Amgen has exercised its option to obtain an exclusive license, globally (excluding Japan), to Cytokinetics' cardiac contractility program. The license includes CK-1827452, a new cardiac myosin activator being developed for the treatment of heart failure.

Daiichi Sankyo and Ranbaxy Laboratories announced that Malvinder Mohan Singh has stepped down from the positions of chairman, CEO and managing director of Ranbaxy with immediate effect.

Pfizer has reported a slight drop in net income in its financial results for the 2009 first quarter, which ended March 29, impacted by decreased revenues from the pending Wyeth acquisition as well as strong pressure from generic competitors for Lipitor.

As healthcare providers move to adopt e-prescribing and drive greater patient safety, the need for better integration between core clinical systems and pharmacy automation software continues to grow. How well pharmacy software vendors deliver on that integration is having a significant impact on provider adoption and satisfaction, according to a report from market research firm KLAS.

An updated forecast of global pharma sales comes up nearly a billion dollars shy of the forecast from October, suggesting that the pharmaceutical market is indeed not recession-proof, according to a report from IMS Health . Innovation in drug therapy, however, continues to forge ahead and its interesting to follow the pharma industry as it adapts to tough economic times.Two combo pills for hypertension have received the nod from the FDA to move forward. Daiichi Sankyos Azor, which combines two medications, and Novartis Exforge HCT, a combination of three meds. Drug compliance is problematic when cardiac patients feel overwhelmed with the number of pills they must take daily. The movement to combine several medications into one pill seems to be on the right track.

A federal judge has dismissed Amphastar Pharmaceuticals fourth set of counterclaims against Aventis Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Sanofi-Aventis, ruling that federal regulators must take final action on the generics company's bid to produce its own version of the blood thinner Lovenox before the court can act on competition claims.

Jonathan Symonds, currently managing director of investment banking at Goldman Sachs, will join Novartis on Sept. 1 as deputy chief financial officer (CFO) and as CFO designate, reporting to Raymund Breu, who will retire on March 31, 2010.

In patients with atrial fibrillation for whom vitamin K-antagonist therapy was unsuitable, the addition of clopidogrel (Plavix) to aspirin reduced the risk of major vascular events, especially stroke, and increased the risk of major hemorrhage, according to the ACTIVE trial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.