Pharma Roundup: Schering-Plough Surveys Investors, Wyeth Defended, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Schering-Plough shareholders to have say on executive compensation -- The company will include a "say on pay" survey with its proxy reports to investors; the results will be released in the drug maker's 2010 proxy form. [Source: Pharamlot]

Predictions of U.S. drug sales lowered -- The research firm IMS has downsized its already-modest predictions for annual growth in the U.S. drug market, adjusting a 4-5% forecast increase to a mere 1-2%. Emerging markets continue to grow dramatically in importance, however. [Source: WSJ Health Blog]

McCain and Obama both promise hard line on pharma -- For all their differences, the two major presidential candidates plan to take on drug makers. Speaking on the election, one expert said that "we know one thing. We're going to have an administration that's hostile to the industry." [Source: The Daily Record, via PharmaGossip]

Lawyers condemn uninformed anti-Wyeth opinions -- Jim Beck and Mark Herrmann have written a thoughtful and insightful commentary on the Wyeth v. Levine preemption case, which continues to generate much interest in the run-up to next week's opening arguments. The two lawyers accuse the media of anti-Wyeth bias, and especially target the Journal of American Medicine, which ran an editorial on the case last week. [Source: Drug and Device Law]