GSK and J&J lead rivals in drug access for poor

LONDON (Reuters) – Drugmakers – led by GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson – are stepping up efforts to ensure their medicines are available and affordable in poor countries, after being attacked in the past for not doing enough.

The Access to Medicines Index, which tracks the actions of the top 20 drugmakers, showed on Wednesday there had been an improvement across the board in the past two years, reflecting both commercial self-interest and a concern for reputation.

Still, the nonprofit group behind the index took companies to task for not being more open about the widespread outsourcing of clinical trials in overseas countries, where many studies are handled by contract research organizations (CROs).

The analysis found no company was fully transparent about all the CROs it used, and only four – Merck & Co, Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline and Eisai – provided evidence of enforcing codes of conduct to ensure CRO trials met safety and ethical standards.

Companies are increasingly conducting clinical trials in eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, where costs are often lower and patients easier to recruit.

LOW COST, HIGH VOLUME

With emerging markets now a top priority for pharmaceutical companies worldwide, as sales in Western nations slow, firms are experimenting with a wide variety of low-cost, high-volume models to boost business.

As a result, Wim Leereveld, founder of the Amsterdam-based Access to Medicine Foundation, said companies were becoming much more organized internally in addressing the needs of low-income markets.

More companies are now adopting “tiered” pricing, with prices in poor countries sometimes reduced by 50 to 75 percent, although this varies considerably between companies, products and markets.

Britain’s GlaxoSmithKline came top in the 2012 index, based on an assessment of performance across a range of activities, such as drug donation, patent policy, pricing and research.

Johnson & Johnson was second and Sanofi third, while Japanese drugmakers came bottom of the table.

Significantly, two of the top six companies were mid-sized businesses – the HIV/AIDS specialist Gilead Sciences and diabetes care group Novo Nordisk – reflecting the importance of less-developed countries in both these diseases.

It is the third time the index has been compiled. GSK also led the board in previous rankings in 2008 and 2010.

BOARDROOM ATTENTION

The pharmaceutical industry has often had a stormy relationship with healthcare activists and some governments, leading to a bruising battle a decade ago with South Africa over AIDS drugs patents and access.

Since then, companies have come under increasing pressure to do things differently and make their products more affordable.

“The key is that the boards of these companies understand it is an important issue … in getting them access to markets and maintaining a good reputation with governments,” said David Sampson, author of the latest report.

The 2012 analysis found that the issue was now a board-level matter for more than 60 percent of companies, leading to novel approaches, such as GSK’s recently established developing countries and market access unit.

(Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

Medications/Drugs News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Fox News Suddenly Loves Illegal Immigrants

Since the election, there’s been a noticeable change in how Fox News has been covering the delicate issue of illegal immigration. It started with Sean Hannity. On his radio program on Nov. 8, Hannity told listeners that he now supports a path to citizenship for some people living in the U.S. illegally. “We’ve got to get rid of the immigration issue altogether,” Hannity said. “You control the border first. You create a pathway for those people that are here; you don’t say you’ve got to go. And that is a position I’ve evolved on.”

If the “I’ve evolved” language sounds familiar, it’s because that’s what President Obama said when he told the public in May that he’d changed his mind and was now supporting gay marriage. “I’ve evolved” is the way people in Washington signal that they realize they’re out of touch and are now trying to lead from behind.

For Hannity it’s a dramatic about-face. During the 2012 primary election, the GOP was the party of “self-deportation,” a term Mitt Romney coined. Romney was drawing on earlier comments by Hannity, who has called deportation the only solution for the 11 million-plus people living in the country illegally. Hannity described the Dream Act, which offers an opportunity of citizenship to young people who came to the U.S. before they were 16, finished high school, and have no criminal record, “an amnesty nightmare.” In his view at the time, even those illegal immigrants who served in the military didn’t deserve citizenship rights.

The day after Hannity announced his change of heart, Fox (NWSA) ran this news segment:

The following week, Fox provided extensive and generally positive coverage of Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s speech at the Washington Ideas Forum. Rubio appealed to his party to come up with a sensible plan for the illegal aliens living in the U.S., saying, “It’s really hard to get people to listen to you on economic growth, on tax rates, on health care if they think you want to deport your grandmother.”

Appearing on Fox on Sunday, Arizona Senator John McCain added to the chorus. He called on the GOP to heed the lessons of the election, in which minorities provided the margin of victory for Obama in key states. “I think we have to have a bigger tent,” McCain said. “Obviously, we have to do immigration reform.”

