Partners, Blue Cross reach agreement

Partners HealthCare, the parent organization of Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts have agreed to a new five-year contract that allows the hospitals to continue treating Blue Cross's 2.6 million members. A key piece of the contract, which begins Oct. 1, is that Partners can earn larger fees if it meets certain performance criteria. Partners, for example, can earn more money if it holds down cost increases in the areas of radiology and prescription drugs, and moves faster to adopt computerized physician order entry, which is believed to reduce medication errors, and electronic medical records. (Liz Kowalczyk)

Alkermes shares rise 21.4% on Lilly deal

Shares of Alkermes Inc., which repackages medicines for easier use, rose 21.4 percent after the company said Eli Lilly & Co. will finance late-stage studies of an insulin inhaler for diabetics. The inhaler, which uses a delivery technology developed by Cambridge-based Alkermes, would be an alternative for patients who don't want to take insulin by injection. Lilly has funded clinical trials of the product since 2001. Lilly decided to expand its investment after a phase 2 trial showed that the inhaled form of insulin worked as well as injections in controlling blood sugar in patients with type 1 diabetes. Alkermes spokeswoman Rebecca Peterson declined to reveal the size of Lilly's investment, though she said it was important for Alkermes, which has never made a profit. Shares of Alkermes rose $1.82 to $10.33. (Bloomberg)

Stent planned for US launch in 2006

Boston Scientific Corp. expects the US launch of its Taxus Liberte coronary stent in 2006, the company said in a quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Boston Scientific also said it will launch the next-generation drug-eluting stent in "certain international markets" next year. In the filing, the medical products company cautioned that recent recalls of another stent may undermine physician confidence in the product and hurt the company's bottom line. In another development, the Natick firm made a significant equity investment in privately held Northstar Neuroscience Inc. Financial terms weren't disclosed. The firm said Northstar, a medical device company, is developing a neurostimulation system for neurological diseases with the initial application focused on stroke treatment. (Dow Jones)

Mirant gets OK for partial shutdown

Energy company Mirant Corp. said in a quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the Independent System Operator of New England determined it could shut down certain portions of its Mirant Kendall LLC facility in Cambridge, but denied requests to shut down other parts of the plant. In April, Mirant Kendall applied to ISO New England to deactivate a combustion turbine and three steam generation units in Cambridge, saying the units don't produce enough revenue. It made another filing in June asking to deactivate its Kendall Jet #1 and to retire Kendall Jet #2. ISO New England approved the proposal for the turbine and Jet #2, but denied the other parts of the requests. A company spokesman said the company intends to close the facility Oct. 1. He couldn't immediately provide further details. The company must negotiate with ISO New England regarding an agreement to avoid any adverse effect from shutdowns of equipment, the filing said. (Dow Jones)

Raytheon missile cleared for production

Raytheon Co.'s new Tactical Tomahawk missile has been judged effective for combat operations by the Pentagon's primary testing office, paving the way for approval of a full-production contract worth at least $1.8 billion. Raytheon and the US Navy corrected quality lapses that caused some recent failures and tests showed the weapon is "operationally effective and lethal," Thomas Christie, the Pentagon's director of operational testing and evaluation, wrote July 13 to Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner in a previously undisclosed assessment. Christie's approval is necessary before the Pentagon can allow the $3.2 billion program to start full production with an initial five-year contract. The work is expected to be awarded within two weeks, said a Navy spokeswoman. (Bloomberg)

THE NATION
Registrations for IPO close tomorrow

Web search provider Google Inc. said registration for its auction-style initial public offering will be closed tomorrow at 5 p.m. The Mountain View, Calif., company said bidding on its shares "will commence soon thereafter," but wasn't more specific. Prospective investors must obtain a bidder identification number from a Google underwriter in order to participate in the online share auction, which is being led by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston. (Robert Weisman)

Profit in fourth quarter jumps 41%

Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of computer-networking equipment, said fourth-quarter profit rose 41 percent, bolstered by surging revenue from new businesses such as Internet phone calling and security. Net income rose to a record $1.38 billion, or 20 cents a share, from $982 million, or 14 cents, a year earlier, Cisco said. Sales rose 26 percent to $5.93 billion, the biggest increase in more than three years. Chief executive John Chambers boosted sales by moving into new technologies and consumer electronics as growth slowed in the routers and switches that make up about two-thirds of revenue. Excluding the cost of paying taxes for stock options that were exercised, and other expenses, Cisco had a profit of 21 cents. The company was expected to have a profit of 20 cents on sales of $5.89 billion, the average estimate of 35 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. (Bloomberg)

Calpers investments made 16.7%

Calpers, the biggest US pension fund, earned a 16.7 percent return on its investments in its fiscal year ending June 30, its best return in six years, the fund said. The gain of $22.7 billion brings the fund's market value to $166 billion, according to the California Public Employees' Retirement Fund. Calpers' return for its 2003-2004 fiscal year was its best since the 1997-1998 fiscal year, when the fund posted a 19.5 percent return, said fund spokesman Brad Pacheco. Calpers' best-performing portfolio over the past fiscal year was its corporate governance funds, which posted a 53.5 percent return, Pacheco said. (Reuters)

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Etc.

Boston-based Berkshire Realty Co. won approval for a $6.25 million settlement of a shareholder lawsuit that challenged a $1.32 billion plan to take the company private. The real estate investment trust was sold in late 1999 to investors including chairman Douglas Krupp for $660 million in cash, $600 million in debt, and $60 million in other costs. Shareholders sued, but after mediation agreed to resolve the case. . . . Boston Life Sciences Inc. said it may be removed from the Nasdaq market because it violated listing standards after its bid price closed below $1 for 30 consecutive trading days. The firm says if it is delisted, it would likely seek trading on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board. . . . Jordan Hershman, a securities litigator at Boston-based Testa, Hurwitz & Thiebault, joined Bingham McCutchen LLP, as the firm expands its broker-dealer and securities practice. Hershman, 43, joins the firm as a partner and senior member of its securities litigation group, focusing on securities-fraud class-action suits.(Globe wire services)