Pfizer fails to end lawsuit over Bextra, Celebrex safety

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc has failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit accusing the company of fraudulently misrepresenting the safety of its Celebrex and Bextra pain-relieving drugs.

While dismissing some of the claims, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said a reasonable jury could find that Pfizer and several top executives intended to mislead shareholders about the drugs' cardiovascular risks.

"The record is replete with evidence that defendants recognized that Celebrex and Bextra had associated cardiovascular risks, that such risks would be considered material by investors, and that defendants nonetheless misrepresented and actively concealed these risks," she wrote.

The plaintiffs are led by the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana and a class was certified on July 5, 2012.

Swain scheduled a final pre-trial conference for July 12 and directed both sides to meet with a federal magistrate judge or an outside mediator to work on a settlement before then.

Pfizer said in a statement: "We appreciate the court's decision narrowing the claims, and look forward to presenting our case at trial."

A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Concerns about the safety of Celebrex and Bextra began to mount following the release of medical studies in late 2004, when rival Merck & Co withdrew its own Vioxx drug from the market because of associated cardiovascular risks.

Celebrex sales totaled $3.3 billion and Bextra sales totaled $1.29 billion in 2004.

But Pfizer pulled Bextra from the U.S. market in April 2005 at the recommendation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and sales of Celebrex fell by nearly half that year.

Then in 2009, Pfizer agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the marketing of Bextra and other drugs.

The New York-based company still sells Celebrex, which is intended to treat arthritis pain and inflammation, as well as acute pain, and whose sales totaled $2.72 billion last year.

Earlier this month, Pfizer won a patent extension giving it marketing exclusivity over the drug, whose chemical name is celecoxib, until December 2015.

The lawsuit covers investors who bought Pfizer stock between October 31, 2000 and October 19, 2005, a period in which the company's share price fell by roughly half and its market value tumbled by well over $100 billion.

Several big investors, including the California pension funds CalPERS and Calstrs, "opted out" of the class last year, enabling them to sue on their own.

Pfizer bought Pharmacia Corp, which originally developed Celebrex and Bextra, in April 2003.

Pfizer shares closed up 22 cents at $28.86 on the New York Stock Exchange. Swain released her opinion after U.S. markets closed.

The case is In re: Pfizer Inc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 05-md-01688.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Carol Bishopric and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pfizer-fails-end-lawsuit-over-bextra-celebrex-safety-223509153--finance.html

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Why Care About Blogger Outreach? | Hay There Social Media ...

Many small businesses want to get noticed more online, but aren?t sure where to begin. They want their PR and marketing dollars to go farther and are curious about ways to tap into the power of social media.

For starters, blog posts by targeted bloggers can be an integral part of any social media strategy and can help reach hundreds, if not thousands, of potential customers and influencers.

Blogger outreach is a high quality marketing effort that can benefit businesses of all sizes. National brands have simply utilized this marketing practice longer than local small businesses have.

Why is blogger outreach important?

First, bloggers are naturally social. Most bloggers are not just writing on a website to gain exposure among strangers. Many are social media enthusiasts with loyal followers, who share their views and posts often on several social networks in their community ?- from Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, to Pinterest and Instagram.

When a blogger amplifies a post including a mention of a business, it naturally reaches hundreds of people, with many of those consumers being influencers themselves. This amplification can positively impact results found via search engine.

Blogger outreach is also important because it?s targeted. Businesses are good at focusing in on their target market with traditional advertising; it?s no different with bloggers. Connecting your brand to the right audience of bloggers is key.

Why are bloggers influential?

Recently, Technorati released its 2013 digital report, where blogs were found to be the third most influential resource when making overall purchases, only behind retail sites and brand sites.

Trust is a major reason people connect with bloggers. Bloggers approach business reviews and information in a more conversational way than traditional media. This helps bloggers connect with their audiences ? whether they cater to a niche group such as marketing experts, or a wider audience, such as moms/parents.

Bloggers speak personally and authentically. Trust drives action, and action can result in sales, visits, or clicks ? depending on the goal of your outreach.

How is blogger outreach conducted?

