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Sanofi’s Ketek side-effect warning strengthened by European Medicines Agency

News

Sam Allcock

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30 March 2007

PARIS (AFX) – Sanofi-Aventis said today that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has updated its indications for use of the group’s Ketek antibiotic, prohibiting its use for patients with a rare auto-immune disease and giving a ‘strengthened warning’ of other side effects for all patients.

In a statement, the group said EMEA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human use (CHMP) concluded that the effectiveness of Ketek has been confirmed in its approved indications in Europe.

Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restricted the prescription of Ketek to the treatment of pneumonia and no longer for less serious illnesses after it was linked to rare reports of severe liver problems, leading to several deaths.

In its statement today, Sanofi-Aventis said the strengthened EMEA warning notes the occurrence of ‘temporary visual disturbances and transient loss of consciousness… for which a bedtime intake should be considered to reduce the impact of these side effects.’

The group added that ‘severe problems with the liver have rarely been reported with Ketek but they do not occur more frequently than with other relevant antibiotic medicines.’

It said however that the medicine is now prohibited by the EMEA for use with patients with myasthenia gravis, a rare autoimmune disease.
Sanofi-Aventis said it ‘commits to undertake risks minimization measures by providing updated information to healthcare professionals and myasthenia gravis patient associations.’

It said Ketek is currently marketed in over 50 countries and that over 30 mln courses of treatment with the drug have been prescribed worldwide to date.

paris@afxnews.com

mrg/slj

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Vermont publisher sues over Jeep ads

News

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29 March 2007

0

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – A children’s book publisher filed a trademark suit against DaimlerChrysler, saying a new ad campaign for Jeep Patriot infringes on the trademark of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure,’ a popular series of books.

Jeep’s new ads use the tag line: ‘Choose Your Adventure.’ A spokesman for Chrysler said he was shocked the suit was filed, and that the parties had been negotiating in hopes of reaching a settlement.

Chooseco LLC, which recently began re-issuing the R.A. Montgomery books, filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington. In addition to the car maker, it names as defendants BBDO Detroit Inc., Organic Inc. and Marvel Entertainment Inc.

The books, which have been translated into more than 35 languages, have sold millions of copies since first published by Bantam Books. They target children 9 to 12 years old, putting readers into stories and allow them to make choices that affect the plot.

Jeep’s ad campaign not only sounds like the book titles, it is aimed at men in their 20s and 30s who grew up reading the books, according to the publisher. Jeep’s Web site has an interactive movie ‘Jeep Patriot and the Way Beyond Trail’ that Chooseco says imitates the books’ themes.

‘What we feel is that Jeep is trying to piggyback on the really positive associations of adventure and opportunity and choice that the former fans — the original fan base — had associated with `Choose Your Own Adventure,” said Shannon Gilligan, president of Waitsfield-based Chooseco.

‘They are trying to imbue the Jeep Patriot with that,’ she said.

Jason Vines, a spokesman for the Chrysler Group, maker of the Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brands, said the company — which was served with a cease-and-desist request March 16 — had offered to link the publisher’s Web site to the Jeep site.

‘Obviously, they are looking for money,’ he said. ‘We’d offered to link our site, which gets nine katrillion times more traffic, to their site.’

He said Chrysler had expected to reach a settlement in the dispute Thursday and was surprised when the suit was filed. Gilligan said there had been no negotiations between the parties.

She said it would be nearly impossible now to stop the ad campaign, which includes magazine ads, television commercials and other advertising venues.

‘The ads are already in Rolling Stone and Newsweek. They have bought an abundance of media time in the NCAA finals. The cow’s out of the barn, as they say around here,’ she said.

Japan’s Sapporo shareholders back defenses against takeover

News

Sam Allcock

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29 March 2007

0

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) – Sapporo Holdings shareholders have approved anti-takeover defenses proposed by the brewer as it tries to fend off a buy-out attempt by US hedge fund Steel Partners, the company said.

Sapporo said about two-thirds of its shareholders had voted for the proposed ‘poison-pill’ measures at their annual general meeting here.

Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund, Sapporo’s biggest shareholder, had urged investors to vote against the proposal.

Sapporo Holdings president Takao Murakami said the vote showed his company still had the support of its other shareholders.

‘We would like to do our best to boost our corporate value by forming a united front among members of our group,’ Murakami told reporters after the meeting.

He declined to comment on what his company would do if Steel Partners made a hostile takeover bid.

