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Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Canadian drug plan on hold

Pittsburgh-based Managed Care of America's pharmacy benefits management subsidiary, EBRx, said yesterday that it was shelving plans to help corporate group health plan clients benefit from cheaper Canadian prescription prices. A day after EBRx announced its arrangements with a Canadian mail order partner, news reports said a letter from the federal Food & Drug Administration suggested companies and insurers caught funneling employee-prescription orders across the border could be subject to legal action. Managed Care and EBRx officials cited the letter for their decision to table plans for at least a month.

Celebrities have designs on T-shirts

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. has recruited six young celebrities to design T-shirts for the Marshall-based clothing store's spring collection. The promotion includes "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville, Kirsten Dunst from "Spiderman" and Mila Kunis of "That 70s Show." The shirts will be sold online beginning in early April. A portion of proceeds from the sale will go to charity.

Take a 'Gander' at camping store

Work should begin next month on an 83,000-square-foot Gander Mountain hunting, fishing and camping store at Washington Crown Center in Washington, Pa. The store will be the largest in the Pittsburgh area for the Minnesota chain, which also has locations in Moon, West Mifflin and Greensburg.

Patent targets cystic fibrosis

Demegen Inc., a small Braddock Hills biotechnology firm that told the Securities & Exchange Commission in February that its survival was in doubt, said yesterday that it received a patent for a method of treating cystic fibrosis. The company develops peptides for treatment of infectious diseases.

Also in business ...

A bankruptcy court agreed to give Adelphia Communications Corp. until June 20 to submit its reorganization plan and until Aug. 21 to solicit votes from creditors ... PNC Financial Corp.'s director of corporate communications, R. Jeep Bryant, left the bank Friday to take a similar post with Bank of New York, a spokesman confirmed. Bryant joined PNC from the former First Union Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., in July 1999. A successor hasn't been named.