Big Pharma is a global business, with a host of players scattered throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia. But Big Biotech was born and bred in the U.S. And despite considerable international diversification, the industry still has made-in-the-USA stamped into its DNA.
According to recent research the color, shape, taste and even name of a tablet or pill can have an effect on how patients feel about their medication. Choose an appropriate combination and the placebo effect gives the pill a boost, improves outcomes and might even reduce side effects. Now, researchers at the University of Bombay, New Mumbai, India, have surveyed users of over-the-counter (OTC) medication to find out just how much the color of a tablet influences patient choice.
Continue reading ‘Color and Shape of Pills Affects How Patients Feel About Medication’
Handheld devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the iPod Touch are prevalent among doctors. However a recent study shows that these devices may be particularly useful for emergency radiologists, who in the near future, may be able to use them for teleconsultation and emergency procedures, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Continue reading ‘Handheld Medical Devices Show Promise in Radiology’
The Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital recently implanted a patient with two of the smallest experimental ventricular assist devices (VADs) currently available for study in humans. VADs are designed to assist either the right (RVAD) or left (LVAD) ventricle, or both (BiVAD) at once. This is the first time that two Heartware™ VADs have been implanted in the left and right ventricles anywhere in North America — a “game changer” in the realm of heart assist devices according to Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, chief of the hospital’s Division of Cardiac Surgery and director of the hospital’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
Continue reading ‘Small Assist Device Used in Emergency Case as Twin, Heart Booster Pumps’
By the end of day Friday shares of Human Genome Sciences ($HGSI) had been trimmed 11 percent as investors fretted over the implications of an FDA staff analysis of its lupus drug Benlysta, which goes in front of an expert panel today.
University of Utah (U of U) medical researchers have uncovered a wiring diagram that shows how the brain pays attention to visual, cognitive, sensory, and motor cues. The research provides a critical foundation for the study of abnormalities in attention that can be seen in many brain disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit disorder.
The FDA’s marathon run toward a new set of regulations to govern the development of biosimilars is official. Regulators will host their first public meeting on follow-on drug regs, and you can expect to hear plenty from big companies like Amgen on the need for lengthy and expensive clinical trials.
Continue reading ‘Amgen Proposes Key Hurdles for Biosimilar Regs’
Underscoring the rapid global shift of drug R&D into China, Eli Lilly announced plans to set up a new research center in Shanghai that will initially hire up about 100 scientists and support staff to explore new therapies for diabetes and its twin co-morbidities–obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Allergan has done it. The FDA finally approved its wrinkle-fighter Botox as a treatment for migraines. The new indication could add $1 billion to its current annual sales of $1.3 billion, analysts say. “This is the most meaningful market expansion that the product has had since it was approved for cosmetic use,” Piper Jaffray’s David Amsellem tells Bloomberg.
Continue reading ‘New Migraine Use for Botox Could be Worth $1B’
Venture capital investments declined sharply in the third quarter of 2010, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. Venture capitalists invested $4.8 billion in 780 deals in the third quarter of 2010; these numbers reflect a decline in quarterly investment activity of 31 percent in terms of dollars, as well as a decline of 19 percent in number of deals compared to the second quarter of 2010 when $6.9 billion was invested in 962 deals.
Continue reading ‘Biotechnology Continues to Bring in Significant Funding’
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