Pharmacy - Articles
At the Financial Times Pharmaceutical Conference, David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca, gave the key note address , and issued what might be seen as a warning for those that see Big Pharma as a counter-cyclical safe-haven for investors, saying that it's true people need healthcare regardless of the economy," the economic recession will be " And the evidence is there that Big Pharma is imbibing some cost cutting medicine, with most of the major players reducing sales and marketing expenses, quite often through cuts in the sales force. But it could also be that the massive spend on DTC advertising (which is legal only in the USA and New Zealand will also see some diminution). According to…
But surely it must be easier for patients? Well, we thought so too, until we came across this recent news story that may be the start of an alarming trend. According to veritable news source Newsbiscuit.com, Moira Braithwaite, 52, of Dorking, Surrey, UK is celebrating her ninth successive Receptionist of the Month Award after preventing over 35,000 patients getting an appointment within 48 hours during the month of September alone. Click here to find out more. Let us know if you’ve come a…
The company, which is part of Merck KGaA, announced in the midst of the world’s greatest global economic downturn it had just made the biggest single investment in its corporate history. On top of the €1 billion it spends on R&D each year, hundreds of millions of euros are being ploughed into the construction of a state-of-the art facility to produce the company’s current and future biotechnology products. The existing site, where Merck Serono has produced its multiple sclerosis biotech product Rebif since 1999, has already achieved the ISO1401 international standard for environment…
Dr George Patino (aka Giorgio Giovanni Paticciano), 48 years old and a Mexican citizen by birth, was sentenced today at Kingston Crown Court to 3 years imprisonment. He is the latest in a group of businessmen engaged in a conspiracy to be prosecuted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in an operation known as Stormgrand. This operation led to convictions in one of the biggest conspiracies of the supply of counterfeit medicines of its kind in the UK. Over a period of nine months (February 2005 – October 2005) Dr Patino, with the help of his co-conspirator Ashish Halai, bought nearly $237,000 worth…
The importance of the Wholesale & Distribution sector of the pharmaceutical industry is often overlooked, but with the EU alone boasting some 3,000 pharmaceutical manufacturers producing some 50,000 products for 130,000 retail outlets, the supporting network provided by the wholesale distributor is essential to the healthcare industry. Visiongain believes that this sector of the industry is facing crisis, with the increasing use of the internet for direct sales, government imposed pricing controls in Europe and the proposed change in US re-importation law, the industry has been forced to re-assess many standard operational procedures. Visiongain further finds that The Wholesale an…
Parkinson's occurs as result of a loss of nerve cells in the part of the brain known as the substantia nigra. These cells are responsible for producing a chemical known as dopamine, which allows messages to be sent to the parts of the brain that co-ordinate movement. With the depletion of dopamine-producing cells, these parts of the brain are unable to function normally. The main symptoms of Parkinson's can also be symptoms of other disorders. Conditions that produce these symptoms are known collectively as parkinsonism. Parkinson's is the most common f…
Examining HE strategies and requirements in major markets and producing an effective pricing policy - 30th September/1st October 2008, BSG House, London, UK - Now in its seventh year, The Annual Pricing & Reimbursement conference will provide you with the information and analysis you need to understand the dynamics of the market and create an effective pricing policy for both the forthcoming year and subsequent strategic development. This 2-day event will assist in better planning and marketing strategy and enable you to share your insights on this evolving industry issue. Key Industry Speakers Include - Anne-Toni Rodgers, Dire…
Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia) is a PEGylated Fc-free anti-TNF alpha agent, administered subcutaneously, and currently licensed in the US and Switzerland for treatment of Crohn’s Disease. By not having the Fc region present in conventional anti-TNFs, Cimzia retains the potency of anti-TNFs without the possible cytotoxicity mediated by Fc. In…
Worldwide, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and the second most common in women – breast cancer being the most common. Almost one million men and 376,00 women die from the disease each year. Overall, five-year survival is about 16 per cent, which compares poorly to five-year survival rates for colon cancer (65 per cent), breast cancer (89 per cent) and…
