Merck is committed to building on its strong legacy in the field of viral hepatitis by continuing to discover, develop and deliver vaccines and medicines to help prevent and treat viral hepatitis. In hepatitis C, company researchers developed the first approved therapy for chronic HCV in 1991 and the first combination therapy in 1998. Extensive research efforts are underway to develop oral therapies that bring innovation to viral hepatitis treatment.
VICTRELIS� (boceprevir) Unanimously Recommended for Approval by FDA Advisory Committee for Treatment of Chronic HCV Genotype 1 Infection
Merck (NYSE:MRK) (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada) announced that the Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously that the available data support approval of Merck’s investigational medicine VICTRELIS� (boceprevir) for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection in combination with current standard therapy. VICTRELIS is one of a new class of medicines known as HCV protease inhibitors being evaluated by the FDA for the treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection in adult patients with compensated liver disease who are previously untreated or who have failed previous therapy.
The committee�s recommendation will be considered by the FDA in its review of the New Drug Application for VICTRELIS. The FDA is not bound by the committee�s guidance, but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing investigational medicines. The company anticipates FDA action on VICTRELIS by mid-May.
�The positive recommendation brings us one step closer to bringing VICTRELIS to men and women who need it, and reinforces our ongoing commitment to developing innovative therapies to treat chronic hepatitis C,” said Peter S. Kim, Ph.D., president, Merck Research Laboratories. “We’re pleased with the panel’s decision and look forward to working with the FDA as it continues to evaluate the application for VICTRELIS.”
The FDA granted priority review status for VICTRELIS, a designation for investigational medicines that address unmet medical needs. Additionally, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for VICTRELIS for accelerated assessment.
The panel reviewed the results from the Phase III clinical study program for VICTRELIS; the clinical trials HCV SPRINT-2 and HCV RESPOND-2 included approximately 1,500 patients with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection, the most common form of the virus in the United States and most difficult to treat. Data that were discussed involved 1,097 treatment-na�ve patients (HCV SPRINT-2) and 403 patients who failed previous therapy (HCV RESPOND-2). HCV SPRINT-2 included a separate analysis of results in African-American patients, a patient population that typically does not respond well to standard therapy. Results from HCV SPRINT-2 and HCV RESPOND-2 were published in the March 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
For more information, visit www.merck.com.
National Health Partners, Inc. (NHPR)
There are three primary reasons health care costs so much:
The impact of inflation
The amount of price increases above inflation related to the higher cost of health care labor and technologies
The increased amount of demand for and consumption of health care services.
National Health Partners, Inc. is a national healthcare savings organization that provides discount healthcare membership programs to uninsured and underinsured people through a national healthcare savings network called “CARExpress.” CARExpress is one of the largest networks of hospitals, doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other healthcare providers in the country and is comprised of over 1,000,000 medical professionals that belong to such PPOs as CareMark and Aetna.
Prescription drug spending increased about three times as much as overall health care spending, while hospital care spending increased at a rate slower than overall spending. (This may have been offset by pharmaceutical interventions that helped keep people out of the hospital for conditions that previously would have required hospital care.) Physician care spending kept even pace with the increase of overall health care spending.
The company’s primary target customer group is the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance of any kind. The company’s secondary target customer group includes the millions of Americans who lack complete health insurance coverage. The company is headquartered in Horsham, Pennsylvania.
National Health Partners, Inc. recently announced that it has signed a new agreement with a major marketing company that will significantly enhance the growth of its CARExpress membership base.
According to the Company, this deal, in combination with the previous partnership with Xpress Healthcare, will enable the company to build its membership base exponentially, initially generating in excess of an additional 2,000 new members per month. The new campaign is set to launch within the next few weeks and will provide a material positive impact on the company’s 2nd quarter sales.
National Health Partners anticipate that this new marketing agreement will provide a major impact on their overall sales not only for the 2nd quarter, but more importantly for the year. They look forward to building on the profits that they anticipate generating in 2011 that will be driven by substantial growth in sales of their CARExpress health discount programs. The combination of their substantial growth with their low price-to-equity ratio should reflect itself in the price of their stock over the coming months.
For more information about National Health Partners, Inc visit its website www.nationalhealthpartners.com
Fiserv, Inc. (Nasdaq:FISV) the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, reported financial results for the first quarter of 2011. GAAP revenue in the first quarter of 2011 was $1.05 billion compared with $1.01 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Adjusted revenue increased 3 percent to $982 million in the first quarter compared with $954 million in 2010. GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2011 was $0.77, which includes severance expenses of $0.08 per share, compared with $0.80 in 2010. Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations in the first quarter of 2011 increased 7 percent to $1.02 compared with $0.95 in 2010.
Fiserv, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide various financial services technology solutions. Its solutions include electronic commerce systems and services, such as transaction processing, electronic bill payment and presentment, business process outsourcing, document distribution services, and software and systems solutions.
Open Text Corp. (Nasdaq:OTEX) announced unaudited financial results for its third quarter ended March 31, 2011. (1) Total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 was $263.0 million, up 23.6% compared to $212.8 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. License revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 was $67.8 million, up 37.0% compared to $49.5 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. Adjusted net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 was $52.5 million or $0.90 per share on a diluted basis, up 30.3% compared to $40.3 million or $0.70 per share on a diluted basis for the same period in the prior fiscal year. Net income in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (”US GAAP”) was $35.8 million or $0.61 per share on a diluted basis, compared to $13.1 million or $0.23 per share on a diluted basis for the same period in the prior fiscal year. (2). Operating cash flow in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 was $82.3 million, compared to $78.0 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. The cash and cash equivalents balance as of March 31, 2011 was $237.7 million. Accounts receivable as of March 31, 2011 totaled $150.2 million, compared to $132.1 million as of June 30, 2010 and Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) was 49 days in the third quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to 52 days in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
Open Text Corporation develops, markets, sells, licenses, and supports enterprise content management (ECM) solutions primarily in North America and Europe. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (Nasdaq:GMCR) a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, announced that the Company plans to announce financial results for its fiscal 2011 second quarter in a results to be issued following the close of the financial markets on Tuesday, May 3, 2011. In conjunction with, and at the same time as this announcement, GMCR will publish management’s prepared remarks on its quarterly results in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and also posted under the events link in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.GMCR.com. The Company will host a conference call with investors and analysts on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. ET. As a result of publishing prepared remarks in advance of the live call, the conference call will include only brief remarks by management followed by a question and answer session.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. operates in the specialty coffee industry in the United States and internationally. It sells approximately 200 whole bean and ground coffee selections, cocoa, teas, and coffees.
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