The hedge fund, which hopes to raise its stake of 18 pct in Sapporo to 66.6 pct, said in a written statement that it was disappointed by the outcome. It said the anti-takeover defenses were ‘not in the best interests of the stakeholders of the company as a whole and will adversely impact shareholder value.’

A spokeswoman for the fund said it had not yet decided on its next move.

The defense measures will enable the Sapporo board to veto takeover bids that it opposes by allowing the issue of new shares to dilute the stake of a bidder.

DaimlerChrysler to enter Indian market without local partner

News

Sam Allcock

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29 March 2007

0

MUMBAI (AFX) – German auto maker DaimlerChrysler AG has decided to venture into the Indian market alone, after talks to increase its stake in Eicher Motors Ltd seem to have failed, The Economic Times reported.

‘Currently, there are is intention to tie up with any local companies,’ a senior official at DaimlerChrysler India said, adding the company could bring its Actros range and its light and medium commercial vehicles into the country as and when it wants to expand its market presence.

The paper said DaimlerChrysler, which already holds a 3.56 pct stake in Eicher was looking to raise it further to 20 pct.

It said the talks between the companies ended after they failed to agree on price and representation on the Eicher board.

ami.shah@thomson.com

ami/ra/lam

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UK’s Straw to run Brown party leadership bid

News

ABC Staff

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27 March 2007

0

LONDON (AFX) – Britain’s former foreign secretary Jack Straw is set to run Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown’s campaign for the governing Labour Party leadership, according to a letter from Straw made public today.
Straw told lawmakers Saturday he is in ‘absolutely no doubt’ that the long-serving chancellor is the right person to take over from Tony Blair.
Blair is due to stand down in the coming months and Brown is widely expected to succeed him. As leader of the biggest party in parliament, Brown would automatically become prime minister without a general election being called.
newsdesk@afxnews.com
afp/hjp
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The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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Former park heads oppose snowmobile plan

News

Sam Allcock

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26 March 2007

0

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Seven former National Park Service directors say raising the limit on the number of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park would harm the park’s environment.

In a letter released Monday, the directors wrote that increasing the number of snowmobiles allowed in the park would ‘undercut the park’s resurgent natural conditions’ and reverse air quality improvements.

The letter comes as park administrators are set to release on Tuesday their latest plan for snowmobiles at the nation’s original national park.

The former directors sent the letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, and Park Service spokesman David Barna said Kempthorne will respond in the coming days. Barna added that a final policy will not be adopted until after a 60-day public comment period.

Snowmobile use at the park has fueled years of legal wrangling. Pressure to allow more of the vehicles has come from snowmobilers, nearby communities eager for winter tourists and the advocates’ congressional allies.

A draft version of the latest winter-use plan recommends allowing up to 720 snowmobiles a day. The cap would be consistent with temporary rules in place the last three winters. Those rules expired last week.

The proposed plan would also extend rules requiring that hired guides accompany snowmobilers and that the machines have less-polluting engines.

During the three winters, actual snowmobile traffic averaged only about 250 machines a day, a sharp drop from the historical daily average of 765.

The letter said allowing snowmobile numbers to return almost to historical levels would ‘radically contravene both the spirit and letter’ of Park Service policies, and contradicts the service’s draft environmental impact statement that found snowmobile noise and exhaust would increase.

The directors did not include Fran Mainella, who resigned last year. Mainella was not involved because ethics rules prohibit her involvement, said a spokesman for the former directors.

Stockholm shares slightly lower in early trade

News

Sam Allcock

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26 March 2007

0

STOCKHOLM (AFX) – Stockholm shares were slightly lower in early morning trade, on profit-taking after recent gains, dealers said.

At 9.50 am, the OMX Stockholm index was down 0.21 pct at 396.33 and the OMX Stockholm 30 was down 0.32 pct at 1,217.91. Turnover was 2.70 bln skr.

Ericsson B was down 0.57 pct at 26.30 and Nokia flat at 161.

Sony Ericsson and Safran unit Sagem said they have agreed a joint venture for manufacturing entry-level mobile phones which will see Sagem licensing out its hardware and software and producing Sony Ericsson-branded handsets.

Among telecom operators, TeliaSonera was down 0.82 pct at 60.75 and Tele2 B flat at 114.25.

Tele2 CEO Lars-Johan Jarnheimer said the company’s Swedish Comviq mobile telephony unit is an ‘essential’ part of the group strategy, indicating it is no longer for sale, the newspaper Dagens Industri reported.

He said the goal of continuing to sell off (unprofitable) European operations remains intact, and forecast ‘big’ price declines in the Spanish market where TeliaSonera recently launched operations.