Simply put, blogger outreach means contacting bloggers to ask if they are interested in hosting content created exclusively for them (also know as guest posting), or asking if the blogger may be interested in producing his/her own content highlighting your business, which will link back to your website or product information. This is a common practice, but can be quite time consuming.

Conducting blogger outreach in a genuine manner and providing value to the blogger and their audience is crucial. Taking the necessary time to research bloggers in the target market you are after, and actually reading the blog?s past posts can go a long way in establishing a working relationship.

What do businesses gain from blogger outreach? What costs are involved?

Besides credibility and a wider Google footprint, businesses can also gain new followers on social networks and establish a web presence of awareness about a product or service on blog sites where your target market is.

Blogger outreach is a highly effective, valuable way to market and just like other forms of advertising, costs are involved to compensate bloggers for their time and exposure in front of their audience.. Blogs have a longer shelf life, which is a benefit to a marketer. Consider print advertisements: they are often dead the moment they hit the newsstand, whereas blog posts can live online forever. Businesses often decide to shift their budgets over to include blogger outreach around product launches, events and more as this is a high value investment.

What are my options?

Do it yourself. Don?t spend hours manually searching for and contacting the right bloggers ? use TweetTeam.com! TweetTeam.com allows businesses to connect with the right bloggers and social media users for their projects quickly and affordably. TweetTeam.com members must first apply, are vetted and assigned based on project need.

If you are a PR/Marketing/Social Media professional or business owner or brand representative, using TweetTeam.com will free up your time and allow you to focus your energy on your key work.

Get help from us. At Hay There Social Media, we are avid blog readers and consumers. Many of us host our own blogs, so we recognize the value in taking time to know which bloggers are the best fit for our clients and can help you, too.

What are you waiting for? Make blogger outreach a part of your social strategy by contacting us today. Thanks for reading!

Blog Written by: Lauren Weber

Source: http://haytheresocialmedia.com/why-care-about-blogger-outreach/

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'American Idol' ouster is no surprise

By Craig Berman

Jimmy Iovine called the Devin Velez-Lararo Arbos-Burnell Taylor trio ?Wrong Direction? after their group performance on Wednesday.? It turns out that it?s more like the overarching theme for the guys in season 12.

For the second time in three weeks,? the bottom three was an all-male affair, and for the third week in a row it was a guy who got shown the door.? This time the bell tolled for Devin, though the judges sold the possibility of a save for all they were worth, as though the ?A Girl Must Win? season 12 storyline would allow for that sort of shenanigans. The crowd chanted, the judges appeared to be glancing at each other like it was actually under consideration ? but Randy Jackson was the Grinch who Stole ?Idol? and Devin went home.

No big shock. Devin was better this week, but as Jimmy noted that was in comparison to his previous efforts, not in relation to how everyone else did. His farewell performance featured the English-Spanish mix that impressed Nicki Minaj so much back in the day, but it was all for naught.

Fox / Getty Images Contributor

Devin Velez was sent home.

Even worse news for those who were betting on the "Idol" men this season -- Lazaro was in the bottom two.? He?s the guy who could do no wrong with the voters despite subpar performances, so the fact that he was in the danger zone after a much better solo effort this week doesn?t bode well for the guys. It?s the rare time when a group performance could prove to be a game-changer -- he was so terrible when paired with the other guys that it might have closed a few eyes, or shut down a few phone lines.

As for Burnell, he was the first guy sent to safety, which this season is akin to Jack Dawson winning that last seat on the Titanic. He?s now the odds-on favorite to finish sixth.

It was also a bad night for those who like their results shows to feature actual results. It was a full 47 minutes before anyone heard their fate, by which point we?d heard Colton Dixon, Katharine McPhee and One Republic, and Keith Urban perform live, the ?Idol? contestants do another brutal group number and mentor young children in how to sing like season 11 champion Phillip Phillips, and Jimmy give his detailed thought on every Wednesday performance, including the group acts. ?Idol? continues its groundbreaking efforts to kill time and sell commercials, but I do not think the phrase ?results show? means what Fox thinks it means.

It was a banner night for the girls, particularly Kree Harrison, who got the patented Voicemail of Praise from Aretha Franklin. Sure, Jimmy said that Angie Miller maybe shouldn?t pick her own songs any more and was off-track, but she still was among the top five vote-getters.