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A new Report from Visiongain. “By 2010, almost 50 percent of children in North America and 38 percent of those in the European Union will be overweight, researcher has found”. For pharmaceutical companies looking to target growing successful markets, the anti-obesity drug treatment market offers unique opportunities. This high-level management report examines the commercial prospects for anti-obesity prescription drugs in the global healthcare market. With obesity now the most common nutritional disorder…
The hygiene hypothesis tries to explain why some people have allergies and some do not, and why the prevalence of allergic disorders has been increasing over the past century, especially in industrialised, developed countries. It suggests that the modern obsession with cleanliness may be counterproductive; in childhood, at least, resulting in the immune system becoming too sensitive to infection. Our reliance on antibacterial products with new born babies, has been linked to asthma and other allergic diseases. The Hygiene Hypothesis was first proposed by David P. Strachan in an article published in the BMJ…
This report will tell you. The report focuses on the market for following sleep disorders: • Insomnia • Restless legs syndrome (RLS) • Narcolepsy and • Obstructive Sleep Apnoea / Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS) More than 80 sleep disorders have been identified. They affect over 200 million people worldwide. The market penetration for insomnia drugs has not reached saturation point. Opportunities remain. But with the introduction of several new products the market is set to see cha…
A nationwide survey of over 2000 people found that a quarter of hay fever sufferers felt they were unable to blow their nose properly when in public. However, Dr Adrian Morris, a specialist in allergy and respiratory medicine at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital, explains “the only way to remove the irritant is by blowing into a tissue, thereby expelling the substance from your body.” Over half of respondents to the Kl…
Asthma is a condition that affects the airways – the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. When a person with asthma comes into contact with an asthma trigger, the muscle around the walls of the airways tightens so that the airway becomes narrower. The lining of the airways becomes inflamed and starts to swell. Often sticky mucus or phlegm is produced. All these reactions cause the airways to become narrower and irritated – leading to the symptoms of asthma. How do you get it? Asthm…
Bell Pottinger Group has formed Bell Pottinger Health, a new business dedicated to leading the expansion of its health franchise with Shipra Singh newly hired as Managing Director. Simultaneously the company has brought in a life science investor relations team led by Mike Wort. Bell Pottinger Health, which will report to Kevin Murray, Chairman of Bell Pottinger Group, will be led by De Facto Communications CEO Richard Anderson in the role of Chairman and by Shipra Singh, formerly of Hill & Knowlton, as Managi…
According to Dr Adrian Lloyd of the University of Warwick (UK) "We have reconsitiuted and biochemically characterised one of the steps essential to clinical resistance to penicillin in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Our data are likely to be extremely useful in the design of inhibitors of this step that will restore penicillin sensitivity to Streptococcal infections that have become resistant to this antibiotic. Because this step is conserved in other pathogens, there is…
In case you hadn’t noticed, mobile phone manufacturers – and the operators – are desperate to part you from your cash in return for a flash new device. So, to help you decide if you should give in to temptation, we have reviewed three of the latest smartphones that the market has to offer. There isn’t any industry standard definition as to what a smartphone actually is, so for the sake of this article, we’ll assume that a smartphone is a mobile phone with extra, PC-like functionality. And the products…
Roche announced today that the European Commission (EC) has given its approval for the significantly wider use of its anti-angiogenic agent Avastin (bevacizumab) in patients suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer. This new broader label will now allow Avastin to be used in combination with an…
Basel, 10th December 2007 – Experts attending the 30th San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) December 13-16, will be amongst the first to hear new data that highlight further advances in the treatment of breast cancer with Avastin, Herceptin, pertuzumab and Xeloda. Data to be presented will show that Avastin may have the potential to be used as a curative treatment following breast cancer surgery. Results from the randomized CHAT study (Xeloda, Herceptin and Taxotere), will show that Xeloda when added to Herceptin and docetaxel offers important survival benefits for women with advanced breast cancer. In addition, data…