Tuesday, 2 May 2006
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Parexel Misled Subjects Sickened in London Study, Ethicists Say
Parexel International Corp. hid risks from healthy volunteers enlisted into a clinical drug test in London that left six men fighting for their lives, say medical ethicists who reviewed confidential study documents.
SFBC Shares Rise as Earnings Beat Analyst Forecasts (Update5)
Shares of SFBC International Inc., the drug-testing company at the center of a U.S. Senate probe, jumped 24 percent after its fourth-quarter profit, bolstered by a tax benefit, beat analysts’ forecasts.
SFBC Employees in Montreal Found to Have Latent Tuberculosis
At least 11 employees of drug-trial company SFBC International Inc. tested positive for latent tuberculosis after being exposed to a TB-infected participant in a Montreal experiment, according to local health officials.
SFBC Delays Earnings Release, Withdraws 2006 Forecast (Correct)
SFBC International Inc., a drug- study company at the center of a U.S. Senate probe, postponed the release of fourth-quarter earnings as it considers a charge for a “significant decline in business” in Miami.
SFBC’s McMullen Says Miami Unit Clients `Walked Away’ (Update2)
SFBC International Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey McMullen said the drug-testing company has lost clients including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. at its Miami testing center, the focus of a U.S. Senate probe.
Grassley Wants SFBC Documents, Meeting With Hantman (Update3)
U.S. Senator Charles Grassley asked SFBC International Inc. to turn over documents to the Senate Finance Committee in its probe of the drug-testing company’s treatment of clinical trial participants.
SFBC Says Landlord Sues to Terminate Land Lease on Miami Unit
SFBC International Inc. said its landlord sued to terminate the lease on more than half the Miami site where it operates the largest private center
for drug trials in North America. SFBC’s $90 Million of Debt Downgraded by Moody’s (Update1)
SFBC International Inc., operator of the largest private center for drug testing in North America, had about $90 million in debt downgraded by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited less-than-expected earnings.
SFBC Says Miami Board Accepts its Plan to Fix Defects (Update5)
SFBC International Inc., operator of the largest private center for drug testing in North America, said the Miami-Dade County Unsafe Structures Board accepted a plan for correcting defects at the company’s Miami facility.
Grassley Says `Things Aren’t Right’ at SFBC, He Expects Answers
U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said “things aren’t right” at SFBC International Inc. and he expects “further answers” from former company officials.
SFBC Receives Request From SEC on Former Executives (Update3)
SFBC International Inc., the clinical drug testing company at the center of a U.S. Senate probe, said it received a request from the Securities and Exchange Commission for records on two former executives.
SFBC’s Top Two Officials Quit Amid U.S. Senate Probe (Update6)
The top two officials at SFBC International Inc., the drug testing company at the center of a U.S. Senate probe, quit after investigators sought to interview them.
Senate Panel Chairman Seeks U.S. Records on SFBC (Update2)
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley requested documents from U.S. drug regulators on inspections of SFBC International Inc., manager of the largest private clinical-trials center in North America.
SFBC Hires Advisers on ‘Strategic Alternatives’ (Update1)
SFBC International, which manages the largest clinical trial center in North America, said it hired UBS AG and Lehman Brothers Inc. as joint advisers to “explore strategic alternatives.”
SFBC’s Suspended VP of Legal Affairs Resigns (Update2)
SFBC International Inc., manager of the largest private clinical trials center in North America, said executive Gerald Seifer resigned after an investigation found he engaged in “inappropriate” behavior with trial subjects.
SFBC Drug Testers Have Tuberculosis After Exposure (Update2)
The drug test participant on the next bed was shivering and shaking and coughing up blood.
SFBC Says Review `Exonerates’ Company, Cuts Forecast (Update5)
SFBC International Inc., operator of the largest private clinical trials center in North America, said an independent review “exonerated” the company of allegations concerning its drug testing.
SFBC Says Officials Allow Removing Signs on Building (Update2)
SFBC International Inc., operator of the largest private clinical trials center in North America, said local officials in Miami authorized removing signs from the company’s building warning of unsafe conditions.
SFBC Says Miami Bed Removal Won’t Hurt Its Business (Update2)
SFBC International Inc., which operates the largest private clinical trials center in North America, said removing 325 of the center’s 675 beds in an agreement with local officials won’t harm its business because 66 percent of the beds were unoccupied.
SFBC Cuts Bed Capacity by 48% Amid Test Center Probe (Update3)
SFBC International Inc. cut in half the number of beds at its Miami drug-testing center, the largest private clinical trials site in North America, after officials began probing the building’s safety, the company said.
SFBC Agrees to Meet With Senator Grassley’s Staff (Update1)
SFBC International Inc., manager of the biggest private drug-test center in North America, said it agreed to meet with the staff of U.S. Senator Charles Grassley and hired independent counsel to review allegations concerning the way the company conducts clinical trials.
SFBC Threatens Human Drug Testers for Exposing Risks (Update4)
SFBC International Inc., which runs the largest private drug test center in North America, threatened to arrange federal deportation of Latin American immigrants who disclosed health risks in clinical trials, according to people who participated in the company’s Miami- based experiments. The participants also said SFBC tried to make them sign false statements.
Grassley Demands Answers on Safety of U.S. Drug Tests (Update1)
The head of the U.S. Senate committee that oversees the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs is demanding to know whether the government is doing enough to ensure safety during clinical trials of experimental drugs.
SFBC Stock Plunges on About Report on Clinical Trials (Update1)
Shares of SFBC International Inc., the operator of the largest clinical-trial center in North America, plunged as much as 24 percent on concern that a report about flaws in the U.S. drug-testing industry may hurt the company’s revenue.
Miami Test Center Lures Poor Immigrants as Human Guinea Pigs
Roberto Alvarez has just finished eight nights of being confined in the largest center for clinical drug trials in North America, and he’s happy to get out.
Doctor Who Died in Drug Test Was Betrayed by System He Trusted
Scott Scheer wasn’t worried about side effects when he agreed to enroll in a federally funded test of different combinations of previously approved blood pressure medications in 1997.