Word of the Day

Commodity

Even if you don't think you do, you already know plenty about commodities. Want us to prove it? No problem.

What makes oil produced in Saudi Arabia different from oil exported from Nigeria? It's the same thing that makes the corn you ate at last summer¿s barbecue different from the corn used to produce ethanol. Stumped? Well, don't feel bad, it's a trick question. The answer? Absolutely nothing. Corn is corn no matter where it comes from -- just as wheat is wheat and natural gas is -- right! -- natural gas. (Though the quality may differ, the make-up is uniform.)

So, in less elaborate terms, corn and oil (and all other commodities) are homogenous goods that can be processed, resold and more often than not, used as an input to the production of other goods or services. These goods are traded on a commodity exchange, thus setting the price-per-barrel (or other metric unit) used to value them.

Now pay attention, here's a question that indeed does have an answer: What is the difference between a commodity and a stock? While a stock can tank and become worthless, a commodity cannot have its value be wiped to zero. One other difference: Most commodities are traded in futures, meaning traders buy and sell where they think the price of a product will be at a certain point in the future. Stocks trade based on the value of the underlying company at that point in time.

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Thursday, July 10, 2008

AstraZeneca Supports New PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Providers: Will Ensure Compliance to Benefit Patient Care

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WILMINGTON, Del., July 10, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) announced today that it fully supports PhRMA's revised code guiding the pharmaceutical industry's interactions with healthcare providers, including new guidelines on promotional items, meals and sponsorship of meetings.

The company is taking this step to increase its focus on activities that directly help healthcare providers improve the health of their patients. The new code takes effect January 1, 2009.

"The revised code complements our philosophy that any interaction with healthcare providers should be about providing information that helps them decide on the right medicines, for the right patients, at the right time," said Rich Fante, Vice President of Brand and Portfolio Operations at AstraZeneca. "We are in favor of changes that benefit patient care."

Under the new code, AstraZeneca will make the following changes:

Promotional items: In 2009, AstraZeneca's U.S. sales representatives will no longer distribute "reminder" items such as pens, pads of paper, tissues and hand soap as part of sales calls to healthcare providers. AstraZeneca sales representatives may still offer items designed for the education of patients or healthcare providers if they are not of substantial value, are offered infrequently and comply with all applicable laws. Examples include teaching models of organs or arteries, adherence materials, or patient assistance information.

Meals: Also in 2009, AstraZeneca U.S. sales representatives no longer will take healthcare providers to restaurants for meals. They still will be permitted to bring modest and occasional meals in healthcare offices and hospital settings for informational presentations, as well as participate in speaker programs that are held in public venues. These presentations provide up-to-date information on AstraZeneca products and other issues impacting patient care; ideally the timing of these presentations often occur at lunch time in an effort to eliminate any conflict with patient time.

Sponsorship of Meetings: AstraZeneca will continue to support Independent Medical Education (IME) events for healthcare professionals. As in the past, this support will be in the form of a grant to an independent provider and AstraZeneca will provide no guidance regarding content or faculty. Finally, AstraZeneca will not provide direct support for a meal at IME events.

AstraZeneca aligns with several of the guidelines set in the revised PhRMA code as part of our sales and marketing practices today. These principles include our practice of no entertainment for healthcare providers; limitations on the use of prescriber data; and most notably, the extensive training of and focus on the conduct of our sales representatives to ensure we compete with integrity and ethics. Please visit www.phrma.org for more information on the new code.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful prescription medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $29.55 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $13.35 billion dollar healthcare business with 12,200 employees committed to improving people's lives. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index. For more information visit www.astrazeneca-us.com.

SOURCE AstraZeneca

http://www.astrazeneca-us.com

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