That all ends next week, however.? It?s a sure bet that one of the women will be among the three contestants with the fewest votes.

Because there are only two guys left.

Did you agree with the ouster? Tell us on Facebook.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2013/03/28/17507844-american-idol-ouster-is-no-surprise?lite

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Little kids talk the truth about relationships. Another unique marriage ...

We start Good News Friday with one of the cutest videos I?ve ever seen. Ostensibly this is a promotional video for a new book called ?Get The Guy,? but really it?s just two minutes of little girls talking like grown-ups about relationships.
I?m not buying the book, but this commercial is genius.

**Well that sucked.
Can?t remember an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 night with three out of four crappy games; only one game was remotely competitive, and that was Ohio State squeaking out a three-point win over Arizona.
Indiana and Miami both completely failed to show up; I was so looking forward to them facing each other on Saturday, except both forgot to play this game first. Kudos to Marquette and Syracuse, both teams played great, but man, what stinkers of games.
Oh well, the good news is (and hey, it?s Good News Friday, so you knew there had to be some good news) is that tonight?s games should be crackling.
Most important to me is the could-be-epic Duke-Michigan State game. I?m feeling pessimistic about my boys? chances, because the Spartans are so good inside and on the boards, two of Duke?s weaknesses. If Mason Plumlee doesn?t get into foul trouble, and if Ryan Kelly remembers how to shoot, Duke can win.
But I?m not all that confident.

We?ve also got a possibly great Kansas-Michigan game tonight, and we?ve got the best story in sports, the Florida Gulf Coast juggernaut (ha!), playing the big bad boys of their state, the Florida Gators. Man I hope FGCU can keep it going, that would be so great to watch.

So I expect three out of four really good, close games tonight. After Thursday?s debacle, we hoopheads deserve it.

**And finally, you know I?m a huge fan of creative marriage proposals. The ones on the scoreboard at sports events are pretty lame, but this guy found a different way to propose at a basketball game.

Check out her reaction when she turns around, it?s beautiful.

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Source: http://michaeljlewis.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/little-kids-talk-the-truth-about-relationships-another-unique-marriage-proposal-in-public-after-a-night-of-duds-tonights-ncaa-games-will-be-great-and/

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My Path to Motherhood: When birth doesn't go as planned - The ...

This post is part of our reader-submitted guest post series, My Path to Motherhood. For more about the series,?read this post. To read all posts in the series,?click here.

I touched my 39-week pregnant belly, placing both hands beneath the swelling bump. It was the night before I was to be induced and I couldn?t sleep.

My soon-to-be son thumped a foot from the inside and I smiled. I?ll hold you tomorrow, I thought. After 39 long weeks I would finally see your eyes. My pregnancy included nausea for seventeen weeks. I feared I would lose you. Unexpected bleeding when I found out I had placenta previa. I feared I would lose you. An emergency room visit and diagnosis of the flu. I feared I would lose you.

My first pregnancy was painful and exhausting. But it was also the most beautiful experience of anticipation I have ever felt.

Everyone I knew that had kids talked about this phenomenon that happened when you became a mother. They told me that the bond was instant. They discussed the births of their children as if they were monumental, life-changing moments. I hoped mine would be like that.

We?ve all seen births happen on television and in the movies. This beautiful moment happens when the brand new baby is placed in their mother?s arms pink and screaming. That?s what I pictured. Half the fun and angst is not knowing what your birth will be like. We all want control and we all think we?ll have it. But it doesn?t always end up that way.

We arrived at the hospital just as the sun was rising for a routine induction. I was already four centimeters dilated and my OB told me that she would just need to break my bag of waters and we would be off on our birthing adventure! She was right. The second they broke my water I began feeling intense contractions.

The epidural was placed almost immediately and I enjoyed my time laboring with friends and family circulating our hospital room. Hours later I was ready to push. I had always imagined pushing for maybe thirty minutes tops. Unfortunately that would not be the case for me. Two and a half hours later I was screaming in pain, begging for the doctor to get the baby out of me. I was physically exhausted and didn?t know how much more I could take.

