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NI leads respiratory disease battle
09/06/2005 - Northern Ireland is leading the UK with a strategy aimed at cutting the impact of respiratory disease which is killing more than 2,000 people a year in the Province.
By:Press Association
A 10-year framework for preventing the disease and for improving treatment and care for people with the condition is outlined in a new consultation document `A Healthier Future: A Strategy for Respiratory Conditions`.
Respiratory disease, including asthma, accounts for almost 15% of all deaths in Northern Ireland and is a significant cause of disability in society, said the Department of Health.
In 2002/2003 there were almost 30,000 admissions to hospital due to respiratory conditions, using over 180,000 bed days and costing almost £50 million.
Launching the consultation, Health Minister Shaun Woodward said: "Thousands of people here suffer from respiratory disease, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, causing a huge health and economic burden on individuals, families and carers, and the community."
The policy document, he said, was the first of its kind for respiratory conditions in the UK.
"It sets out how with better prevention, self-management, treatment, care and rehabilitation we can reduce ill health and contribute to a reduction in avoidable deaths," he said.
Recommendations made in the framework document placed an emphasis on the action needed to support people to make better decisions about their health - such as stopping smoking, promoting better nutrition and exercise, reducing obesity and improving infection control, he said.
"The proposals also herald changes to the organisation and design of services for people with respiratory disease to provide more responsive and effective services to patients in the community with access to specialist services when they need them," said Mr Woodward.
Wyeth to Trim About 30% of Primary-Care Sales Force
June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Wyeth, the sixth-biggest U.S. drugmaker by sales, said it will eliminate as many as 750 jobs, or 30 percent of its U.S. primary-care sales force, to reduce costs.
The company will switch some of its sales representatives to part time from full time, spokesman Doug Petkus said in a telephone interview today. Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth has about 5,000 sales employees in the U.S., with about half calling on primary-care physicians, he said.
Wyeth, whose net income has declined in each of the past two years, joins competitors in cutting expenses as insurers and governments opt to switch patients to cheaper generic medicines. Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, said in April that it will cut jobs and close plants in a drive to save $4 billion annually by 2008. GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the world's No. 2 drugmaker, cut administrative costs by 4.3 percent last year.
``You just needed a company to take the first step,'' said Jon Fisher, who helps manage about $22 billion at Fifth Third Asset Management in Minneapolis, including Wyeth shares. ``A lot of the big drugs of the '90s are going off patent, margins are heading down. If these companies don't get in sync with everyone else in America ... these guys are going to be really hurt.''
Shares of Wyeth rose 22 cents to $44.34 as of 12:23 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, they had risen 19 percent in 12 months.
The Wall Street Journal reported the cuts earlier today.
``It's premature to estimate cost savings from the restructuring,'' Petkus said. ``Cutting back on the frequency of the (sales) visit and focusing more on making them worthwhile is a more efficient way for us to provide information about our products.''
Patent Expirations
Pharmaceutical companies also are seeking ways to speed drug development amid a wave of patent expirations on some of the industry's biggest products.
``We all expected to see some expense rationalization from companies that haven't focused on that historically,'' said David Heupel, who helps manage $2.5 billion at Appleton, Wisconsin- based Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, including Wyeth and Pfizer shares. ``The sales force in a lot of these companies is bloated.''
Glaxo, Europe's biggest drugmaker, is cutting costs after profit at the London-based company fell three of four quarters last year on sliding sales of the antidepressant Paxil, once its biggest-selling product. Glaxo reduced administrative expenses last year to 9.9 billion pounds ($18 billion), according to Bloomberg data.
`Challenging Environment'
``We're dealing with a challenging environment,'' Glaxo Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said in a Bloomberg television interview in February.
Steve Brown, spokesman at AstraZeneca Plc, Europe's third- biggest drugmaker, declined to comment on the possibility of another sales force reduction at the company. In January, AstraZeneca said it cut about 500 contract sales positions, or almost 10 percent of it U.S. sales force, after setbacks with its Exanta blood thinner and lung cancer treatment Iressa.
Regulators also may be more cautious about approving new products after the withdrawal last year of Merck & Co.'s Vioxx painkiller and the Feb. 28 recall of Tysabri, a new multiple sclerosis medicine from Biogen Idec Inc. and Elan Corp., analysts said. The actions have raised concerns with doctors, patients and elected officials about drug safety.
Wyeth in 1997 withdrew its diet-drug cocktail fen-phen after researchers linked it to heart and lung problems in some users. Since then, the company has set aside $21.1 billion in legal provisions to cover its liability in cases related to the drugs.
Wyeth, the maker of Advil pain pills, posted a 44 percent increase in first-quarter profit as demand rose for its Effexor antidepressant and Prevnar meningitis vaccine. Net income in 2004 fell 40 percent, after a 54 percent drop in 2003. The company will report second-quarter earnings on July 20.
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