FDAnews Drug Daily Bulletin

Some Democratic lawmakers are pushing for a drug pedigree system to combat potential “gray marketing” of shortage drugs, arguing that a national track-and-trace system would not be enough to secure the supply chain.

As developed countries like the U.S. and EU look to combat counterfeit medicines, they may want to consider Turkey’s track-and-trace system, which in a little more than two years has helped pull more than 140 million illicit drug packages from the country’s market.

The FDA has handed Merck a complete response letter on Taltorvic, a potential maintenance treatment for metastatic soft-tissue and bone sarcomas, calling for additional clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy.

Another 400 jobs will be cut from Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical manufacturer Astra Zeneca, the company has announced, with the majority of the redundancies in Södertälje, south of Stockholm.

Johnson & Johnson has parted ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council, the first New Jersey company to do so following public pressure from liberal groups across the country.

Biostar Pharmaceuticals announced that it signed a Letter of Intent with The Fourth Military Medical University to jointly conduct Phases I to III clinical trials for Viacom Pine II Cream drug.

Eli Lilly & Co. increased its investment in China generic-drug maker Novast Laboratories Ltd. by $20 million and expanded their collaboration to enhance Lilly’s efforts to offer branded generic medicines in the country.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced that data from studies of Azilect (rasagiline tablets) and Parkinson’s disease will be presented at the 16th Annual International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in Dublin.

The pharmaceutical market in Mexico remains the second most attractive in Latin America.