Ms. Kelly Close

President, Close Concerns

Member of the Healthcare Council

Council Member Biography

Kelly Close is President of Close Concerns, a healthcare information firm focused exclusively on diabetes and obesity. She has over 15 years of experience at the intersection of finance and healthcare. Ms. Close specializes in financial analysis within the diabetes and obesity industries. She is Editor-in-Chief of Closer Look, an industry news service subscribed to by over 50 companies in the field, and diaTribe, a patient newsletter on research and new products in the field subscribed to by over 15,000 patients with diabetes. She has an extensive patient database (4,000+ patients) and stays up to date on patient interests in these fields. She also provides strategic advisory services on topics related to pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology products for diabetes. Before starting Close Concerns, Ms. Close worked at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and the med tech equity research teams at Merrill Lynch and Piper Jaffray. Ms. Close is on advisory boards for the JDRF, dLife and CWD. (This is me - Update Profile)

Employment History

2002 - Unspecified: President, Close Concerns
2000 - 2002: Research Analyst, Piper Jaffray
1995 - 1998: Associate, MCKINSEY & COMPANY, INC.
1990 - 1993: Analyst, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC

GLG News^SM Analyses by Kelly Close

Opinions and analyses expressed in G+ Insights are solely those of the author. See the Terms of Use for details.

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

Forest Laboratories announces licensure of TransTech’s GKA Program

June 20, 2010

Analysis of:TransTech Deal Shows Growing Interest in GKA Market | www.evaluatepharma.com

Forest Laboratories just announced a licensing agreement with TransTech Pharma for the development and commercialization of TransTech’s glucokinase activator (GKA) program. Under the agreement, TransTech will receive a $50 million upfront license payment from Forest, as well as up to $1.105 billion for the successful commercialization of its GKA compounds.

Date for Generic Actos Market Entry Set

May 3, 2010

Analysis of:Takeda Provides Update on Patent Litigation for ACTOS(R) (pioglitazone HCl) and ACTOplus met(R) (pioglitazone HCl and metformin HCl) in the U.S. | www.prnewswire.com

Takeda recently announced the settlement of six out of eight patent infringement suits filed by the company against several manufacturers intending to produce generic Actos (pioglitazone) and generic ACTOplus met (Actos plus metformin). Currently, the patent for the blockbuster drug is set to expire in 2011. According to the settlements reached, generic Actos will enter the US market on August 17, 2012 and ACTOplus met will enter the US market on December 14, 2012.

Medtronic receives FDA approval for the Revel sensor-integrated insulin pump

March 23, 2010

Medtronic received pre-market approval from the FDA for a new pump system called the MiniMed Paradigm REAL-Time Revel System. This pump is still the only sensor-integrated pump available in the US. The Revel features predictive and customizable alerts and a bevy of small but important features including a more precise basal/bolus delivery rate, active insulin (“insulin on board”) on the home screen, missed meal bolus reminders, and alert-based navigation.

Science Advisory on TZDs and CVD Risk-- Little Concrete Advice Given

March 3, 2010

Analysis of:AHA/ACC Advisory on TZDs and CVD Risk-- Little Concrete Advice Given AHA/ACC Advisory on TZDs and CVD Risk-- Little Concrete Advice GivenThe new AHA/ACC advisory emphasizes that there is little conclusive evidence and to the contrary, substantial contradictory evidence, regarding the safety of Avandia. The only compound with proven long-term microvascular and macrovascular benefit is metformin—little is known in this realm about the other nine classes of diabetes compounds. There are no prospect | www.prnewswire.com

The AHA and ACC published a science advisory on TZD drugs and CV risk ahead of print in the journal Circulation in late February, discussing the to-date evidence on the risk of macrovascular complications for both Avandia and Actos. The 10-page advisory lays out the to-date known evidence regarding the association between myocardial infarction (or rather ischemic heart disease), heart failure, and use of TZD’s—both Avandia and Actos (Takeda’s pioglitazone).

Victoza Arrives on the US Market

February 19, 2010

Analysis of:Novo Nordisk Makes Victoza Commercially Available in the US | www.prnewswire.com

Novo Nordisk announced on February 16, 2010 that Victoza (liraglutide), its novel GLP-1 agonist, is commercially available in the US. The compound was approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes just weeks ago as both a monotherapy and as part of a combination therapy. The product was available in 90% of pharmacies across the US as of the launch date, and is covered by 80% of major health plans under tier 3 access.

View All GLG News ^SM Analyses by Kelly Close

Request a consultation with Kelly Close