What a difference a day makes

On Friday the FDA announced approval of Acorda's new MS drug. As expected stock prices jumped and now Acorda is the subject of numerous buyout rumors. This certainly bodes well for investors as they get a double treat. Experts seem to think the time is right for a company with a vested interest in MS to snatch up Acorda along with the promising new drug, Fampridine. It makes sense to me...why not market a front line therapy such as Avonex and couple it with Fampridine to help deal with walking dysfunction?

Read more from BNet here

So the FDA says that generics are equivalent to brand name drugs, but what if they're not. Multiple complaints that generic Wellbutrin is inferior to the real thing sprouted a study conducted by Teva, who makes the generic version, to prove that the drugs are the same. Obviously Teva is out to prove that their version of Wellbutrin is essentially the same as the brand name, but what if it's not? Can you imagine what that will do for brand name manufacturers? I think that it could set off a string of studies comparing effectiveness of all different types of medications, and could set the generics industry into a frenzy. Just like always, we'll have to wait and see...

Here's a piece on the situation from Fierce Pharma

And finally some good news for consumers and the vaccine industry (usually those don't go hand in hand). GSK has promised to price its new Malaria vaccine at a reasonable price "just above cost" (which could mean anything really, but that's not the point). The British pharma giant is planning on making its Malaria vaccine, once approved, available to those who need it. The issue is that those who need it are those who can't afford it, so GSK is slashing the price of the vaccine to increase availability. This is a smart move for GSK for a couple reasons:

1)good PR move
2)good financial move. I think the lowered cost will be covered by increased sales to people/countries who might otherwise not be able to afford the shot. Even better: proceeds will be funneled back to research.

Check out more in the Financial Times on the situation