US Attorney Five charged with scheme to steal GSK secrets

The five include two former GlaxoSmithKline researchers.

The charges were announced by the US Attorney's Office in Philadelphia late on Wednesday.

It lists charges of conspiracy to steal trade secrets, theft of trade secrets, and wire fraud.

The stolen information, which contained details of drugs for cancer and other serious diseases "potentially could be sold for millions of dollars to rival pharmaceutical companies".

The documents said the information would also be useful for a start-up pharmaceutical company.

Star Lamar Odom won’t face charges in brothel binge that left him in a coma, D.A. says

Former NBA star Lamar Odom won’t be charged for cocaine possession in the drug and alcohol-fueled binge that nearly killed him, officials said Monday.

Prosecutors in Nye County, Nev., where Odom was found frothing at the mouth and unconscious at a brothel in October, have decided not to file any charges against him.

The county sheriff’s office recommended charging him with “use of, or under the influence of, a controlled substance,” Nye County District Attorney Angela Bello told the Daily News in November.

Viola Davis speaks emotional on her Sister's Sexual Assault and Drug Addiction:

The life-altering effects of sexual abuse is something Viola Davis, admittedly, knows all too well.

The "How to Get Away With Murder" star, 50, described her sister's sexual abuse story in a moving speech at a benefit for Stuart House on Wednesday.

 

The nonprofit foundation, which launched in 1989, works to provide support and treatment for rape, sexual assault and child abuse victims.

https://t.co/7fgfrVuGr6

Heroin addicts in Ireland to be provided with 'safe rooms' as country considers decriminalization of hard drug use

Drug users in Ireland will soon be able to inject heroin in supervised rooms as the country considers the decriminalization of hard drug use.

 

Plans are in place for users to “bring in their own material” and be provided with safe rooms where they can inject heroin under medical supervision in Dublin from 2016.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the minister in charge of National Drugs Strategy, has said that there is a “strong consensus” that drugs should be decriminalized throughout the country.

Pharmaceuticals company share 65per with N300bn Investment

Nigerian pharmaceutical companies now share 65 percent of the West African market, having so far invested N300 billion in machinery and quality upgrade in an effort to end drug importation into the country, estimated at $700 million.

Four companies have so far obtained the World Health Organisation (WHO) pre-qualification, while four others are in line to obtain same, in an effort to dig into the local market and remain competitive in the international scene, BusinessDay can report.

drugs

Evans Medical, Chi Pharmaceuticals, May&Baker and Swiss Pharma have already obtained prequalification. These four companies, alongside four others that are processing the WHO prequalification, have invested $50 million in different levels of upgrade in the last five years, BusinessDay has learnt.

Similarly, ten drug firms have met the requirements of the International Standards Organisation (ISO), which now enables them to raise their competitive capacity in the international market. The companies that have achieved this feat include Afrabchem Limited, Chi Pharmaceuticals, Dana Pharmaceuticals, Drugfield Pharmaceuticals, Emzor Pharmaceuticals, Fidson Healthcare, SKG Pharma Limited, Evans Medical  and Swiss Pharma, as well as May &Baker.

“Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturers

Conflict arises as Pharmaceuticals Fight over 20% Import Tariff

Nigeria’s health sector is currently being threatened by a disagreement within the pharmaceutical industry over the possible imposition of a 20 percent tariff on imported drugs.

The conflict arises from the ongoing Common External Tariff (CET) which places zero tariff on imported finished drugs but imposes between five and 20 percent duty on imported raw and packaging materials.

 

Local manufacturers, consisting of members of the Pharmaceutical Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG-MAN), say the five to 20 percent duty on raw and packaging materials is already threatening to destroy 150 local drug makers and an estimated N300 billion investment made so far, in the domestic sector, calling for a review of a the CET to include imposition of 20 percent tariff on imported finished drugs.

ECOWAS Tariff takes off as Manufacturing Suffers

Thirty-eight days into the implementation of the Common External Tariff (CET), Nigeria’s manufacturing sector is beginning to feel the pinch as the new regime makes imported finished products cheaper than locally manufactured goods.

 

Currently, local drug manufacturers who import raw materials for domestic production pay as much as 20 percent duty, while importers of finished products from other countries pay no duty.

Axact Chief Shoaib Sheikh Detained over 'Fake Degrees'

Axact's CEO Shoaib Sheikh and his deputy, Waqas Atiq, were taken into custody after a raid at their Karachi offices on Tuesday night.

 

Officials said hundreds of thousands of blank degree forms, student cards and authentication documents were found.