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Friday, 29 January 2010 10:40 GMT
German press review - Friday
BERLIN, Jan 29 (APM) - AstraZeneca is to cut 8,000 jobs in the next four years in addition to the 12,600 already announced late last year, reports the Handelsblatt (p30), Süddeutsche Zeitung (p22) and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (p17).
The job losses will be in all sectors and complete sites are to be closed, says the Handelsblatt. AstraZeneca has over 65,000 employees worldwide, of which 1,300 staff are based in Wedel in north Germany, the paper adds.
According to CEO David Brennan, the money saved will be used to invest in growth in fast-developing countries, reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The company intends to save $1.8 billion by 2014, says the Handelsblatt.
The newspaper reports that AstraZeneca earned less than expected in its fourth, with pre-tax profits rising by 10% to $2.88 billion. Analysts had expected better dividends for investors, says the paper. Turnover was slightly more than expected by the market, rising by 9% to $8.95 billion, reports the Handelsblatt.
Brennen said 2010 would be a "difficult" year, with sales under pressure from patent expiries for cancer drug Arimidex and asthma drug Pulmicort in the U.S., reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
TALKS ON COSTS OF MEDICINE
The FAZ (p13), FTD (p11), Handelsblatt (p13) and Die Welt (p10) report on the positive reactions by "health insurers and the health sector", to the German health minister's announcement he will meet insurers and pharmacy industry representative groups to discuss possible savings in the health sector.
However, according to information obtained by Die Welt, a spokesman for health minister Philip Rösler points out he is not planning a "conference on medicines", rather "separate meetings with health insurers and pharmaceutical organisations".
According to the Handelsblatt, unnamed sources from the health insurers say this as good news from "Rösler's corner" after the "slaps in the face" received by the insurers from politicians, in the wake of Monday's announcement of the first extra levies on customers' health insurance.
A spokesman for the association of statutory health insurers (Spitzenverband der Gesetzliche Krankenkassen, GKV) Florian Lanz, told the Handelsblatt that the invitation is gladly accepted and that the limitation of the "excessive growth in medicines costs" is a challenge which "urgently needs to be tackled".
VFA REACTION
The head of the German Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (Verband Forschender Arnzeimittelhersteller, VFA) Cornelia Yzer, said "Rösler is right: In view of the situation, no one in the health sector will be able to dodge the question as to how efficient their performance is", reports the Handelsblatt.
Yzer added that: "We are convinced we can show the benefits of our products and justify their costs", reports the newspaper.
Yzer rejected pricing talks and suggested "added value contracts" be made between health insurers and producers, reports the newspaper. Here, the industry reimburses health insurers if a medicine does not reach "pre-agreed targets of care", explains the newspaper.
BPI REACTION
According to the German Federal Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie, BPI) it is "in principle correct to talk with everyone", reports Die Welt.
However, according to BPI spokesman Joachim Odenbach, the situation has to be seen "realistically", says the article.
"It does not help to say the pharmaceutical sector has to make savings", he tells the newspaper, explaining that in certain areas it is impossible to cut back further, says Die Welt.
HEALTH INSURERS AND MONOPOLIES COMMISSION
The FTD (p11) reports that the vice president of the German national insurance office (Bundesversicherungsamt) Syvia Bohlen-Schöning, has stood up for the statutory health insurers, which have been accused of price fixing, after a joint announcement of an increase in health insurance levies by particular health insurers on Monday.
According to a media report, German chancellor Angela Merkel said: "In other cases this would have been a case for the monopolies commission," reports the FTD.
Bohlen-Schöning explains that the monopolies commission's jurisdiction does not extend to health insurers, as they are classified as "official bodies" and not businesses, reports the newspaper.
She points out that they are "actually forced by law to charge an extra levy", should they be unable to cover expenditure with the designated returns from the common health fund, reports the FTD.
Die Welt (p27) looks at the risks to the world economy posed by chronic illnesses, as presented in a report at the world economic summit in Davos.
The article also points out that recent statistics from Germany's statutory health insurer the AOK were quoted at the conference, which say that between 25% and 40% of time lost through illness at the workplace is stress related.
H1N1
In the 10 weeks up until the end of December, 1,377 cases of suspected negative reactions to vaccinations with GlaxoSmithKline's H1N1 vaccine Pandemrix and five after vaccinations with Baxter's Celvapan, were recorded by Germany's Paul Ehrlich Insitute (PEI), reports the FAZ.
Some 3,518 individual symptoms were registered in total, the most common being fever, pain at the point of vaccination, headaches, shivers and nausea, reports the paper. The patients' age range was between six months and 94 years of age, says the article. No lasting damage was reported, says the paper.
48 deaths were registered which occurred within seven days after receiving the vaccination, says the article. In the majority of cases, post mortems showed that there was another cause of death.
Mostly, the patients were suffering from other chronic illnesses, reports the newspaper. One case is unexplained and in 13 others, further data is awaited, says the article.
A total of 220,917 people have been registered as having had swine flu in Germany so far, with 199 deaths caused by the virus, says the article. Up until Dec 30, around 4.6 million doses of H1N1 vaccines had been given, says the report.
FRESENIUS
Handelsblatt (p31) examines the relationship between Fresenius Medical Care and its parent company Fresenius SE. The article notes that FMC is facing competition for its main product Heparin, since the hospital products and generics producer Hospira broke FMC's monopoly with an alternative therapy in the autumn of 2009.
