Here are some brief pharma news for your speedy update:

• Pfizer CEO Resigned
• EU Regulators Got Tough Against "Pay to Delay"
• Daily Aspirin Can Reduce Cancer Deaths?

• Pfizer CEO Resigned

As the world if preparing to usher in another new year, Pfizer’sJeff Kindler, 55, has resigned as CEO and is replaced by Ian Read, 57. The latter has been the global pharma business head. The official statement release cited Kindler’s  desire to “recharge his batteries” and spend some “rare time” with his family. Kindler is a Harvard-trained lawyer and joined Pfizer in 2002 as general counsel. He rose quickly to become CEO. During his tenure, he went through a series of colourful events, including the scrapping of torcetrapib which was supposed to become another blockbuster cholesterol drug; the US$68 billion purchase of Wyeth in 2009; the infamous US$2.3 billion settlement for off-label marketing of several drugs, including a record US$1.3 billion criminal fine in the US history.

• EU Regulators Got Tough Against "Pay to Delay"

The European Commission confirmed in a statement that their officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of pharmaceutical companies. The Commission suspects that the companies concerned may have acted individually or jointly, notably to delay generic entry for a particular medicine. These raids by the EU antitrust regulators was targeting improper activities. It did not name the companies raided, but AstraZeneca confirmed its premises had been raided and the probe involved its best-selling anti-ulcer drug Nexium. Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Novo Nordisk and Lundbeck said they were not affected. French drugmaker Servier also said it was unaffected by the latest raids.

Nexium was AstraZeneca's biggest-selling drug in 2009, with global sales of US$5 billion, although its importance is declining. The European Commission said in October that it planned to review drug patent settlements struck by pharmaceutical firms to delay cheaper generics going to market, as part of its crackdown on illegal deals in the sector, infamously termed as "pay to delay".

• Daily Aspirin Can Reduce Cancer Deaths?

Coined as “Super drug” previously in past issue of eBulletin, the humble aspirin is feating yet another amazing stunt. An Oxford University study led by Professor Peter Rothwell found that daily low dose of aspirin can significantly reduce  the number of deaths from a range of common cancers.  The review of data from eight previous trials found patients who took just 75mg of aspirin a day enjoyed dramatic reductions in death rates, with benefits continuing long after patients stopped taking the pill.
The findings follow results that showed aspirin could cut deaths from in at least eight specific cancer types, over periods as long as 20 years. After 20 years, the overall risk of having died from cancer was 20% lower in those who had taken aspirin for an average of 4 to 8 years.

The risk was 40% lower for colorectal cancer, 58% lower for oesophageal cancer and 30% lower for lung cancer, although in the latter two cases these improvements were mainly confined to non-smokers.

There was also a 19% lower risk of death from pancreatic cancer and 31% lower risk for stomach cancer, although the greater rarity of these and lower case numbers meant these figures were less reliable.

The findings released in the Lancet online medical journal, said the results ‘‘do not mean that all adults should immediately start taking aspirin, but they do demonstrate major new benefits’’ from the drug... ‘Perhaps the most important finding for the longer term is the proof of principle that cancers can be prevented by simple compounds like aspirin,’ says Professor Rothwell.

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