Business briefs
Lawsuit filed over EpiPen marketing
Outrage over the soaring cost of Mylan’s EpiPen has spawned another lawsuit, this one in U.S. District Court in Kansas seeking damages for consumers for the company’s “cutthroat sales and marketing tactics,” according to The Lanier Law Firm and Sharp Law, which filed the complaint. Mylan has sparked widespread condemnation for raising the price of the emergency allergy treatment more than 500 percent since acquiring the device in 2007. A handful of other EpiPen-related suits also have been filed, including one recently in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh challenging Mylan’s practice of selling the medicine only in packages of two “as a pretense for charging unconscionable prices.” Separately, Mylan announced the U.S. launch of Daiichi Sankyo’s Benicar and Benicar HCT tablets used to treat high blood pressure.
Hospital settles complaint over same-sex partner benefits
Mon General Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., has agreed to pay an employee $8,900 to settle her complaint that the hospital denied same-sex medical benefits for her partner. The hospital also agreed to tell its employees that it now pays same-sex benefits. Kathy McIntire, a clinical coordinator in the pharmacy department, filed her complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March 2015 after the hospital denied benefits for her wife. The EEOC said it found that the denial and Mon Valley’s policy of denying benefits violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agency announced the settlement Tuesday.
Bayer’s quarterly sales rise
Bayer said third-quarter net income climbed by nearly 19 percent on a strong performance by its prescription drugs including blood clot treatment Xarelto and medicines for macular degeneration and cancer. The Germany-based company said net income rose to 1.19 billion euros ($1.3 billion) compared with 999 million euros a year ago. Sales increased 2.3 percent to 11.3 billion euros. The company, which has about 1,600 employees in the Pittsburgh region, is in the process of buying agrochemical business Monsanto Corp. in a deal valued at $66 billion. Werner Baumann, Bayer’s chief executive, on Wednesday defended the acquisition even though it faces possible antitrust challenges.
Bridgeville specialty steel producer narrows loss
Universal Stainless & Alloy Products reported a smaller third-quarter loss despite a 9 percent drop in sales. The results fell short of Wall Street estimates. The Bridgeville specialty steel producer reported a loss of $520,000, or 7 cents per share, on sales of $39.7 million vs. a loss of $17 million, or $2.41 per share, and sales of $43.4 million in the year-ago period. The year-ago results included losses of $15.5 million, or $2.19 per share, related to a goodwill impairment charge and other onetime items.
U.S. regulators want asset sale in Wabtec deal
The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed a settlement that allows Wabtec Corp. to complete its acquisition of Faiveley Transport, a French rail products manufacturer, in a deal valued at $1.8 billion. As a condition of the deal, the Justice Department is requiring Faiveley to sell off assets it owns jointly with Amsted Rail, a Chicago-based manufacturer. After these divestitures have been completed, the acquisition of the Faiveley family stake by Wabtec is expected to occur in November, Wabtec said in a press release.
Local organizations receive federal coal grants
Several regional organizations received federal grants through the so-called Power (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative, which invests in economic revitalization and workforce training in coal communities. The awards are administered by the Appalachian Regional Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Among the grants approved were $662,567 to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corp. in Pittsburgh for the Southwest Pennsylvania Economic Gardening Initiative. The project will create or retain 330 jobs. Also a $500,000 ARC grant was made to Innovation Works Inc. on the North Side for a project that will create 65 new jobs and retain 30 existing jobs. A $14,214 ARC grant to the United Mine Workers Association Career Centers Inc. in Prosperity will provide grant writing assistance to raise funds for the development of a training program at a Greene County training facility.