J & J profits up 17 percent
NEW YORK
Health conglomerate Johnson & Johnson reported robust first-quarter earnings, thanks to across-the-board growth, with net income jumping more than 17 percent from last year. For the quarter to March 31, Johnson & Johnson earned US$2.93 billion, or 97 cents a share, compared with US$2.5 billion, or 83 cents a share, for the same quarter last year.
Sales increased by 11 percent from last year to US$12.83 billion. The company said that international sales were 2.2-percent higher due to favorable currency exchange.
Johnson & Johnson reported significant growth from all three of its divisions, as well as strong growth in three of its leading drug lines--Remicade, Topamax, and Risperdal. The company's medical-device division had the most impressive performance, with global sales leaping 13 percent to US$4.8 billion.
AFP
Altana profits less than expected
BAD HOMBURG, Germany
Altana, the German maker of pharmaceuticals and specialty chemicals, bared lower-than-expected earnings in the first quarter and appeared to be fractionally more cautious about the outlook for the full year.
Altana said it booked a net profit of US$122 million, an increase of 4.0 percent from the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax were up one percent at US$195 million or a four-percent increase in sales to US$963 million.
Altana explained that high spending on research and development and launch costs of its antiasthma drug Alvesco, as well as one-off charges related to the reorganization of its coatings and sealants division, had weighed on earnings.
The company expects sales for the whole year to rise by six to eight percent.
AFP
Dermabrite now available here
A hydroquinone-free cream from Australia that can reduce the appearance of pigmentation problems and uneven skin tone is now available in the Philippines.
Dermabrite, a gentle cream derived from natural skin-brightening ingredients and without harsh chemicals, is being marketed by Cytherea Inc.
Shelly Bago, Cytherea marketing manager, said Dermabrite is gentle on the skin yet powerfully affects the visible appearance of pigmentation marks. She said the bearberry and licorice root in Dermabrite work to help reduce the visible appearance of blemishes and brighten the skin, while beta-hydroxy acids and retinol exfoliate the skin's surface to reveal fresher, clearer, brighter-looking skin. These powerful ingredients are combined with calming, moisturizing herbs, and nutrients. In just weeks of twice-daily use, the skin becomes creamy and even looking.
Dermabrite is produced by Skin Doctors Cosmeceuticals, a part of Cat Media, the fastest-growing health and beauty company in Australia. Its products also include Antarctilyne Cosmetic Collagen Alternative, Circle Clear Under Eye Cream, Relaxaderm-Injection Free Facial Relaxer, and Eyetuck-Specific Under Eye Bag Treatment.
More information may be obtained from Cytherea Inc., 27th floor, Trident Tower, 312 Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City (telephone number 63-2-7937104,
info@cytherea.com.ph).
GSK, Eisai to launch new drug in India
MUMBAI
British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has tied up with Japanese drug major Eisai to launch new antiulcer Paritec in India. Paritec, with US$1.3 billion global sales, will be jointly marketed by GSK and Eisai in the rapidly growing Indian peptic-ulcer market.
"Paritec fits beautifully in our portfolio as our existing antiulcer drug Zantac has reached maturity stage," S. Kalyanasundaram, managing director of GSK India, said. He said GSK will produce the final product in India after importing the bulk drug ingredient, rabeprazole sodium, from Eisai, a company with over US$5-billion sales in 2004.
"Paritec is an international quality product with right dosage and ingredients and will be sold at affordable prices," Kalyanasundaram said without disclosing the commercial details of the agreement with Eisai. Around 40 generic drugs are available in the US$138-million Indian antiulcer market. "But Paritec has an excellent new molecule, rabeprazole, that will effectively fulfill unmet patient needs and allow us to offer a product in a high-growth market segment," Kalyansundaram added.
AFP
GSK to consumers: Value Health
When it comes to medication, Filipinos have a penchant for self-medication, undermedication, and branded medicines.
To address all three and in the name of proper medical treatment, the Value Health program of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) made an entrance January last year. It offered original branded medicines for common diseases like hyperacidity, flu, asthma, infections, tuberculosis, gout, nausea, and cough and fever at reduced cost-five percent to 34 percent off original prices.
