Tag Archive for 'nanobiotechnology'

Fastest Growing Therapeutic Classes (by Sales)

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 [...]

Pipeline to Soften Lilly Patent Losses

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 [...]

New Spin on DNA Delivery: Enhanced Delivery Method of DNA Payloads into Cells

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 [...]

Synthetic Drug Users at Thirty to Forty Million

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 [...]

GE Healthcare invests $5M in CardioDx

GE Healthcare has entered an alliance with CardioDx to co-develop diagnostic technologies to improve the care and management of patients with cardiovascular disease. Building on the alliance, the GE Healthymagination Fund, a new equity fund that makes investments in highly promising healthcare technology companies, has invested $5 million in CardioDx as part of a Series [...]

DNA Could be Backbone of Next-Generation Logic Chips

In a single day, a solitary grad student at a lab bench can produce more simple logic circuits than the world’s entire output of silicon chips in a month. So says a Duke University engineer, who believes that the next generation of these logic circuits at the heart of computers will be produced inexpensively in [...]

New Nerve Stem Cells — Even in Old Age

After birth the brain loses many nerve cells and this continues throughout life — most neurons are formed before birth, after which many excess neurons degenerate. However, there are some cells that are still capable of division in old age — in the brains of mice, at least. According to scientists from the Max Planck [...]

Biotech Companies Qualify for $1B in Cash Grants

The recently enacted healthcare reform legislation provides up to $1 billion in tax credits and cash grants for life sciences companies with 250 or fewer employees that have made or will make “qualified investments” in “qualifying therapeutic discovery projects” during 2009 and 2010. Credits and grants will be awarded through a competitive application process which [...]

Nanoscale Probe May Help Insert Medication into Cell Wall

Researchers at Stanford University have created a nanoscale probe that can be implanted into a cell wall without damaging the wall. The probe can then be used to listen to electrical signals within the cell, as well as possibly provide a way to attach neural prosthetics or to insert medication inside the cell.

Toward Making the Blind See: Gene Therapy Restores Vision in Mice

Scientists from Buffalo, Cleveland, and Oklahoma City made a huge step toward making the blind see, and they did it by using a form of gene therapy that does not involve the use of modified viruses. In a research report published in the April 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists describe how they [...]