McCain has a keen interest in keeping the discussion alive: Back in 2007, he and Senator Ted Kennedy brought an immigration-reform package to Congress. That bill, which was pushed by President George W. Bush and included a path to citizenship, was derailed in part by talking heads such as Hannity. Any attempts by McCain & Co. to get traction for a renewed effort at immigration reform would benefit from a friendly reception on Fox News. It looks like they’ve got it.

Businessweek.com — Top News

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$1,499 Gaming Laptop is Ready for Steam on Linux

Alternative, Linux-based operating systems like Ubuntu haven’t historically carried much weight with PC gamers. Very few PC games have been made for Linux, over the years, ever since the company that was porting AAA gaming titles to Linux (Loki Games) went bankrupt in 2001. And while it’s possible to use a “compatibility layer” such as Wine to run Windows PC games in Linux, the results are mixed at best and require a lot of technical tweaking, sometimes even in between updates.

Colorado-based indie PC hardware company System76, however, clearly expects that not only are there PC gamers on Linux out there, but that some of them are willing to pay $ 1,499 for a tricked-out gaming laptop — the 17.3-inch Bonobo Extreme. Like all of System76′s machines, it runs the Ubuntu flavor of Linux; and its actual price tag is $ 1,599, but it’s gotten a $ 100 discount for the holidays.

Is it ahead of its time, like the Loki Games ports? Or has the time come for a new age of Linux gaming? For whatever reason, Valve — the creators of the Steam social gaming service — seems to think the latter.

​The hardware

The 17.3-inch screen is full 1080p, with a 1920×1080 resolution. Pretty much every spec starts out at “high end” and maxes out at “over the top”; it comes standard with an Intel Core i7 processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 500 GB, 7200 RPM hard drive, with a second drive bay and the option to swap the DVD burner out for a third storage disk. All three have the option of going up to a 512 GB Crucial solid state disk, or a 480 GB Intel SSD.

Gaming graphics are powered by an nVidia GeForce GTX 670MX, with 3 GB of memory. An extra $ 340 will get you a GTX 680M with 4 GB of memory. All told, with every possible hardware upgrade the Bonobo Extreme maxes out at an “extreme” $ 4,333 … and the Alienware-style, multicolored light-up keyboard is included for free.

​But what about the games?

Valve’s Linux Steam client is currently in beta, with another 5,000 testers added over the Thanksgiving holiday. About two dozen games are already available for purchase, including Valve’s free-to-play multiplayer online shooter Team Fortress 2 and a selection of games from previous Humble Indie Bundles.

The HIB previously became famous not just for having nearly all of its games support Linux, but for posting public sales figures online, and showing that a good-sized chunk of each bundle’s sales were for Linux gamers. Efforts such as this helped to convince Valve that supporting Linux would be worthwhile … and also seem to have reached someone at System76.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.
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Berry’s ex says he was threatened before fight

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Halle Berry‘s ex-boyfriend claims the actress’s fiance threatened to kill him during a Thanksgiving confrontation that left him with a broken rib, bruised face and under arrest.

Gabriel Aubry‘s claims are included in court filings that led a judge Monday to grant a restraining order against actor Olivier Martinez, who is engaged to the Oscar-winning actress.

Aubry, 37, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery after his confrontation with Martinez on Thursday, but he states in the civil court filings that he was not the aggressor and that he was threatened and attacked without provocation. Martinez told police that Aubry had attacked first, the filings state.

A representative for Martinez could not be immediately reached for comment.

Aubry’s filing claims Martinez threatened him the day before the fight at an event at his daughter’s school that he and the actors attended. Aubry, a model, has a 4-year-old daughter with Berry and the former couple have been engaged in a lengthy custody battle.

The proceedings have been confidential, but Aubry states a major aspect of the case was Berry’s wish to move to Paris and take her daughter with her. The request was denied Nov. 9, Berry’s court filings state, and Aubry shares joint custody of the young girl.

Aubry claims Martinez told him, “You cost us $ 3 million,” while he was punched and kicked him in the driveway of Berry’s home. Aubry had gone to the home to allow his daughter to spend Thanksgiving with her mother, the filings state. Aubry claims Martinez threatened to kill him if Aubry didn’t move to Paris.

Berry was not in the driveway during the confrontation and neither was their daughter, the documents state.

Photos of Aubry’s face with cuts and a black eye were included in his court filing.