TeliaSonera was downgraded to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ by Merrill Lynch as the stock has outperformed by 60 pct over the past nine months and now trades near its 60 skr target price.

SCA B was flat at 386.50. SCA’s Hygiene Products unit is setting up a 200 mln rupees joint venture with India’s Godrej Consumer Products Ltd to make and market sanitary napkins and baby diapers in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Electrolux B was down 0.85 pct at 174. European white goods makers led by Electrolux, are pushing for tougher environmental rules to force non-European makers to improve standards, Dagens Industri reported.

Volvo B was down 0.51 pct at 583. The share was downgraded to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ by Goldman Sachs on valuation grounds following a strong share price outperformance, prompting the downgrade.

In a research report sent to clients this morning, Goldman Sachs said the stock has outperformed the market and the sector by around 60 pct and 39 pct over the past 12 months respectively, and trades near the broker’s 600 skr target price.

Among other heavily traded shares, Scania B fell 0.56 pct to 537, Handelsbanken A was flat to 208.50 and Lindex was up 1.35 pct at 93.75, ahead of its Q1 results due out tomorrow.

TF.TFN-EuropeStockholm@thomson.com

hc/amb

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Australian shares close higher on US gains, M&A; activity – UPDATE

News

Sam Allcock

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26 March 2007

0

SYDNEY (XFN-ASIA) – Share prices ended higher with investor sentiment buoyed by Wall Street’s gains on Friday after better-than-expected US existing home sales in February, dealers said.

Local stocks were also boosted by M&A; activity including leading retailer Coles which detailed plans for a possible 20 bln aud sale of the group when it reported a 3.5 pct rise in interim profit to 501.3 mln aud. Coles shares advanced 0.15 aud to a record close of 16.15 aud.

The S&P;/ASX 200 closed up 38.4 points or 0.65 pct at 5,990.7 after trading between 5,992.0 and 5,957.9.

The All Ordinaries index climbed 37.4 points to close at 5,970.5.

Dealers said global miner BHP Billiton advanced on announcing the completion of a 2.8 bln usd off-market buyback of 141.1 mln shares.

BHP Billiton shares jumped 0.84 or 2.88 pct to finish at 30.04 while Rio Tinto advanced 1.55 or 2.02 pct to 78.40.

Telecom Corp of New Zealand rose after selling its Yellow Pages Group directories business for 2.24 bln nzd to private equity firms CCMP Capital Asia and Teachers’ Private Capital of Canada.

Telecom Corp of NZ shares ended up 0.10 or 2.43 pct at 4.22.

The world’s largest supplier of pallets, Brambles, gained on speculation it is looking at purchasing US-based pallet business IFCO for 1 bln usd. Brambles shares were up 0.08 to finish at 13.63.

However, on-line broking firm E*Trade Australia dropped after rejecting ANZ Bank’s 4.05 aud a share offer. E*Trade shares retreated 0.14 or 3.52 pct to close at 4.17.

A total of 1.61 bln shares worth 5.72 bln aud were traded, with rises outnumbering falls 684 to 549 and 337 stocks unchanged.

The S&P;/ASX200 June futures contract was up 49.0 points at 6,045.0.

The 10-year bond yield rose 0.010 to 5.845 pct while 90-day bills fell 0.01 to 6.535 pct.

AMP Capital Investors head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said there remains a risk of market volatility even though share prices on the local market have rebounded to less than 2 pct off record highs reached in February.

”While shares have retraced much of the falls experienced during the recent correction, there is still a risk of turbulence ahead in the short term,’ Oliver said.

‘Uncertainty over US and global growth may linger for a while yet, the crisis in the US mortgage market has further to run (and) investor sentiment has yet to reach bearish extremes that normally signal market bottoms.’

Oliver said while the very short term outlook may be a little uncertain, his firm still views the four year old bull market in shares as being alive and well.

Meanwhile, CommSec equities economist Martin Arnold said the Reserve Bank of Australia provided a positive outlook for the domestic and global economies in its semi-annual financial stability statement, but the central bank remains cautious about the future knowing that the good times cannot last forever.

‘While profitability and balance sheets are strong, competition has forced margins lower. And banks and insurance companies, in particular, need to adequately price the risk of an economic slowdown,’ Arnold said.

The economist noted the RBA gave no hints for likely interest rate policy ahead and CommSec expects the central bank to remain on the interest rate sidelines for the foreseeable future.

