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Tue. Jan. 17, 2012 Novartis cuts won’t affect Cambridge A cutback by Swiss drug giant Novartis AG will pare 1,630 US sales jobs but won’t affect the planned expansion of Novartis research and drug development operations in Cambridge, the company said this morning. A Novartis spokesman said the latest round of layoffs stemmed partly from the loss of a Novartis patent for Diovan, a hypertension drug. The company’s Cambridge operations employ more than 2,000 workers, and the plan is to add 300 jobs over the next five years.	Advertisement
Boston Conservatory buys Fenway property for $5.1 million The Boston Conservatory announced the $5.1 million purchase of 132 Ipswich St., a Fenway neighborhood property located less than a quarter mile from the school’s main building. The property will be developed to house performance, instructional, and student service areas. “As a multi-disciplinary performing arts conservatory, we have a highly specialized curriculum with very specific classroom, studio, and performance space needs,” Boston Conservatory president Richard Ortner said. “This building project will allow us to address our current needs.”
Ocean Spray, PepsiCo announce strategic alliance in Latin America Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. and soda-and-beverage giant PepsiCo Inc. have formed a strategic alliance in Latin America that will give PepsiCo exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute a portfolio of cranberry- and blueberry-based beverages through its Latin America Beverages division. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ocean Spray, a growers cooperative with headquarters in Lakeville, noted that it has had business relationship with PepsiCo in the United States since 2006.
MBA billboard ads urge voters to support more funding for the state’s court system The Massachusetts Bar Association, or MBA, is launching an unprecedented marketing campaign that seeks to persuade voters to urge their legislators to approve additional spending for the state’s court system. Billboard ads urge motorists to visit the association’s website at www.massbar.org, which features videos that describe the effects of underfunded courts. Association president Richard P. Campbell said: “Understandably, the average citizen may not appreciate the irreplaceable role courts play in their security, livelihood, and freedoms. This significant communication will attempt to change that.”
Mass. gas prices are up another 3 cents The average price for gas in Massachusetts was $3.409 a gallon in the latest weekly survey from AAA, up 3 cents a gallon from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said yesterday. It was the fourth straight week of increases. The national average for gas is $3.38 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average was $3.09 a gallon.
Constellation Pharma teams up with Genentech Constellation Pharmaceuticals Inc. said that it has entered into a major strategic agreement with Genentech, a California-based member of the Roche Group, to launch a broad collaboration based on the science of epigenetics and chromatin biology to discover and develop treatments for cancer and other serious diseases. Under the agreement, Cambridge-based Constellation said it will receive committed funding of $95 million. Genentech has a future option to acquire all outstanding shares of Constellation based on pre-negotiated terms.
Conference on bankruptcy set for Monday Attorneys and credit counselors are gearing up for a meeting on bankruptcy as the number of consumer bankruptcy filings is declining both nationwide and in Massachusetts, says American Consumer Credit Counseling, a Newton-based nonprofit that offers consumer credit counseling services and that plans to attend the meeting. The meeting, set for Monday at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, is a regional conference of the American Bankruptcy Institute, or ABI, a nonpartisan group focused on research and education related to insolvency.
Reebok debuts CrossFit marketing campaign Reebok, the Canton-based athletic footwear and apparel brand, is debuting a marketing campaign titled “The Sport of Fitness Has Arrived.” At the center of the campaign is CrossFit, a strength and conditioning program that was the subject of a recent Globe story. CrossFit combines sprinting, gymnastics, powerlifting, kettlebell training, weightlifting, rowing, and medicine ball training, among other activities. The program is gaining traction as one of the fastest-growing fitness movements in the United States.
After storm outages, Mass AG seeks tougher laws Attorney General Martha Coakley wants the state to do more to compensate utility customers who suffer lengthy power outages after severe storms. In a letter sent this week to a legislative committee, Coakley proposed changing state law to require that any penalties paid by utilities after power outages be returned directly to consumers in the form of rate credits. The attorney general has also proposed doing away with an existing cap on penalties that can be imposed on utilities.
Mass. travel office unveils text-messaging program that alerts skiers with smartphones to special deals In collaboration with many of the state’s ski areas, the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism has just launched a program that enables the ski areas to promote themselves to smartphone users. Consumers who visit www.massvacation.com/winterfun and then click on “Hit the Slopes” can sign up for a service that will send them text-messages about special deals and discounts. The program is launching just before the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, typically a popular time for ski areas.
Newport Grand seeks city gambling referendum NEWPORT, R.I. -- Newport Grand has asked city officials to seek approval from the General Assembly to put a table-gambling referendum before Newport voters. The Newport Daily News and Providence Journal report that Diane Hurley, chief executive and co-owner, wrote to the council that Newport Grand could not survive as is in competition with a resort casino in the Fall River area. Massachusetts lawmakers and Governor Deval Patrick legalized casinos in November.