Although FMC is confident of significant sales of Heparin, analysts interpret the first comments by the management as "tending towards the expectation" that the rate of "organic growth in 2010, could be less" than in 2009, says the article.
kf/nh
[17936] 29/01/2010 10:40 GMT - GENERAL
The job losses will be in all sectors and complete sites are to be closed, says the Handelsblatt. AstraZeneca has over 65,000 employees worldwide, of which 1,300 staff are based in Wedel in north Germany, the paper adds.
According to CEO David Brennan, the money saved will be used to invest in growth in fast-developing countries, reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The company intends to save $1.8 billion by 2014, says the Handelsblatt.
The newspaper reports that AstraZeneca earned less than expected in its fourth, with pre-tax profits rising by 10% to $2.88 billion. Analysts had expected better dividends for investors, says the paper. Turnover was slightly more than expected by the market, rising by 9% to $8.95 billion, reports the Handelsblatt.
Brennen said 2010 would be a "difficult" year, with sales under pressure from patent expiries for cancer drug Arimidex and asthma drug Pulmicort in the U.S., reports the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
TALKS ON COSTS OF MEDICINE
The FAZ (p13), FTD (p11), Handelsblatt (p13) and Die Welt (p10) report on the positive reactions by "health insurers and the health sector", to the German health minister's announcement he will meet insurers and pharmacy industry representative groups to discuss possible savings in the health sector.
However, according to information obtained by Die Welt, a spokesman for health minister Philip Rösler points out he is not planning a "conference on medicines", rather "separate meetings with health insurers and pharmaceutical organisations".
According to the Handelsblatt, unnamed sources from the health insurers say this as good news from "Rösler's corner" after the "slaps in the face" received by the insurers from politicians, in the wake of Monday's announcement of the first extra levies on customers' health insurance.
A spokesman for the association of statutory health insurers (Spitzenverband der Gesetzliche Krankenkassen, GKV) Florian Lanz, told the Handelsblatt that the invitation is gladly accepted and that the limitation of the "excessive growth in medicines costs" is a challenge which "urgently needs to be tackled".
VFA REACTION
The head of the German Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (Verband Forschender Arnzeimittelhersteller, VFA) Cornelia Yzer, said "Rösler is right: In view of the situation, no one in the health sector will be able to dodge the question as to how efficient their performance is", reports the Handelsblatt.
Yzer added that: "We are convinced we can show the benefits of our products and justify their costs", reports the newspaper.
Yzer rejected pricing talks and suggested "added value contracts" be made between health insurers and producers, reports the newspaper. Here, the industry reimburses health insurers if a medicine does not reach "pre-agreed targets of care", explains the newspaper.
BPI REACTION
According to the German Federal Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Bundesverband der Pharmazeutischen Industrie, BPI) it is "in principle correct to talk with everyone", reports Die Welt.
However, according to BPI spokesman Joachim Odenbach, the situation has to be seen "realistically", says the article.
"It does not help to say the pharmaceutical sector has to make savings", he tells the newspaper, explaining that in certain areas it is impossible to cut back further, says Die Welt.
HEALTH INSURERS AND MONOPOLIES COMMISSION
The FTD (p11) reports that the vice president of the German national insurance office (Bundesversicherungsamt) Syvia Bohlen-Schöning, has stood up for the statutory health insurers, which have been accused of price fixing, after a joint announcement of an increase in health insurance levies by particular health insurers on Monday.
According to a media report, German chancellor Angela Merkel said: "In other cases this would have been a case for the monopolies commission," reports the FTD.
Bohlen-Schöning explains that the monopolies commission's jurisdiction does not extend to health insurers, as they are classified as "official bodies" and not businesses, reports the newspaper.
She points out that they are "actually forced by law to charge an extra levy", should they be unable to cover expenditure with the designated returns from the common health fund, reports the FTD.
Die Welt (p27) looks at the risks to the world economy posed by chronic illnesses, as presented in a report at the world economic summit in Davos.
The article also points out that recent statistics from Germany's statutory health insurer the AOK were quoted at the conference, which say that between 25% and 40% of time lost through illness at the workplace is stress related.
H1N1
In the 10 weeks up until the end of December, 1,377 cases of suspected negative reactions to vaccinations with GlaxoSmithKline's H1N1 vaccine Pandemrix and five after vaccinations with Baxter's Celvapan, were recorded by Germany's Paul Ehrlich Insitute (PEI), reports the FAZ.
Some 3,518 individual symptoms were registered in total, the most common being fever, pain at the point of vaccination, headaches, shivers and nausea, reports the paper. The patients' age range was between six months and 94 years of age, says the article. No lasting damage was reported, says the paper.
48 deaths were registered which occurred within seven days after receiving the vaccination, says the article. In the majority of cases, post mortems showed that there was another cause of death.
Mostly, the patients were suffering from other chronic illnesses, reports the newspaper. One case is unexplained and in 13 others, further data is awaited, says the article.
A total of 220,917 people have been registered as having had swine flu in Germany so far, with 199 deaths caused by the virus, says the article. Up until Dec 30, around 4.6 million doses of H1N1 vaccines had been given, says the report.
FRESENIUS
Handelsblatt (p31) examines the relationship between Fresenius Medical Care and its parent company Fresenius SE. The article notes that FMC is facing competition for its main product Heparin, since the hospital products and generics producer Hospira broke FMC's monopoly with an alternative therapy in the autumn of 2009.
Although FMC is confident of significant sales of Heparin, analysts interpret the first comments by the management as "tending towards the expectation" that the rate of "organic growth in 2010, could be less" than in 2009, says the article.
kf/nh
[17936] 29/01/2010 10:40 GMT - GENERAL