A judge set a hearing for Dec. 17 to consider whether a three-year restraining order should be granted. Aubry has a Dec. 13 court date for the possible battery case, which has not yet been filed by prosecutors.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP .

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FDA suspends peanut butter plant linked to salmonella outbreak

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspended operations on Monday at a New Mexico food producer linked to salmonella-tainted peanut butter that has sickened at least 41 people this year, the agency said in a statement.

The FDA said it had suspended Sunland Inc‘s food facility registration “in the interest of public health,” following the national outbreak and a history of food safety violations reaching back over three years.

“The fact that peanut butter made by the company has been linked to an outbreak … that has sickened 41 people in 20 states, coupled with Sunland’s history of violations led FDA … to suspend the company’s registration,” the FDA statement said, referring to an outbreak that began in June.

Registration with the administration is required for any facility that makes, processes, packs or holds food for consumption in the United States. If a facility’s registration is suspended, it is banned from distributing food for sale.

The FDA said a review of Sunland Inc’s product testing records showed that 11 product lots of nut butter tested positive for salmonella between June 2009 and September 2012.

Between March 2010 and September 2012, at least a portion of eight product lots of nut butter that the firm’s own testing program identified as containing salmonella was distributed by the company to consumers, the organization said.

Additionally, the FDA found the presence of salmonella during its inspection of the plant in September and October, both in samples taken in food production areas and in food products themselves.

Attempts to reach Sunland on Monday were unsuccessful, but in a November 15 statement the company said “at no time in its twenty four year history has Sunland, Inc. released for distribution any products that it knew to be potentially contaminated with harmful microorganisms.”

The company said it “has followed internal testing protocols that it believed resulted in the isolation and destruction of any product that did not pass the test designed to detect the presence of any contaminants.”

Salmonella typically causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain. It can be fatal for old people, young children and people with weakened immune systems. The FDA said it would reinstate the firm’s registration only when it determines that the company has implemented procedures to produce safe products.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Bob Burgdorfer)

Health News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Catalan election weakens bid for independence from Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) – Separatists in Spain’s Catalonia won regional elections on Sunday but failed to get the resounding mandate they need to push convincingly for a referendum on independence.

Catalan President Artur Mas, who has implemented unpopular spending cuts in an economic crisis, had called an early election to test support for his new drive for independence for Catalonia, a wealthy region in northeastern Spain.

Voters handed almost two thirds of the 135-seat local parliament to four different Catalan separatist parties that all want to hold a referendum on secession from Spain.

But they punished the main separatist group, Mas’s Convergence and Union alliance, or CiU, cutting back its seats to 50 from 62. That will make it difficult for Mas to lead a united drive to hold a referendum in defiance of the constitution and the central government in Madrid.

“Mas clearly made a mistake. He promoted a separatist agenda and the people have told him they want other people to carry out his agenda,” said Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Madrid office.

The result will come as a relief for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who is battling a deep recession and 25 percent unemployment while he struggles to cut high borrowing costs by convincing investors of Spain’s fiscal and political stability.

Mas, surrounded by supporters chanting “independence, independence”, said he would still try to carry out the referendum but added that, “it is more complex, but there is no need to give up on the process.”

Resurgent Catalan separatism had become a major headache for Rajoy, threatening to provoke a constitutional crisis over the legality of a referendum just as he is trying to concentrate on a possible international bailout for troubled Spain.

Frustration over the Spanish tax system, under which Catalonia shares some of its tax revenue with the rest of the country, has revived a long-dormant secessionist spirit in Catalonia. Catalans believe if they could invest more of their taxes at home their economy would prosper.

Mas had tried to ride the separatist wave after hundreds of thousands demonstrated in the streets in September, demanding independence for their region, which has its own language and sees itself as distinct from the rest of Spain.

In a speech to supporters on Sunday night, Mas recognized that he had lost ground and though CiU is still the largest group in Catalan‘s parliament, he said would need the support of another party to govern and to continue pushing through tough economic measures.

“We’ve fallen well short of the majority we had. We’ve been ruling for two years under very tough circumstances,” he said.

Traditional separatists the Republican Left, or ERC, won the second biggest presence in the Catalan parliament, with 21 seats. The Socialists took 20 seats. And Rajoy’s center-right People’s Party won 19.

Three other parties, including two that want a referendum on independence, split the remaining 25 seats. ECFR’s Torreblanca said the Catalan elections were similar to those around Europe in that economic woes have benefited marginal political groups, while larger, traditional parties have lost ground.

