Archive for the 'Disease' Category
July 27th, 2010 by admin
Oncologics, lipid regulators, respiratory agents, antidiabetics and anti-ulcerants are the five largest drug classes by sales. But annual sales are only half the story. Which drug classes are booming, and which have plateaued–or even dropped? IMS Health has released top-line industry data revealing the 15 largest drug classes, and we’ve crunched the numbers to take a closer look at the average sales growth of the 15 largest therapeutic classes over the last five years.
Continue reading ‘Fastest Growing Therapeutic Classes (by Sales)’
July 26th, 2010 by admin
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) is looking to its pipeline to fill the gaps left by a number of high-profile drugs coming off patent. In October 2011, blockbuster Zyprexa will fall to generic competition; additionally, about three-quarters of Lilly’s current revenue comes from eight drugs that will lose patent protection between now and 2017. ”We have the challenge of replenishing our product portfolio from our pipeline,” says CEO John Lechleiter in a USA Today interview. “Fortunately, we have the most exciting pipeline today in our history.”
Continue reading ‘Pipeline to Soften Lilly Patent Losses’
July 23rd, 2010 by admin
A group of scientists have demonstrated that specially engineered stem cells could be used to fights off AIDS, successfully testing the approach in mice engineered to develop immune systems similar to humans. The investigators started with the observation that a small group of people who are virtually immune to HIV have disabled CCR5 receptors on their immune cells–a door the virus uses to infect the cells. The scientists engineered stem cells with the ‘door’ essentially locked, then inserted them into the mice, where they developed into immune cells that were able to guard the mice against HIV.
Continue reading ‘Specially Engineered Immune Cells Ward off AIDS’
July 20th, 2010 by admin
In the quest for a cancer vaccine, Merck KGaA is again stepping into the ring. Vaximm Holding AG, the company’s joint venture with a Switzerland’s BB Biotech Ventures III, will start testing a therapeutic cancer vaccine in patients next year. The vaccine, VXM01, harnesses the body’s immune system to fight cancer by using T-cells to close off the tumor’s blood supply. Roche’s Avastin also focuses on the tumor’s blood supply, but it focuses on eliminating a protein that creates the blood vessels to the tumor.
Continue reading ‘Merck KGaA’s Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Ready for Testing’
July 14th, 2010 by admin
Chang Lu and his chemical engineering research group at Virginia Tech have discovered how to “greatly enhance” the delivery of DNA payloads into cells. The description of their work will be featured on the cover of Lab on a Chip, the premier journal for researchers in microfluidics. Lu’s ultimate goal is to apply this technique to create genetically modified cells for cancer immunotherapy, stem cell therapy and tissue regeneration.
Continue reading ‘New Spin on DNA Delivery: Enhanced Delivery Method of DNA Payloads into Cells’
July 13th, 2010 by admin
Gulf Coast native Kindra Arnesen is so anxious about the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill she is packing up her family and leaving town. “Stress? Dude my clothes are falling off me (because of weight loss). The level of stress here is tremendous. My husband has aged 10 years in two months,” Arnesen said on Friday as she loaded possessions into a van outside her trailer home in Venice.
Continue reading ‘Mental Health a Growing Concern after Gulf Spill’
July 9th, 2010 by admin
For someone with a severe, incurable lung disorder such as cystic fibrosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung transplant may be the only chance for survival. Unfortunately, it’s often not a very good chance. Matching donor lungs are rare, and many would-be recipients die waiting for the transplants that could save their lives.
Continue reading ‘Scientists Grow New Lungs Using ‘Skeletons’ of Old Ones’
July 8th, 2010 by admin
Building on research work undertaken in Germany, City of Hope investigators near LA have used modified stem cells loaded with gene sequences to fight off HIV. And the scientists in the study say that the work points to a possible cure for the dread virus, which has killed millions of people around the world.
Continue reading ‘Antiviral Stem Cell Squad Dispatched to Fight Deadly HIV’
July 7th, 2010 by admin
The clock is ticking on Pfizer’s final, 18-month countdown on its $11.5 billion Lipitor franchise, but analysts are growing increasing fretful about the pharma giant’s ability to find new drugs to fill the looming revenue chasm. Pfizer had to admit that it suspended a slate of osteoarthritis trials after its highly touted pain drug tanezumab–billed as the world’s first likely biologic for pain–was linked to potentially perilous safety issues. And that came just two days after the company had to pull the cancer therapy Mylotarg from the market.
Continue reading ‘Pfizer’s Litany of Pipeline Snafus Cause Analysts to Fret’
July 6th, 2010 by admin
A new, $50 million biomedical research lab has been completed at George Mason University near Washington D.C. and is being ramped up to study new therapies for infectious diseases–including a range of potential bioterror weapons. Once the 52,000-square-foot facility is licensed and fully operational in a few months, 50 people will be on site to handle the R&D work on infectious diseases as well as anthrax, plague, influenza and Rift Valley fever. It’s one of 13 biocontainment facilities that have been built with federal funds, and it features some state-of-the-art security systems as well as an air purification system that is designed to filter out any pathogens.
Continue reading ‘New Bio-terror Lab Will Target Infectious Disease Therapies’
