Up to a third of U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050 if Americans continue to gain weight and avoid exercise, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The numbers are certain to go up as the population gets older, but they will accelerate even more unless Americans change their behavior, the CDC said.
Continue reading ‘Diabetes to Double or Triple in U.S. by 2050′
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’
The Big 3 drug wholesalers in the U.S.–AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health–are enjoying a financial boost this year thanks to the growing use of generic drugs. That’s a bus they hope to ride into 2011 and beyond, when they can expect drug distribution’s next big business-shaker: healthcare reform.
Continue reading ‘Drug Wholesalers Enjoy a Financial Boost This Year’
The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been shaken up lately, worried that multinational drugmakers will come in and completely take over their drug market. The fears aren’t unfounded; Big Pharma, after all, has been targeting the subcontinent as a key location for expansion, as sales-growth slows in the U.S. and Europe.
Continue reading ‘Pharma Protests Indian Licensing Proposal’
Yes, Star Trek geeks can rejoice. There is now a “cloaking device” for drug delivery. At least, that’s how researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst describe what they’re doing. In the current issue of Nature Chemistry, Vincent Rotello says he and his team can deliver a dormant toxin into a specific site such as a tumor for anti-cancer therapy, then chemically trigger the toxin to “de-cloak” and attack the Romul … I mean, tumor, from within.
Continue reading ‘Cloaking Device Boldly Delivers Toxins to Tumor’
Next year is shaping up to be slightly better for global pharma growth. But once again, it’s emerging markets leading the charge. According to IMS Health’s annual forecast, double-digit expansion in developing countries next year will make up for less-exciting growth in the U.S. and Europe.
Continue reading ‘China to Fuel Bigger Pharma Growth in 2011′
With all the buzz about Sanofi’s new Covance deal and its ongoing struggle to gain control of Genzyme, it was easy to overlook CEO Chris Viehbacher’s pipeline review for the Big Pharma company. Viehbacher has been engaged in a head-to-toe revamp of R&D from his first day at the helm. Late last week he pronounced the effort as still very much a work in progress. But he laid bare some key strategies that will drive partnerships and outsourcing plans for years to come–regardless of what happens with Genzyme.
Continue reading ‘Big Pharma’s Finding New Ways to Cut Costs and Speed Up Trials’
Pharma layoffs may have taken a summer break, but they’re back now with a vengeance. On the heels of Roche’s restructuring announcement, Abbott Laboratories says it plans to cut 3,000 jobs as it integrates Belgium’s Solvay Pharmaceuticals, which it bought earlier this year. Fortunately for Abbott’s legacy operations–and unfortunately for those at Solvay–the planned cutbacks will hit hardest at that company’s operations in Europe.
Continue reading ‘Layoffs Return with Abbott’s 3,000 Job Cuts’
Boehringer Ingelheim and co-marketer Pfizer could make a bid to capture more of the respiratory drug market. In a new study, the company’s Spiriva drug proved as effective as GlaxoSmithKline’s Serevent in helping asthmatic adults breathe better. Spiriva is currently approved for COPD, or smoker’s lung, so moving it into the asthma market could boost sales.
Continue reading ‘Will Boehringer’s Spiriva challenge Serevent?’
In its report on Suzhou Natong Bionanotechnology’s microneedle technology, the Wall Street Journal hits on an interesting problem in the drug-delivery world: Is it a device or a drug? Since often the delivery technology often enters the body along with the drug, the old categories often do not work.
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