MAS MADE BIG BET

Mas’s bet on separatism may have helped out the big winner of Sunday’s election, the Republican Left, which more than doubled its seats in the Catalan parliament to 21 from 10,

“He talked about it so much that he ended up helping the only party that has always been for independence, which is the Republican Left,” said political analyst Ismael Crespo at the Ortega y Gasset research institute.

A legal referendum would require a change to the constitution, and Spain’s main parties in the national parliament, the Socialists and Rajoy’s People’s Party, have shown no appetite for that.

Mas’s CiU had traditionally been a pro-business moderate nationalist party that fought for more autonomy and self-governance for Catalonia without breaking away from Spain.

Mas broke with that tradition in September when he made a big bet on a referendum.

Catalonia, with 7.5 million people, is more populous than Denmark. Its economy is almost as big as Portugal’s and it generates one fifth of Spanish gross domestic product.

After a decade of overspending during Spain’s real estate boom, Catalonia and most of the country’s other regions are struggling to pay state workers and meet debt payments. Unemployment has soared and spending on hospitals and schools has been cut.

Mas was one of the first Spanish leaders to embark on harsh austerity measures after Catalonia’s public deficit soared and the regional government was shunned by debt markets.

Josep Freixas, 37 and unemployed, voted for CiU but recognized the party had lost seats “because people have been really affected by the spending cuts and by the crisis.”

At CiU headquarters on Sunday night Freixas carried a rolled up pro-independence flag – a single star against yellow and red stripes – that has become a symbol of the separatist movement.

Turnout was very high in the election, 68 percent, 10 percentage points higher than in the previous vote two years ago.

Many Catalans are angry that Rajoy has refused to negotiate a new tax deal with their largely self-governing region. Annually, an estimated 16 billion euros ($ 21 billion) in taxes paid in Catalonia, about 8 percent of its economic output, is not returned to the region.

Home to car factories and banks and birthplace of surrealist painter Salvador Dali and architect Antoni Gaudi, the region also has one of the world’s most successful football clubs, FC Barcelona.

Wary that separatism could spread to the Basque Country and beyond, Rajoy said this week that the Catalan election was more important than general elections.

(The story corrects billion to million in 20th paragraph.)

(Editing by Myra MacDonald and Sandra Maler)

Economy News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Israel successfully tests missile defense system

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel successfully tested its newest missile defense system Sunday, the military said, a step toward making the third leg of what Israel calls its “multilayer missile defense” operational.

The “David’s Sling” system is designed to stop mid-range missiles. It successfully passed its test, shooting down its first missile in a drill Sunday in southern Israel, the military said.

The system is designed to intercept projectiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers (180 miles).

Israel has also deployed Arrow systems for longer-range threats from Iran. The Iron Dome protects against short-range rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Iron Dome shot down hundreds of rockets from Gaza in this month’s round of fighting.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the success of Iron Dome highlighted the “immense importance” of such systems.

“David’s Sling,” also known “Magic Wand,” is developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and U.S.-based Raytheon Co. and is primarily designed to counter the large arsenal of Hezbollah rockets in Lebanon.

The military said the program, which is on schedule for deployment in 2014, would “provide an additional layer of defense against ballistic missiles.”

The next generation of the Arrow, now in the development stage, is set to be deployed in 2016. Called the Arrow 3, it is designed to strike its target outside the atmosphere, intercepting missiles closer to their launch sites. Together, the two Arrow systems would provide two chances to strike down incoming missiles.

Israel also uses U.S.-made Patriot missile defense batteries against mid-range missiles, though these failed to hit any of the 39 Scud missiles fired at Israel from Iraq In the first Gulf War 20 years ago. Manufacturers say the Patriot system has been improved since then.

Middle East News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Nokia imaging chief to quit

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia‘s long-time imaging chief Damian Dinning has decided to leave the loss-making cellphone maker at the end of this month, the company said in a statement.

The strong imaging capabilities of the new Lumia smartphone models are a key sales argument for the former market leader, which has been burning through cash while losing share in both high-end smartphones and cheaper handsets.

Nokia’s Chief Executive Stephen Elop has replaced most of the top management since he joined in late 2010 and Dinnig is the latest of several executives to leave.

Dinning did not want to move to Finland as part of the phonemakers’ effort to concentrate operations and will join Jaguar Land Rover to head innovations in the field of connected cars, he said on Nokia’s imaging fan site PureViewclub.com.

