Pharmacy Daily Monday 11th April 2011 T 1300 799 220 W www.pharmacydaily.com.au page 1

Monday 11 Apr 2011

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16% of API wholesale at risk THE falling out between AustralianPharmaceutical Industries and thePharmacy Alliance/IndependentPharmacists of Australia Group (PDFri) will affect about $600 million ofAPI turnover, according toPharmacy Alliance founder andchairman Simon Reynolds. This accounts for “approximately16% of API’s market share,” he said,with the increasingly bitter spaterupting into open warfare. In a statement this morning,Reynolds says he’s now seekinglegal advice on the use of “bullyingand pressure tactics” applied onPharmacy Alliance and IPAGmembers by API. According to Pharmacy Alliance,API has been approaching itsmembers to sign up on directsupplier contracts following a moveby Pharmacy Alliance to issue atender process for its wholesalearrangements. Reynolds said API’s efforts to cutPharmacy Alliance out of supplierarrangements with its memberswere “almost universally rebuffed,despite threats from API tosignificantly increase prices unlessthey signed new contracts with API. “This type of corporate behaviourin the pursuit of commercial gainreflects very poorly on themanagement of API,” Reynolds said,citing the possibility of referringaspects of the “unconscionable”conduct to the ACCC. Just twelve of the 425 pharmaciesinvolved with Pharmacy Allianceand Independent Pharmacists ofAustralia Group have broken ranks

at this stage, with Reynolds sayingthe overwhelming majority hadtaken advantage of alternate supplyarrangements put in place withSigma and CHS. “Our members were outraged atbeing treated this way,” he said. “We have been inundated withcalls and emails from distressedmembers who have todayexpressed their anger by rejectingout of hand this appallingbehaviour by API. “We are very grateful to Sigma,which also put in place simpleadministrative arrangements toeffect immediate supply ofproducts on an interim basis. “The interim arrangements alsodelivered immediate increases indiscounts to members,” Reynoldsadded. API is understood to be preparinga statement in response,but wasunable to have it finalised beforePD’s deadline today.

More AusPARs THE Therapeutic GoodsAdministration has published newAustralian Public AssessmentReports detailing the evaluationprocess for Abilify (aripiprazole)and Saphris (azenapine) - detailsat www.tga.gov.au.

Pathology agreement THE government has finalised anew “landmark agreement” withthe pathology sector, with the aimof further reducing the pressure onthe national health budget bycapping growth to 5% a year. The five year deal is claimed tosave more than $550 million, byimproving transparency for settingpathology fees and helping to“ensure that taxpayers are onlypaying for pathology tests that areclinically required”. Pathology testing costs the govtjust over $2 billion annually,

Three pages of news TODAY’S Pharmacy Daily hasthree pages packed with the latestpharmacy industry news. PD is now sent to more than 7000readers, with scores of newsubscribers signing up each day atour website pharmacydaily.com.au.

Pharmacy Daily Monday 11th April 2011 T 1300 799 220 W www.pharmacydaily.com.au page 2

Monday 11 Apr 2011

The Premier Pharmacy Practice Event

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Weekly Comment

Welcome to Pharmacy Daily’sweekly comment feature.

This week’s contributor is theNational Development &

Operations Manager for PharmacyChoice, Richard Manthey.

Now is the time to invest The independent pharmacy marketfaces many pressures, includingincreased competition from largesupermarket chains, pharmacydiscounters placing additionalpressure on profit margins, andongoing reforms to the PharmaceuticalBenefits Scheme (PBS). The challenge is not only to survivewith this competition, but to growand become more profitable. To achieve this in the currentcompetitive environment,independent pharmacies need to buysmarter, position themselves as ahealth destination and provider ofhealth advice, and lift their servicelevels to forge stronger customerrelationships. They also need to manage theirbusinesses more effectively andleverage off any available support inbuying, category management,marketing, training and operations. Being part of a brand or marketinggroup is one way to maximise thesupport around your business. Brands and marketing groups helpyou prepare for the changingenvironment and allow you to benefitfrom the collective intelligence andexperience of the group. This willhelp to ensure your business remainsrelevant to its customers. Being part of a brand or marketinggroup does not mean you need torelinquish all that you value aboutbeing independent. A good community pharmacy ormarketing group will allow you totailor your offer to your localcommunity and, in fact, will provideyou with the tools to do this effectively. In the current retail environment,nothing is more important thandelivering a clear and consistentmessage about what your pharmacystands for.PharmacyChoice® is anintegrated retailsupport programfor theindependentpharmacy marketwith more than700 membersacross Australia.For more info call1800 036 367.

Weekly Comment

Pharmacy Daily has teamed up withFGB Natural Products this week and isgiving three lucky readers the chanceto win a Euky Bear pack (pictured tothe left), valued at $200.

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More time for ACSOM THE closing date for expressionsof interest for positions on theTherapeutic Goods Administration’sAdvisory Committee on the Safetyof Medicines has been extended toWed 27 April. People with expertise in severalareas are being sought, includingclinical pharmacy, complementarymedicine, clinical pharmacologyand consumer issues. See www.tga.gov.au.

Sanofi takes Genzyme SANOFI-AVENTIS has finalised itslong-running takeover of US firmGenzyme, with the US$20.1 billiondeal meaning Genzyme shares willcease trading on the New York-based NASDAQ stock exchange. The takeover gives Sanofi accessto a number of new medications,with Genzyme an expert in thedevelopment of biotechnologydrugs for genetic diseases. Key Genzyme products includeGerezyme, used to treat enzymedisorder Gaucher Disease, while itssecond best seller is Fabrazymewhich treats a hereditary ailmentcalled Fabry disease. The deal was finalised ninemonths after Sanofi initiallyapproached Genzyme with a bid.

