Category Archives: Drug Companies

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Pfizer Is the Next Big Pharma Company Entering the Cannabis Space

The giant will purchase a biotech company with cannabinoid-type therapeutics in the pipeline.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. is entering the cannabis space via the $6.7 billion acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The two publicly-traded companies confirmed Monday that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Pfizer will acquire all outstanding shares of Arena for $100 per share in an all-cash transaction.

Pfizer expects to finance the transaction with existing cash on hand upon obtaining all necessary approvals. 

The deal

Arena Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, Cal., is a biotech company with one segment of its drug pipeline dedicated to cannabinoid-type therapeutics. The core of its cannabis biotech operations is the research and development of its investigational drug candidate called Olorinab (APD371). This is an oral full agonist of the cannabinoid receptor 2 that is being researched for the treatment of various symptoms, mainly concentrated on visceral pain connected with gastrointestinal illnesses.

Other parts of Arena’s drug pipeline are concentrated on non-cannabinoid drugs with the main focus on developing innovative potential therapies for the treatment of several immuno-inflammatory diseases. Arena’s portfolio includes diverse and promising development-stage therapeutic candidates in gastroenterology, dermatology and cardiology.

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Blog, Drug Companies, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

How Yachts Contribute to Trans-Atlantic Cocaine Trade

A yacht, found off the coast of Portugal with the country’s largest-ever haul of cocaine, illustrates how these smaller, private vessels have become a favored modus operandi to move cocaine between Latin America and lucrative European markets.  

Portuguese and Spanish authorities seized 5.2 tons of cocaine, valued at $232 million, on a yacht 550 kilometers off the coast of Portugal on October 18.

The drug bust represented the largest cocaine seizure in Portugal in 15 years. It marked the largest cocaine seizure ever on a yacht, according to Luis Neves, the director of Portugal’s police force for criminal investigations.

The operation was part of an investigation that began in early 2021 into how vast quantities of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela were being moved to Europe via private yachts, according to a press release issued by Spain’s National Police.

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Blog, Criminal, Drug Companies, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

Nigerian Mafia Use Venezuelan Drug Mules to Reach Europe

A Nigerian trafficking network is now using “mules” to move drugs from South America to Europe, exemplifying how this growing drug consumer market is drawing mafias from around the world to the Americas.

A recent report by the Investigative Rebel Alliance (Alianza Rebelde Investigativa – ARI) zeroed in on the arrest of two Venezuelan citizens who had carried hundreds of capsules of cocaine into France in early 2020. This would have been just one of many cases of Venezuelans being used as drug mules by Colombian or Brazilian criminal groups, except for one striking difference. This time, the drug traffickers were Nigerian.

The ARI report broke down how Nigerian mafias have become a small, yet growing player in South America’s drug trafficking scene. This network uses Venezuelans as drug mules to carry cocaine to France, leaving from Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana.

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Blog, Business Law, Drug Companies, Legal News

Biden pushes to end ban on negotiating Medicare drug prices; Big Pharma pushes back

Undoing the ban is the linchpin of President Joe Biden’s healthcare agenda. It would mean lower costs, with savings put into things such as dental coverage for retirees.

As a participant in Medicare’s prescription drug program, Florida retiree Donna Weiner would like to pay less for her medicines, which cost her about $6,000 a year.

And as a retired accountant who spent 50 years handling the books for companies, she sees a way to get there.

“You know from working in a business that it makes no sense for an administrator of a plan or a company not to be involved in what they have to pay out,” said Weiner, who lives in Longwood, Florida, near Orlando.

For Medicare “to negotiate those prices down would be thousands of dollars back in my pocket every year,” she said.

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Blog, Business Law, Criminal, Drug Companies, Immigration, International, Legal News, Organized Crime

El Chapo’s Wife Pleads Guilty To Helping Run The Global Drug Cartel

Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of Mexico’s most notorious drug kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán,pleaded guiltyThursday to helping him run the powerful Sinaloa cartel.

Coronel was captured and arrested by U.S. officials as she arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia in February.

The former beauty queen appeared before a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning and pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana for importation into the U.S., according to the Justice Department.

She also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to launder narcotics profits and another count of engaging in illegal financial dealings related to her husband’s property.

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