(Reporting By Tarmo Virki, editing by William Hardy)

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Vampires foil Tooth Fairy, Santa to claim box office win

(Reuters) – Teen vampire film “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ continued to take a bite out of the domestic box office, drawing $ 64 million in ticket sales over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend to finish ahead of James Bond film “Skyfall.”

After opening with a massive $ 141.1 million last weekend, the finale of the “Twilight” franchise brought in a holiday swarm of fans to see teen favorites Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, pushing “Breaking Dawn” to $ 227 million in total domestic ticket sales.

“Skyfall,” starring Daniel Craig in the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, finished second, collecting $ 51 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates compiled by the box office division of Hollywood.com.

“Lincoln,” Steven Spielberg’s historical film on the last days of President Abraham Lincoln, grabbed third with $ 34.1 million over the Wednesday-through-Sunday period.

Making its debut in fourth place with $ 32.6 million was the animated film “Rise of the Guardians,” featuring the voices of Chris Pine and Alec Baldwin as the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and other childhood favorites who save the world.

“Life of Pi,” based on Yann Martel’s 2001 best-seller about a boy who survives on a raft with a tiger after his ship sinks, collected $ 30.15 million for a strong fifth-place finish.

“Rise of the Guardians,” produced by Dreamworks Animation for roughly $ 145 million, had been projected by distributor Paramount Pictures to gross $ 35 million in its first five days, according to Box Office Mojo.

Based on “The Guardians of Childhood” book series by children’s author William Joyce, the film will be the last Paramount will release for Dreamworks, whose films will be distributed next year by News Corp’s Fox studio.

Anne Globe, Dreamworks’ chief marketing officer, pointed to “the great parent reactions we’ve seen” to the film, and noting it was among the few choices for families through the end of year, said the studio was “hoping for very long legs through the holidays.”

The Ang Li film “Life of Pi,” on the other hand, performed stronger than expected. “We clearly exceeded our pre-release expectations,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox.

“We’re seeing word of mouth in action, and a remarkably balanced demographic,” including strong ticket sales among those under 25, he said, adding “Many felt it was impossible to film, but Ang Li pulled it off.”

The remake of the 1984 Cold War film “Red Dawn,” finished seventh with $ 22 million in sales, behind animated feature “Wreck It Ralph”‘s $ 23 million take.

“Red Dawn” arrived at movie theaters four years after it was shot by MGM, but was delayed when the studio filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Last year, MGM decided to digitally alter the villains in the movie, inserting North Koreans instead of Chinese, after Hollywood began courting Chinese companies to help finance its films.

Propelled by the vampires, secret agents, presidents and nursery school favorites, Hollywood ticket sales totaled $ 290 million for the holiday weekend, beating the holiday weekend high mark of $ 273 million recorded in 2009. Hollywood studios often release their biggest holiday films on Wednesday to take advantage of school breaks the day before Thanksgiving.

The continued rush of fans to see teen favorites Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner pushed the “Twilight” installment to $ 227 million in total domestic ticket sales, making it the year’s sixth-largest, according to figures compiled by Box Office Mojo.

“Skyfall” with $ 221.7 million is just behind at number seven, while the year’s box office champ remains “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which has taken in $ 623 million to date.

(Reporting By Ronald Grover)

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Germany rejects Swiss tax deal

23 November 2012 Last updated at 11:29 ET

Germany’s upper house of parliament has rejected a deal with Switzerland to tax German assets held in Swiss bank accounts.

The deal would have allowed Germans with undeclared assets in Switzerland to avoid punishment by making a one-off payment of between 21% and 41% of the value of their assets.

The deal had been negotiated in April and was due to take effect in January.

But it needed to be ratified by both parliaments.

The rejection by the German upper house, the Bundesrat, prolongs the dispute between the two countries over how to deal with the estimated 180-200bn euros (£145-160bn) of German assets hidden in Switzerland.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had called for support for the deal, saying: “The agreement tries to find a better solution for a situation which is unsatisfactory.”

But Norbert Walter-Borjans, of the main opposition Social Democrats, told the Bundesrat it was a deal which made “honest taxpayers feel like fools”.

Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said her government remained “committed to a successful ratification”.

And the Swiss Bankers Association said in a statement: “The German upper house has missed a major opportunity to reach a fair, optimum and sustainable solution for all parties to definitively settle the bilateral tax issues.”

BBC News – Business

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