Specifically, Boston leads the way in embracing new research models (for example, Research at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT) and, in building a new research culture that has strong roots in academia and the pharma sector. A recent contribution of US$650 million as the philanthropic donation to Broad is the true testimony. It […]
pharmaceutical industry
Drug Review: Ibrance
Condition: Estrogen Receptor (ER)-Positive, HER2-Negative Postmenopausal Effectiveness: ★★★ Ease of Use: ★★★ Satisfactory Index: ★★★ Therapeautic drug, Ibrance (Chemical name: Palbociclib), recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February 2015, is intended to be paired with the hormonal therapy medicine Femara (Chemical name: Letrozole) as a comprehensive treatment for locally advanced-stage or metastatic, hormone-receptor-positive, HER2-negative […]
Accelerating Central Nervous System Trials
The incidence of Central Nervous System (CNS) illness is on the upswing and exacts a heavy human and economic toll. According to the World Health Organization, more than 120 million people worldwide suffer from depression, and the number is expected to rise. The occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease is slated to grow by more than 100 […]
Drug Discovery in Academia
Over the past decade there has been increasing pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to increase economic efficiencies in drug discovery. This has been driven by several factors including the increased costs of R&D, lower productivity, patent expiration, generic competition and the increasing difficulty in bringing new chemical entities to market. The extraordinary investment requirements have […]
Novel Genetic Vaccines
Edward Jenner’s work in developing the world’s first smallpox vaccine in the 1790s demonstrated that it was possible to protect the general population from major threats to public health, and vaccine development aimed at combating the major concerns of the day has continued ever since. There have been many successes, and vaccines are now available […]
Next Generation Pharmacovigilance
In an environment where development costs have increased exponentially while filings and launches have dropped drastically, the pharmaceutical industry and drug regulators face numerous challenges in Pharmacovigilance (PV), patient safety and in addressing areas of unmet medical needs. This combination of issues not only adds unsustainable access restrictions and costs in the long term, but […]
Breaking Down Borders
If you had run into Mark Engel, CEO and founder of Excel PharmaStudies, at the recent 2008 China Pharmaceutical R&D Summit at Shanghai, you would realise that even the young biotech industry in Asia is not immune to the rapid globalisation of drug discovery and development. Excel, a leading CRO, was started by a western […]
Metabolic Biomarker and Target Discovery in Obesity-Associated Comorbidities
Millions of adults are diagnosed as obese each year worldwide. Many of these people suffer from a disorder known as metabolic syndrome, which includes symptoms such as hypertension and elevated blood cholesterol. They are also at risk of developing additional diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes mellitus. Obesity may, in fact, be a major […]
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Outsourcing preclinical and clinical R&D to China
China has emerged from the shadows of isolation to become a world economic power with a staggering growth rate (8% per annum for the past five years) that will soon eclipse the likes of France and England. Low-cost manufacturing and the availability of inexpensive and abundant labour have fuelled this growth. However, in order to […]
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The Arab Drug Industry
In response to the 21st century challenges to the health sector, WHO established an important global commission on Macroeconomics and Health. One of the important conclusions of the commission report indicated that by the year 2015, the world could save up to 10.5 million lives every year by scaling up access to existing health interventions […]