NEWS IN BRIEF

— Pfizer settlement nets

Arkansas $945,406

Thirty-four state attorneys general, including Arkansas’ Dustin McDaniel, have reached a $42.9 million settlement with Pfizer Inc. to resolve allegations that the company unlawfully promoted its drugs Zyvox and Lyrica, McDaniel said Wednesday.

Arkansas will receive $945,406 as its share of the settlement.

McDaniel argued that Pfizer, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, violated state law by deceptively marketing both drugs to Arkansas medical providers. Pfizer is said to have made misleading and unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of Zyvox over a similar antibiotic.

Moreover, McDaniel claimed that Pfizer illegally promoted Lyrica for off-label uses.

  • David Smith Delta agency to fund

business incubator

The Delta Regional Authority plans to give more than $185,000 to an economic center in El Dorado to help support small businesses in Union, Ashley, Bradley and Chicot counties, the agency said Wednesday.

The money will help start the El Dorado Incubator Environment business accelerator, a program that will develop space for 20 businesses in two houses on West Cedar Street, a spokesman for the authority said. The center is expected to open next summer.

One house will be for local businesses and the other for a student business that will print designs on T-shirts. The students who work with the program will receive credit in the business school at South Arkansas Community College.

The center will also offer one-on-one development help for people starting a small business or attempting to restructure their business.

The program is a partnership with the Delta Regional Authority, South Arkansas Community College and the Arkansas Women’s Business Center.

  • Jessica Seaman Index tumbles 2.32 to close at 244.03

The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 2.32 to 244.03 Wednesday.

“U.S. stocks ended mixed, reversing substantial gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke revealed QE4 [quantitative easing], leaving the market unimpressed,” said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.

BGB Securities of McLean, Va., initiated coverage of Bank of the Ozarks and Home Banc-Shares with a “hold” rating for each bank. Both dropped slightly in belowaverage trading.

The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.

Business, Pages 25 on 12/13/2012

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