eli Lilly and Co.’s OpRA III, an experimental medicine to restore bowel function in people taking narcotic painkillers. Exton, Pa.-based Adolor, the maker of...
Woman drops Colby lawsuit
A California woman has dropped a lawsuit that accused former WellPoint Chief Financial Officer David Colby of sexual battery. Rita DiCarlo, who said she served as Colby’s “corporate wife” and lived in his home in Lake Sherwood,...
At Eli Lilly, even success brings some uncertainty
Competition quickly may cut into crucial sales of blood thinner As Eli Lilly and Co. tries to speed the development of new drugs to stave off a significant drop in revenue, its only new product in years could soon face a serious contender. Several...
Lilly's newest drug already under a cloud
Competition quickly may cut into crucial sales of new blood thinner As Eli Lilly and Co. tries to speed the development of new drugs to stave off a significant drop in revenue, its only new product in years could soon face a serious contender....
Lilly's pain could be shared by Indianapolis
Cuts could eliminate 3,600 more jobs in wider economy, while restructuring could speed drugs from pipeline to market 12:50 PM — Lilly shares down 1% Shares of Indianapolis drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. fell about 1 percent today just before 1...
Lilly keeps staff up-to-date on restructuring
Employees first heard the news in a personal voice-mail message from Eli Lilly and Co. President and CEO John Lechleiter. As the day went on, they read more about it in the company newsletter, which included a Q&A with Lechleiter. »...
Cuts brought on by years of pipeline, patent woes
For years, Eli Lilly and Co. prided itself on avoiding the huge job cuts that have become common at bigger competitors, such as Pfizer, Merck and AstraZeneca. As long as Lilly’s scientists could develop new, breakthrough medicines, the company...
