Washington.– Decision Resources, Inc, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and health care issues, announced its list of the top five key healthcare events of 2005.

5. Reference pricing for statins begins in Germany – government imposed price represents the highest level of reimbursement for a drug, if a drug price exceeds the reference price, patients are required to pay the difference out-of-pocket. Pfizer fought reference pricing for their drug in court, called Sortis in Germany (Lipitor in most other markets), and lost.

4. The approval of NitroMed's BiDil for the treatment of heart failure in African-American patients – the first agent ever to receive FDA approval based on its performance in a particular race.

3. Biogen Idec and Elan withdrawal of Tysabri for the treatment of multiple sclerosis – hailed by physicians and industry analysts as a promising new approach to treating the disease, it was found that 3 patients being treated with the drug developed a rare and often fatal viral infection.

2. Medicare Part D – final regulations released and enrollment begins – the large coverage gap has provoked widespread criticism that the plan does not sufficiently achieve its goals of expanding available drug coverage to Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom have large prescription drug bills and will need to fund much of the cost of their medications.

And the number one key healthcare event that happened in 2005:

1. Vioxx Withdrawal Prompts FDA Reform and Legal Battles "The first 3 trials that Merck defended against ended in a loss, a win, and a mistrial – they face thousands more," said Jennifer Moniz Carpenter, research program manager at Decision Resources. "Merck found itself financially strained by the ongoing legal battles and, at the end of November, announced a reorganization that eliminated 7,000 jobs throughout the company and closed five manufacturing plants."

A full discussion of the top ten major healthcare events of 2005 can be found in the new Spectrum article entitled 2005 News in Review: Important Changes for the Pharmaceutical Industry.