Archive for the 'Pharmacoeconomics' Category
July 1st, 2010 by admin
Drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants and prescription medications are more and more what people are choosing according to the United Nations Drug Report for 2010. The number using such drugs will eventually exceed those using opiates and cocaine. Drug use in developed countries has remained relatively stable says the document. But in developing countries it is increasing.
Continue reading ‘Synthetic Drug Users at Thirty to Forty Million’
June 22nd, 2010 by admin
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have for the first time differentiated human stem cells to become heart cells with cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle cells are abnormal. The discovery will allow scientists to learn how those heart cells become diseased and from there, they can begin developing drug therapies to stop the disease from occurring or progressing. The study is published in the June 9th issue of Nature.
Continue reading ‘Stem Cells Used to Create Abnormal Heart Cells’
June 17th, 2010 by admin
The scramble to come up with a faster and cheaper way to sequence a genome just got a credible new contender which aims to do the job for the bargain basement rate of $30. The first time scientists sequenced a human genome, the price tag hit $3 billion. That price point has quickly plunged to about $20,000, putting sequencing genomes for the purposes of drug discovery work within the reach of biopharma companies. But this new company, a spinoff from Harvard University dubbed GnuBio, says the trick to bringing sequencing within reach of most people on the planet revolves around deciphering fragments of DNA from droplets streaming through a tiny tube.
Continue reading ‘Genome Sequencing for $30 – A Harvard Spin-off Promise’
June 16th, 2010 by admin
Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Devices & Diagnostics segment has received more than a dozen regulatory approvals so far this year, and it plans to make approximately 80 significant submissions across its seven franchises between 2010 and 2012. In fact, the MD&D business segment, which generated $23.6 billion in sales in 2009 and became Johnson & Johnson’s largest business segment, holds the No. 1 or 2 market positions in the majority of its markets. These facts were emphasized in a business review, during which Alex Gorsky, worldwide chair of MM&D, said the company is “very pleased, but not satisfied.”
Continue reading ‘J&J Medical Devices & Diagnostics Segment Receives Significant Regulatory Approvals’
June 15th, 2010 by admin
What three trends are most important to pharma these days? Generics, emerging markets and personalized medicine, according to the Harvard Business Review. Branded generics are the wave of Big Pharma’s future, HBR says. These branded versions of off-patent meds sell at higher prices than regular generics do, but are cheaper than the branded meds themselves. They give a measure of assurance to patients worried about counterfeit meds–and to those concerned that unbranded generics won’t work as well as their branded counterparts. They also offer drugmakers a niche in emerging countries.
Continue reading ‘Pharma Trifecta: Generics, New Markets and Personalization’
June 9th, 2010 by admin
For the first time, human embryonic stem cells have been cultured under chemically controlled conditions without the use of animal substances, which is essential for future clinical uses. The method has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and is presented in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Continue reading ‘Stem Cell Culturing Breakthrough’
May 20th, 2010 by admin
Big Pharma companies know all too well that they have a big development problem. As Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter has said: “We’re taking too long, spending too much and producing far too little. Re-powering pharmaceutical innovation is an urgent need.”
Continue reading ‘Big Pharma Tries to Think Like a Biotech While Re-engineering R&D’
April 22nd, 2010 by admin
Roche intends to keep up its licensing pace even after its massive buyout of Genentech last year, which included gaining access to 16 Phase I or II programs the big Biotech had in its pipeline. Dan Zabrowski, head of partnering at the Swiss company, tells Bloomberg that Roche inked 65 deals last year and plans on pursuing just as many in 2010. Most of this year’s agreements will be licensing deals, though Zabrowski said a couple of acquisitions are also a possibility.
Continue reading ‘Roche: Still looking for deals in 2010′
April 16th, 2010 by admin
Before a new medication arrives on the market, it must be tested on animal models and in humans. In order to conduct these tests, a substantial amount of the therapeutically effective substances are needed — such as proteins or nucleic acids, for example. At the BIO International Convention 2010 in Chicago from May 3 to 6, Fraunhofer researchers will present several processes with which biomolecules can be harvested quickly, robustly, reliably and with versatility — and all processes comply with the GMP standard.
Continue reading ‘New Medications Faster: Harvesting Biomolecules More Quickly and Reliably’
April 6th, 2010 by admin
A federal judge struck down patents on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The decision, if upheld, could throw into doubt the patents covering thousands of human genes and reshape the law of intellectual property. United States District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet issued the 152-page decision, which invalidated seven patents related to the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations have been associated with cancer.
Continue reading ‘Judge Invalidates Human Gene Patent’