JOHNSON & Johnson has agreedto pay fines in the US and UK tosettle charges that the companypaid bribes to doctors in threeEuropean countries. According to the Wall StreetJournal, J&J is also accused ofpaying illegal kickbacks in Iraq toobtain business during the SaddamHussein regime. The US Justice Department hasbeen investigating the companyunder the Foreign Corrupt PracticesAct, and as part of the settlementJ&J has acknowledgedresponsibility for the actions of its Haikerwal world role

FORMER Australian MedicalAssociation president MukeshHaikerwal has been named as Chairof the World Medical AssociationCouncil. Haikerwal is a Victorian-basedgeneral practitioner, and is alsocurrently the National Clinical Leadfor the National e-Health TransitionAuthority. The announcement was made inSydney on Fri at the 188th WorldMedical Association Council session.

J&J to pay US$70m in finesunits, staff and agents who“made various improper paymentsto publicly-employed health careproviders in Greece, Poland andRomania in order to induce thepurchase of medical devices andpharmaceuticals manufactured byJ&J subsidiaries”. As well as US$70m in fines to USauthorities, the company will alsopay £4.8m to the UK Serious FraudOffice in connection with itsinvestigation into the briberyallegations.

EDITORS Bruce Piper and Amanda Collins EMAIL info@pharmacydaily.com.au ADVERTISING Lisa Maroun EMAIL advertising@pharmacydaily.com.au page 3

Monday 11 Apr 2011

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the breaking news as itcomes to hand...

ODOR-EATERS were clearlyneeded by an elderly man inTaiwan who had one of his shoesstolen by a foot-fetishist. Police have charged 22-year-oldChien Chi-shih over the 09 Febattack, in which he allegedlyfollowed the pensioner into analley in Taipei, pushed him to theground, grabbed his right shoeand made off with it. Surveillance video helped policetrack down the miscreant, whoconfessed once arrested that hehad seized the footwear in orderto sniff it.

IT’S a bit worrying...alcohol cannow be served at every meal,with the launch this week of aspecial new ‘Breakfast Beer’ by aNew Zealand brewer. The Moa Brewing Company inBlenheim, has launched thespecial new “Moa Breakfast”product, which it says is a fullstrength cherry-flavoured lager. “On occasion, people enjoychampagne at breakfast time, so Ithought, why not beer,” saidspokesman Josh Scott. He said the new brew is a blendof premium wheat malt, floralNelson hops - and cherries - and isbottle fermented and sealed witha cork and foil, just like champers.

THIS really sounds a bit potty. A 69-year-old German man whojust loves toilets has opened anew museum devoted to hisobsession. Michael Berger lives in Harlekin,Wiesbaden and says thelandmark ‘Toilet Museum ofModern A**E’ is his “present tohumanity”. The museum features a range ofbathroom accessories includingbizarre toilet roll holders, andvarious dunny seats as well asother items from the collection of“lavatory rarities and oddities”. Pride of place is taken by apost-World War II urinal depictingAdolf Hitler which invited peopleto urinate on the former Nazidictator.

RGH E-Bulletin THIS week’s edition of theRepatriation General HospitalPharmacy E-Bulletin deals withValdoxan (agomelatine), a newmelatonin receptor agonist and5H

T2c receptor agonist indicated for

treatment of major depression inadults. The bulletin is available fordownload at no charge fromauspharmlist.net.au/ebulletin.php.

UK herbal concern THE UK Medicines and Healthcareproducts Regulatory Agency isadvising consumers not to use anillegal, unlicensed herbal productcalled Beline Capsules. The product, which is promotedas a herbal food supplement withclaims of relief for pain and othersymptoms of arthritis, has beenfound to contain the undeclaredingredient chlorpheniramine - anantihistamine which is classified aspharmacy-only.

Dengue test approval THE US Food and DrugAdministration has approved themarketing of the first test to helpdiagnose people with signs andsymptoms of dengue fever. The DENV Detect IgM CaptureELISA test reportedly detectsantibodies to dengue virus in bloodsamples from patients. The test is based on technologypatented by the Centers for DiseaseControl, and is made by Seattle-based Inbios Inc. Currently in the US there are noFDA-licensed vaccines to preventdengue, and no medicinesspecifically approved to treat theinfection.

New compressiontherapy from Symbion SYMBION Pharmacy hasannouced the release of a newFaulding Compression Therapyrange which will shortly belaunched into Australian pharmacy. The ‘Encircle’ product is madefrom merino wool by New Zealand-based The Merino Company, andhas just been announced as awinner in the Medical DesignExcellence Awards in the USA. “Symbion Pharmacy haspartnered with the developers ofEncircle to bring this product toAustralian pharmacies and we’reexcited by its potential, as it willoffer pharmacists an innovative andproven treatment for people with arange of circulatory conditions,”said Symbion productmanager Melanie Bosanko. The new product retains itscompression properties despitewashing, and will be availableexclusively through pharmaciesfrom Jul this year. See www.faulding.com.au.

CRP slams Nature’sOwn Complete Sleep THE Therapeutic ProductsAdvertising Complaints ResolutionPanel has ordered that Sanofi-Aventis withdraw websiteadvertisements for Nature’s OwnComplete Sleep. The panel said that claims ofbetter sleep via a “breakthroughformula” in the product combiningzizyphus and lactium were notevidence-based. Cincotta Chemist and ChemistAustralia were also both embroiledin the investigation because theydisplayed the offending ads ontheir websites. The complaint against Nature’sOwn was brought by Ken Harveyfrom Latrobe University. Ironically, the product won a 2010Australian Marketing InstituteAward for Marketing Excellence.