Zimmer trims full-year forecast after quarterly profit falls
The Warsaw-based maker of orthopedic implants beat analysts’ estimates with its third-quarter earnings, but lowered its full-year forecast.
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Amerigroup shareholders approve $4.9B sale to WellPoint
Shareholders of Amerigroup Corp. overwhelming approved the Virginia company’s sale for $4.9 billion to Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint Inc. in a vote on Tuesday. The vote clears the way for the acquisition to close before the end of the year.
Lilly CEO calls for life sciences research institute
Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tuesday called for creation of a “world-class” research institute in Indianapolis to bring together scientists from universities and corporations to develop new medical therapies and companies.
Lilly says experimental diabetes drug outperformed rivals
Eli Lilly and Co. said dulaglutide lowered blood sugar better than three existing diabetes drugs in three Phase 3 clinical trials. Analysts expect the drug to hit the market in 2014 or 2015 and become a blockbuster.
Alzheimer’s prevention seen promising as drug cures fail
Researchers are set to test drugs by Eli Lilly and other companies that may prevent Alzheimer’s disease after efforts to find a cure have been unsuccessful.
WellPoint reorganizes into four business units
Separate Medicare and Medicaid divisions each will sell plans for those government-backed insurance programs. Another will handle commercial and individual business, and a specialty unit will provide dental, vision and disability coverage.
Lilly, Roche drugs chosen for Alzheimer’s prevention trial
Eli Lilly & Co.’s solanezumab and Roche Holding AG’s gantenerumab were selected for a long-term Alzheimer’s trial run by Washington University at St. Louis scientists seeking to block the disease’s symptoms.
Lilly shares rise on Alzheimer’s study results
Eli Lilly and Co.’s Alzheimer’s drug slowed cognitive decline 34 percent in patients with mild forms of the disease, according to an analysis of Lilly’s clinical trial data released Monday. Lilly’s share price jumped more than 5 percent on the news.
Study: Newly insured to be poorer, less educated
New health insurance coverage created by the 2010 health reform law will attract a lower-income, less-educated and more diverse set of customers than the insurance markets that exist today, according to a new analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers. And that could create challenges for doctors and hospitals trying to care for those patients.
St. Vincent, Community team up, forming colossus
Three area hospital groups—St. Vincent Health, Community Health Network and Suburban Health Organization—have agreed to join forces to manage patients’ health and strike new kinds of contracts with employers and health insurers.
Small charity eases struggles of breast cancer patients
With volunteer leader Nancy Shepard at the helm, IWIN Foundation has distributed $875,000 in grants to breast cancer patients. Recipients have ranged in age from 18 to 90.
Former IU Health exec joining Bose Public Affairs
Sam Odle, who retired from Indiana University Health in July as chief operating officer, is joining the local lobbying firm as a senior policy adviser, representing clients in the health care and life sciences sectors.
Sledge’s exit will keep IU program mostly intact
The departure of Dr. George Sledge likely will sap the breast cancer research program at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center of about $500,000 in annual funding. But the program Sledge built over the past three decades mostly will remain intact.
Will Medicaid expansion actually work?
It would be “absurd” and a “travesty” for Indiana not to expand its Medicaid program, according to two local hospital officials. And yet other health care leaders do not expect expanded Medicaid coverage to provide nearly as much help to uninsured Hoosiers as hoped.
Some hospitals, doctors might be cut from health plans
With health insurance premiums continuing to outstrip inflation, some health insurers and hospital systems are considering bringing back an old strategy: limiting patient access to a “narrow” network of doctors and hospitals.
HARVEY: Dearth of faculty leading to nurse shortage
The looming shortage of nurses and the faculty to educate nurses threatens Americans’ access to quality health care. As our population ages and health care becomes more extensive and complex, an increasing demand for highly educated nurses persists. This need directly influences the necessity for nursing faculty.
State drug fraud cases on the rise, study says
Federal and state prosecutors have collected more than $30 billion from drug companies for alleged fraud and illegal marketing over the last 20 years, according to a new report by consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
Bill for Medicaid expansion? $516M a year
If Indiana expands its Medicaid program as called for under President Obama’s health reform law, it likely will hike state spending on the program an extra 13.5 percent—or $516 million annually—by 2020, according to the latest projections from Seattle-based actuarial firm Milliman Inc.
Lilly competitor Novo investing $100M in China
Novo Nordisk A/S, the world’s largest insulin maker, plans to spend $100 million on research in China. The move follows a similar one by Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, which opened a 150-person research center in Shanghai in May.
Lilly’s Cialis gets European endorsement for new use
A European committee has endorsed the use of Eli Lilly and Co.'s erectile dysfunction drug Cialis to treat symptoms tied to an enlarged prostate.