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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Drug Company to Test International Distribution

Thousand Oaks biotech giant Amgen Inc. announced last month that it will reacquire the rights to three of its drugs – Prolia, XGEVA and Vectibix. British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, or GSK, owns the rights to sell the drugs in 48 countries outside of the United States. According to the reacquisition agreement, Amgen will make undisclosed milestone payments upon signing the contract and during the transition. GSK will continue to license, sell and distribute the drugs through the changeover period, which will vary by country. Most markets are scheduled to be shifted back to Amgen within 12 months, and the company will resume full responsibility for the sale of the products after the completed transition. The deal is part of Amgen’s expansion plan into key international markets, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. GSK has licensed both osteoporosis medications Prolia and XGEVA since 2009 and colon cancer medication Vectibix since 2011. The company made approximately $111 million in combined sales from those licensing agreements in 2014. “Amgen originally partnered with GSK in these international expansion markets to capitalize on GSK’s established presence in these markets,” an Amgen spokeswoman told the Business Journal. “At the time, Amgen had little or no presence in many of the markets and decided to focus resources on other business activities and priorities. Amgen now has a stated intention of growing the business internationally to ensure that we can serve an increasing number of patients around the globe. This transaction is part of this strategic goal and is an important part of our international expansion plans.” New Fitness Manager Henry Mayo Fitness and Health, a new full-service fitness center at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, has named Bill Holstein as general manager. Holstein has more than 20 years of experience in the health and fitness fields and graduated from the University of Idaho with a major in sports science and a minor in business. From there, he has had a long management career in fitness centers and even began his own training company, PowerFitness Training in Chatsworth, which provided an array of wellness services. The fitness center isn’t scheduled to open until spring, but it will host a two-day promotional event Jan. 16 and 17, where Holstein will be available to meet the community. The event will have giveaways, music and food, and the fitness center will be preselling limited charter memberships. The center will offer the Santa Clarita Valley a place for integrated preventive health care and will feature an expansive workout facility, group exercise studios and an outdoor lap pool. “Henry Mayo Fitness and Health is unlike any health and fitness facility in the region,” said Holstein. “I’m excited to be a part of the first medically integrated health and fitness center serving the Santa Clarita Valley, where treatment and a healthy lifestyle are both addressed.” Diabetic Distribution Medical technology manufacturer Medtronic has entered into an exclusive distribution deal with health care product provider Henry Schein Medical to distribute selected Medtronic diabetes products to primary care doctors in the United States. The partnership is intended to make Medtronic products more accessible to people with type-2 diabetes whose primary care physicians oversee their glucose management. Products in the agreement include the i-Port Advance injection port, which allows patients to inject insulin without having to penetrate the skin, and the iPro2 Professional Continuous Glucose Monitoring system, a device that monitors and collects comprehensive blood sugar data. According to Medtronic, almost 30 million Americans live with type-2 diabetes, with more than 80 percent of them receiving treatment from their primary care physicians. “Medtronic is committed to advancing the care of people with type-2 diabetes,” Laura Stoltenberg, vice president of nonintensive diabetes therapies at Medtronic, said in a statement. “Together with Henry Schein and its dedicated sales team, we can broaden access to (continuous glucose monitoring) for primary care physicians and their patients with type-2 diabetes.” Medtronic is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with its diabetes division, Medtronic Diabetes, located in Northridge. Henry Schein Medical is a division of Henry Schein Inc. of Melville, N.Y. Staff reporter Stephanie Henkel can be reached at (818) 316-3130 or [email protected].

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