National Australia Bank gained 0.25 to close at 40.85, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.19 to 50.46, Westpac added 0.10 to 26.25 but ANZ eased 0.01 to 29.54.

St George fell 0.11 to 34.60, Bank of Queensland slipped 0.04 to 17.00 and Bendigo Bank dropped 0.18 to 17.12.

Macquarie Bank advanced 0.26 to 82.21 but Babcock & Brown lost 0.17 to 26.86.

QBE climbed 0.50 to 32.45, AMP was up 0.08 at 10.45, IAG added 0.03 to 5.98 and Suncorp gained 0.07 to 20.77.

Telstra added 0.01 to 4.49, its T3 receipts gained 0.02 to 3.04 while SingTel shed 0.03 to 2.60.

News Corp lost 0.27 to 30.48 and its non-voting stock dropped 0.29 to 28.61.

Alumina was up 0.07 at 7.32 while Zinifex climbed 0.17 to 16.22.

Newcrest rose 0.25 to 23.81, Lihir Gold added 0.01 to 3.26 and Oxiana also gained 0.01 to 2.81.

Woodside jumped 1.27 to 38.23, Oil Search was up 0.03 at 3.62 but Santos fell 0.09 to 9.93.

BlueScope climbed 0.11 to 10.06 while OneSteel rose 0.01 to 5.09.

James Hardie advanced 0.08 to 8.63 and Rinker gained 0.06 to 18.18.

Woolworths was up 0.06 at 27.21, David Jones rose 0.12 to 4.80 but Harvey Norman shed 0.06 to 4.72.

Westfield dropped 0.27 to 20.96, GPT eased 0.02 to 4.88 and Stockland fell 0.09 to 8.35.

Qantas added 0.03 to 5.09, Virgin Blue gained 0.01 to 2.67 and Toll Holdings climbed 0.32 to 20.47.

(1 usd = 1.24 aud)

paul.daniel@xfn.com

Mo. animal research lab agrees to settle

Business

ABC Staff

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23 March 2007

0

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A Callaway County animal research lab has agreed to pay a $33,000 civil penalty after investigators alleged the company committed nearly 40 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed the complaint against Sinclair Research Center in October 2006, more than three years after animal rights activists targeted the lab in an undercover sting.
Among the alleged violations found by Agriculture Department inspectors: failing to provide sheep with appropriate pain relief during surgery; inadequate training of employees for animal handling and care; failure to vaccinate research dogs and cats; and keeping animals in cages smaller than the legal limits.
‘The gravity of the violations alleged in this complaint is great,’ the report concluded.
The Agriculture Department also accused Sinclair Research of a ‘lack of good faith’ for conducting research at a location not known to the federal agency.
The company had no previous animal welfare violations but had been issued a written warning for failing to submit an annual report.
In a Feb. 28 settlement, Sinclair Research agreed to pay the fine and to ‘cease and desist’ from further violations of federal law.
‘It was a business decision,’ said company owner Guy Bouchard. ‘We had to resolve it promptly.’
The federal inspections that triggered the complaint came several months after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a series of video recordings showing animals it said had been mistreated. The secret recordings were made by a PETA employee who had also been hired by the research lab.
The PETA investigation prompted two of the research lab’s biggest customers to sever ties: pet-food-maker Iams and pet-food-supplier Menu Foods. Iams is owned by Procter & Gamble.
Menu Foods recently recalled more than 60 million cans and pouches of pet food nationwide after the deaths of at least 16 household pets due to suspected rat poison found in food.
Bouchard purchased Sinclair Research, formerly known as Reproductive and Toxicology Consultation Services, from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994. Bouchard was a university employee before he started Sinclair Research.
The company was previously located in Columbia on university property. It has since moved to the town of Hatton, near Auxvasse in western Callaway County.
Sinclair Research, which has a site in Windham, Maine, is also a licensed dealer of research animals. According to the Agriculture Department, the company sold more than 6,500 animals for a combined revenue of at least $4.5 million from 2001 to 2004.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Fast Search & Transfer wins deal with biotechnology firm Millipore

News

ABC Staff

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21 March 2007

0

OSLO (AFX) – Fast Search & Transfer ASA said it has won a deal with US biotechnology group Millipore for the deployment of its Fast Enterprise Search Platform.
While no financial details were disclosed, Fast said the deal is based on software licence and maintenance fees.
Millipore specialises in the provision of products and services that improve productivity in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and in clinical, analytical and research laboratories.
alastair.reed@thomson.com
ar/ms1
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The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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