Suddenly the doctor told me to reach down and feel my son?s head. That?s all it took. I gave it my all on the next push. The biggest exertion of my life. And there he was. But I was surprised he was so blue.

I waited for him to cry. I watched as the doctor passed him off to a nurse. My eyes followed my son?s every move. They put him in the isolette. Precious seconds were passing and still I had yet to hear him cry. ?Why isn?t he crying?? I asked over and over and over again until a minute had passed and I was screaming the words. That?s when I realized he was not breathing. They began to resuscitate him.

The nurses pressed on my stomach trying to help me deliver the placenta. It hurt so badly as I lurched and cried for my son. Extra workers rushed into our room but it all happened as if I were in some dream sequence. Was this really happening? Was my son going to die as I lay on that hospital bed?

?We have to take him to the NICU,? a doctor in blue scrubs said. They whisked him away and I became hysterical.

Where was my moment? The one everyone had talked about? Why wasn?t I holding my son? It felt like an internal organ had been ripped from my body and I was dying. I couldn?t breathe. I couldn?t see from the tears. I grabbed onto my husband and cried, ?Please don?t let our baby die.?

Then I went somewhere deep inside me. To a place where I prayed for the first time in a long time. I prayed to God to spare my son. If you have to take someone . . . take me instead, I asked.

That?s when it happened. I didn?t become a mother in a peaceful environment. I became a mother while experiencing the most terrifying moments of my life. I became a mother through screams and tears and the fear that I would never hold my son alive. I became a mother as I begged God to let him live.

Since we hadn?t heard anything in an hour, the most horrific hour of our lives, my husband went to the NICU to check in on the situation. I was not expecting what would come next.

My husband walked through the door with our perfect, pink and very alive son. I reached out my arms as far as they would go and my son was placed gently into my arms as I cried harder than I ever have.

He was alive. He was spared. I finally knew what it was like to be a mother. After all the waiting, anticipation and wonderment, I knew what it was like to want to die for your child.

Our son is now a healthy four and a half-year-old. But I must say, enduring such a traumatic birth helped to shape the mother I am today. I try to live in the moment and appreciate him even when he is pushing the limits. I know how very close we came to losing him. Those scary memories have given me powerful perspective. I will never forget the moment I became a mother. Even though it was not the birth I expected it made me the mother I am today.

* * * * *

Molly Shalz is a working mama to two beautiful and sweet boys born 21 months apart. Yes, she survived a stint of two under two! Molly has a degree in journalism and began blogging in 2006 when she realized how much she missed writing. A blog seemed like a convenient space to continue journaling.

Over the span of five years, Molly?s blog has gained a loyal readership. She was nominated as one of The Bump?s Best Working Mom Blogs. Her writing also earned her a coveted BlogHer Voice of the Year award. She continues to build her audience by writing passionately about her journey through motherhood while also suffering with depression. Molly is also writing her first novel.?

Tagged as: #mypathtomotherhood, birth, Guest Post, path to motherhood, pregnancy

Source: http://thehappiestmom.com/my-path-to-motherhood-when-birth-doesnt-go-as-planned/

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'Harry Potter' actor Richard Griffiths dies at 65

Richard Griffiths of "The History Boys" poses for a picture with his Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in Play at the 60th Annual Tony Awards in this Sunday, June 11, 2006 file photo in New York. Griffiths, the British actor who played the boy wizard?s unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. He was 65. Agent Simon Beresford announced Friday March 2013 that Griffiths died Thursday of complications following heart surgery at University Hospital of Coventry in central England. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

Richard Griffiths of "The History Boys" poses for a picture with his Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in Play at the 60th Annual Tony Awards in this Sunday, June 11, 2006 file photo in New York. Griffiths, the British actor who played the boy wizard?s unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. He was 65. Agent Simon Beresford announced Friday March 2013 that Griffiths died Thursday of complications following heart surgery at University Hospital of Coventry in central England. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)

FILE - From left, actors James Corden, Clive Merrison, Richard Griffiths and Stephen Campbell Moore take the curtain call at the opening night of the play The History Boys, in this Sunday, April 23, 2006 file photo in New York. Griffiths, the British actor who played the boy wizard?s unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died . He was 65. (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh, file)

