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• Pfizer: No Ifs, Ands Or Butts, Doctors Help Smokers Quit Thursday, 3 Jan 2008 | 3:09 PM ET

  

  Pfizer sent out a press release this morning touting the findings of a company-sponsored European survey of ex-smokers. The study found that 84 percent of the respondents in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK who had consulted with a doctor or some other healthcare professional about quitting thought it was helpful.

• Dendreon And Desmond: Flippin' Through The LA Times Wednesday, 2 Jan 2008 | 1:36 PM ET

  

  The "Dendreonians" have probably already seen it, but I wanted to call your attention to a pretty long piece that ran in the health section of the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 31st. It's about the grass-roots movement to get Dendreon's prostate cancer drug, Provenge, approved by the FDA. Here's the link.

• My 7 For '07: The Pharma Year in Review Friday, 28 Dec 2007 | 1:57 PM ET

  

  The seven biggest stories in my sectors in 2007? Avandia, Dendreon, Pfizer, Biogen were just a few of the topics that made this a fascinating year for the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries.

• Glaxo's Avandia Scare: Market Feels Effects Thursday, 27 Dec 2007 | 10:46 AM ET

  A Merrill Lynch research note to clients titled, "Diabetics scared off therapy," contains some interesting observations about what's happened to the oral diabetes drug market in the wake of the Avandia safety scare earlier this year.

• Wyeth: More Heartburn From Copycats? Wednesday, 26 Dec 2007 | 11:41 AM ET

  Shares of drugmaker Wyeth could remain under pressure this day after Christmas. At least two analysts are suggesting that Wyeth could be under assault by another generic drug company.

• Genentech Won't Let Up on Lucentis Monday, 24 Dec 2007 | 12:01 PM ET

  

  Yes, I'd rather be blogging about another topic by now, but I hope this will be the last entry -- at least for awhile -- on the Avastin vs. Lucentis story. You see, last Friday I got repeatedly voice-mailed and e-mailed by Christine Castro, the new head of corporate communications/media relations at Genentech...

• Did Genentech Back Down or Backpedal? Friday, 21 Dec 2007 | 12:11 PM ET

  

  So, it didn't take long after my Genentech blog entry got posted yesterday for me to receive an email and a voicemail from a Genentech spokesperson requesting a "clarification" on my take regarding the latest chapter in the Avastin vs. Lucentis brouhaha. I think I'm being spun.

• Genentech, Doctors Now See "Eye To Eye" On Avastin Thursday, 20 Dec 2007 | 4:35 PM ET

  

  Genentech today has essentially backed down from a proposed crackdown on doctors' use of the cancer drug Avastin instead of the way more expensive Lucentis. The drugs are used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD, for short), which is the leading cause of blindness in adults.

• "Banking" On Holiday Gifts? I Can Say It's The Thought That Counts! Wednesday, 19 Dec 2007 | 12:38 PM ET

  

  Most of my PR and professional contacts send Christmas cards, but for the past two years the boutique Wall Street firm, Rodman & Renshaw, has sent me heavy metal piggy banks. I assume the company sends them to its clients as well.

• Lilly's Taurel: Latest CEO In Pharma's "Retirement" Club Tuesday, 18 Dec 2007 | 11:29 AM ET

  

  Eli Lilly announced this morning that Chairman and CEO Sidney Taurel is retiring as CEO on March 31st next year. He will stay on as Chairman and on April Fool's Day Chief Operating Officer John Lechleiter will take over as CEO. Investors, at least in early trading, seem to like the choice.

• Japan to Cut Drug Prices by 5.2% in 2008: Source Tuesday, 18 Dec 2007 | 4:06 AM ET

  Japan will order an average drug price cut of 5.2 percent in its latest drug price review to take effect from next April, a government source said on Tuesday.

• Amgen: Is It Down To "The Bone" For Investors? Monday, 17 Dec 2007 | 12:32 PM ET

  

  Shares of biotech behemoth Amgen are trading at a new intra-day low in the early going this morning after the company announced new data on its developmental osteoporosis drug late Friday. The Phase 3, or late-stage, study was designed to see if the twice-a-year injectable drug strengthened the bones of women with a certain type of breast cancer.

• Dendreon's Provenge: The Latest Twist Comes From Washington Friday, 14 Dec 2007 | 12:45 PM ET

  

  The biotech momentum players and the Dendreonites--or Dendreonians--are buzzing about the story we broke on "Power Lunch" Thursday that three members of Congress are asking the House Energy and Commerce Committee to hold a hearing about the Dendreon/Provenge saga. The shares spiked on very heavy volume.

• Novartis Cuts, While Biogen Idec Cuts And Runs Thursday, 13 Dec 2007 | 4:06 PM ET

  

  Novartis is the latest company to brand its downsizing, cost-cutting campaign. The Swiss drugmaker is calling its initiative, "Forward". It's not an acronym. So, "Forward" means Novartis is going to try to save $1.6 billion in 2010 and get rid of 2,500 employees. Although I don't think "Forward" is the word which begins with "f" that the affected workers would use to describe the initiative.

• Pharma's Market with Mike Huckman Wednesday, 12 Dec 2007 | 4:30 PM ET

  

  Last year one of our producers had the bright idea of assigning each of CNBC's beat reporters a story about seven predictions for their beat for 2007. So, now this year not only do we have to do the 8 for '08 thing for TV, but also for the blog.

• Dick Clark (Merck CEO) Still Rolling Out Hits For Analysts Wednesday, 12 Dec 2007 | 12:13 PM ET

  The morning after the Merck annual business briefing, the analyst reviews are pouring in. For the most part, the ones that I've received at least, say it had a good beat. Only Sanford C. Bernstein's Tim Anderson says he can't dance to it. He titles a research note to clients, "Annual Business Review Uneventful--No Real Surprises, Positive Or Negative."

• Merck: Rolling The Dice With Cholesterol, Diet Drugs Tuesday, 11 Dec 2007 | 2:20 PM ET

  

  I'm back at Merck HQ in central Jersey for the annual analyst meeting. And I must say that the reception--so far, at least--is much more hospitable and helpful than last year wen things were tense and got a little ugly. A new pr team is in place.

• Amgen: Stock "Ailing" From Many Sides It Seems Friday, 7 Dec 2007 | 2:24 PM ET

  

  Earlier this week I blogged about Amgen's negative test results for its anemia drug Aranesp in breast cancer. The studies showed the drug may have caused tumors to grow and death. This morning it almost seems like there's a delayed market reaction.

• Genentech's Avastin: Aftermath Of FDA Panel's "Thumbs Down" Thursday, 6 Dec 2007 | 2:00 PM ET

  

  My inbox is flooded this morning with research notes from analysts in the wake of yesterday's FDA panel meeting on Genentech's Avastin for breast cancer. The advisory committee voted 5-4 against recommending approval of the drug for that use. The FDA usually follows the advice of its outside panels of experts, but in close votes like this one it's not unheard of for the agency to go the other way.

• BMY CEO Cornelius: You Should Have Gotten A Flu Shot Wednesday, 5 Dec 2007 | 2:36 PM ET

  

  Regular blog readers are well aware of my relentless pursuit of big CEO interviews. So, I wanted to give the backstory to a surprising CEO cancellation of a previously scheduled and confirmed interview today by Bristol-Myers Squibb. A few weeks ago, my producer Ruth and I got tentative confirmation from a Bristol spokesman that the relatively new CEO Jim Cornelius would finally do his first TV interview since taking over the company last year.