Value Health is price-reduction or no-price-increase pricing scheme for some of GSK's products. And GSK is one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and health-care companies.
Initially, Value Health included such trusted drugs as amoxicillin, which cost was reduced by 34 percent, co-trimoxazole (30 percent), ambroxol (awarded the "Best Cough Syrup for Kids;" no price increase since 2003), rifampicin (six percent), allopurinol (13 percent), metoclopramide (12 percent), dicycloverine (12 percent), salbutamol, and paracetamol (Calpol; no price increase since 2003).
This year, GSK is expanding the program to include drugs acquired from Eli Lilly--cefaclor (20-percent reduction), erythromycin (20 percent), and cefalexin (30 percent)-and GSK's own product of original research--the antiulcerant drug ranitidine (Zantac; 14 percent) and cimetidine (no price increase), also for gastrointestinal disorders.
For a GSK product to be placed in Value Health, it should be used to treat common illnesses and diseases that are in the Department of Health's list of top mortality- and morbidity-causing diseases in the country.
According to Daisy Cembrano, GSK Value Health program commercial head, Value Health is GSK's response to patients' need for treatment that they can trust and afford. It extends the benefits of GSK's trusted brands to patients who are otherwise on lower-priced alternatives and it is GSK's answer to the government's appeal for improved health care for all Filipinos, she said.
During Value Health's media launch on June 15, Cembrano said: "We're hoping that as we made the brands more affordable, we're going to help the doctors ensure [their patients'] compliance [with medication]."
Most medicines in the program are prescription products and therefore require a physician's supervision. They are trusted brands that have undergone strict testing and quality control, in terms of safety, efficacy, and affordability, she pointed out.
She also said that GSK will soon launch programs under Value Health that are not outright price reductions but are intended to ensure compliance in the management of chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and asthma.
M. Ciriacruz
Bionic power, NeoStrata activates
In the four corners of the earth, the villains of skin health--pollution, stress, and sun exposure--square off with their newest adversary yet-the lactobionic power of polyhydroxy acids (PHAs).
NeoStrata Company, a research-based firm in New Jersey, United States, says it now has the technology to deliver this bionic power. Leigh Ann Catlin, the company's vice president for international business development, and Catherine Mueller, international sales and marketing executive director, presented NeoStrata products during a media briefing on April 25 at the Le Soufflé Restaurant
PHAs, the second generation in fruit-acid skin care--just like the first-generation alphahydroxy acids (AHAs)-are able to improve appearance of skin by a peeling-off effect, moisturizing action, stimulation of collagen synthesis, and being powerful antioxidants. Both AHAs and PHAs are used to treat acne, oily skin, irregularly pigmented skin, wrinkles and fine lines, dry and ageing skin. But PHAs are gentler and better moisturizers than AHAs.
Lactobionic acid-the "bionic" acid, derived from milk sugar (lactose), is one of the complex PHAs, as it contains both gluconolactone and galactose (chemically connected to each other). Galactose in particular has been shown to enhance wound healing and is a key factor in collagen synthesis and cell migration.
According to NeoStrata, lactobionic acid has a larger molecular size and weight versus other AHAs and PHAs. Because of this unique molecular structure, lactobionic acid can bind more water than either lactic acid or glycolic acid, allowing it to form a gel matrix of 14- percent water. Use of lactobionic acid provides increased plumping of skin for a smoother and younger look.
NeoStrata's new products that contain the new complex bionic PHA technology are now available locally through D'Mark Multisales Corporation.
Bionic Face Cream is an ideal adjunctive skin care for extremely dry skin and for pre- and posttreatment with glycolic-acid peels, laser, and microdermabrasions. It also replenishes skin oils for a resto-rative effect.
Bionic Face Serum is an intensive antiaging treatment product with a unique combination of bionic PHA with emollients and skin conditioners. Bionic Lotion is an ideal adjunctive skin care of dry and scaly skin resulting from eczema, psoriasis, and xeroxis. Bionic Skin Lightening Cream SPF15 (two-percent hydroquinonone, five-percent gluconolactone, and five-percent lactobionic acid) protects treated areas from UVB rays to avoid hyperpigmentation. It gently exfoliates and lightens pigmented spots.
M. Ciriacruz
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