Actor Richard Griffiths poses for a photograph in New York, in this Wednesday, June 18, 2008 file photo. Griffiths, the British actor who played the boy wizard?s unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. He was 65. Agent Simon Beresford announced Friday March 28 2013 that Griffiths died Thursday of complications following heart surgery at University Hospital of Coventry in central England. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, file)

File - Actor Richard Griffiths poses for a photograph in New York, in this June 18, 2008 file photo. Griffiths, the British actor who played the boy wizard's unsympathetic Uncle Vernon in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. He was 65. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

LONDON (AP) ? Richard Griffiths, a versatile British actor who won a Tony Award for "The History Boys" and played the boy wizard's unsympathetic Uncle Vernon Dursley in the "Harry Potter" movies, has died. He was 65.

Agent Simon Beresford announced Friday that Griffiths died a day earlier of complications following heart surgery at University Hospital in Coventry, central England.

He paid tribute to Griffiths as "a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors."

Griffiths appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, but will be most widely remembered as a pair of contrasting uncles ? flamboyant Uncle Monty in 1980s cult classic "Withnail and I" and the hero's grudging Muggle guardian in the "Harry Potter" series.

Griffiths once said he liked playing Uncle Vernon "because that gives me a license to be horrible to kids."

But "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to the actor, saying "I was proud to say I knew him."

A large man and a huge stage presence, Griffiths was one of Britain's leading theater actors, creating roles including the charismatic teacher Hector at the emotional heart of Alan Bennett's school drama "The History Boys" ? a part he took to Broadway, winning a Tony, and repeated for the film adaptation.

National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner, who directed "The History Boys," called Griffiths' performance in that play "a masterpiece of wit, delicacy, mischief and desolation, often simultaneously."

Griffiths also played poet W.H. Auden in Bennett's "The Habit of Art," a hugely persuasive performance despite the lack of physical resemblance between the two men.

Griffiths was born in northeast England's Thormaby-on-Tees in 1947 to parents who were deaf and mute ? an experience he felt contributed to his exceptional ability to listen and to communicate physically.

He left school at 15 but later studied drama and spent a decade with the Royal Shakespeare Company, making a specialty of comic parts such as the buffoonish knight Falstaff.

On television, he played a crime-solving chef in 1990s' British TV series "Pie in the Sky," and he had parts in movies ranging from "Chariots of Fire" and "Gandhi" to "The Naked Gun 2 ?."

Known for his sense of humor, large store of rambling theatrical anecdotes and occasional bursts of temper, Griffiths was renowned for shaming audience members whose cell phones rang during plays by stopping the performance and ordering the offender to leave.

Griffiths' last major stage role was in a West End production of Neil Simon's comedy "The Sunshine Boys" last year opposite Danny DeVito. The pair had been due to reprise their roles in Los Angeles later this year.

In 2007 he appeared in a London and Broadway production of "Equus" alongside the then 17-year-old Radcliffe.

"Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career," Radcliffe said Friday.

"In August 2000, before official production had even begun on Potter, we filmed a shot outside the Dursleys', which was my first ever shot as Harry. I was nervous and he made me feel at ease.

?"Seven years later, we embarked on 'Equus' together. It was my first time doing a play but, terrified as I was, his encouragement, tutelage and humor made it a joy.

"In fact, any room he walked into was made twice as funny and twice as clever just by his presence."

Griffiths is survived by his wife, Heather Gibson.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-29-Britain-Obit-Richard%20Griffiths/id-0c4ca19b38154e09ab2125ed907e2754

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Thursday Scoop

Thursday Scoop

Kelly Osbourne Going Over to the Dark Side?[The Frisky] One Direction Releases New Video?[HollyWire] Kailyn Lowry Expecting Baby Boy?[Right Celebrity] Ashley Judd Not Running for Senate?[The Celebrity Cafe] Halle Berry Spotted in Hawaii?[The Blemish] Jessica Brown Findlay Regrets Nude Scene?[The Huffington Post] Kelly Brook Models in Bikini?[Drunken Stepfather] Kim Kardashian Trying to Change Her Skin ...

Thursday Scoop Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/03/thursday-scoop-4/

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