Social Media Monitor
Palio (Saratoga Springs, NY), a subsidiary of inVentiv Health, has launched Susurro, a social media-monitoring tool. The ad adgency developed this tool to help its clients gain more awareness about how their brands and competitors are being discussed online. Susurro analyzes online product discussion across social media sources such as blogs, forums, pictures, videos, and other user-generated content.

Hall of Famer
Malcolm MacCoss, PhD, Group Vice President of Chemical Research at Schering-Plough Research Institute, has been selected for the American Chemical Society’s Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame. His contributions to the field through research, mentoring, and service include being an author or co-author of more than 150 refereed publications, an inventor of 93 U.S. patents, and winner of the Thomas Edison Award in 2004 (for Merck’s Emend) and 2007 (for Merck’s Januvia). In 2008, he received the New Jersey American Chemical Society Award for Creativity in Molecular Design and Synthesis.  

Malaria Vaccine
Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell has entered into a collaboration with two U.S. organizations to accelerate the development of a malaria vaccine. The USAID Malaria Vaccine Development Program will contribute funding while the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) will help the company conduct studies determining the vaccine’s effectiveness. Crucell’s AdVac technology allows for the insertion of viral genetic material into a vehicle that delivers a vaccine, and its PER.C6 gene technology uses human cells as a platform to produce drugs. Phase I trials are already underway with the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Sign Up Online
Pfizer (New York, NY) announced plans to launch an online community increasing clinical trial awareness and participation by increasing security to address patients’ privacy concerns. The phased rollout of the site will occur later this year. Pfizer is collaborating with Private Access, a provider of enhanced-privacy search technology, to enable patients to designate to whom and for what purposes access to portions or all of their medical records is granted. Researchers and investigators will be able to conduct more focused searches for clinical trial candidates.

Positive Partnership
Health Robotics (Bolzano, Italy) announced that all of its 13 North American customers have given their support to the company’s new partnership with McKesson. Health Robotics’ CytoCare is an Oncology IV Admixtures Robot that prepares patient doses from as many as 60 drug vials of antibiotic, chemotherapy, and monoclonal antibody therapies. As the exclusive North American strategic partner, McKesson provides customer support, regulatory assistance, and other services to CytoCare’s North American customers.

P&G Acquisition
Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (Cincinnati, OH) announced the sale of its global pharmaceutical business to Irish specialty pharmaceuticals company Warner Chilcott for $3.1 billion. Warner Chilcott will acquire P&G’s portfolio of branded pharmaceuticals, including Asacol HD for ulcerative colitis, Actonel for osteoporosis, and co-promotion rights to Enablex for the treatment of overactive bladder. The Irish company will also acquire P&G’s prescription drug pipeline and manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico and Germany. The transaction expands its business into 14 countries. The majority of P&G’s 2,300 pharmaceutical employees are expected to transfer to Warner Chilcott.

Click to Buy
Advanced Instruments (Norwood, MA), a leading supplier of diagnostic testing systems used by medical and industrial laboratories, introduced its next-generation Website to streamline online purchasing. The site, www.aicompanies.com, makes it easy to retrieve product and application information, scientific materials, and technical support for the company’s osmometers, cryoscopes, and laboratory instruments. Online features include an easy-to-navigate, up-to-date interface with all Material Safety Data Sheets and an enhanced database of Certificate of Analysis for Advanced Instruments standards, controls, and reagents.

Risky Business
inVentiv Health (Somerset, NJ) now offers Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to its pharmaceutical and biotech clients. inVentiv’s program encompasses strategy development, program design, implementation of program components, and evaluation and measurement. —Andrew Matthius