Articles

Pharma NewsBytes is LeadDiscovery’s selection of recent press releases for the drug development. Currently featured news items include those announcing promising clinical data for Antigenics' pancreatic cancer Oncophage vaccine; FDA backing for Forest's new Alzheimer's disease drug, Memantine; early figures on the sale of AstraZeneca's anti-cholerstremic drug Crestor; and FDA approval of Pfizer's potential blockbuster, Inspira for the treatment of congestive heart failure
LeadDiscovery's intelligence service, DailyUpdates has evolved as a key tool to help all in the drug development sector keep track of breaking journal articles, press releases and pharmaceutical reports. Pharma NewsBytes features selected press releases recently featured on DailyUpdates and offers the reader a leisurely st…

Worldwide, 95 million people suffer from wounds that result in tissue loss. Wound healing problems extend hospital stays, especially in the elderly, resulting in an additional $1.5 billion in healthcare costs in the US alone. LeadDiscovery’s current target of the month focuses on connexin43, blocking of which produces a dramatic improvement in wound healing. In this feature we also describe how antisense technology has been applied to develop a licensing opportunity in this area
Worldwide, an estimated 95 million people suffer from wounds that result in tissue loss. While acute wounds heal uneventfully, chronic wounds such as ulcers do not and often persist for months or years. In the case of the elderly, average hospital stays are increased by at least one week, resulting in an additional…

"Emerging Drug Discovery Targets" summarizes the most exciting breaking information recently featured by the pharmaceutical analysts, LeadDiscovery. This edition explores recent advances in the use of siRNA technology in oncology, new molecular targets for the treatment of diabetes and advances in the development of GSK-3 inhibitors. Recent preselected press releases are also highlighted and as usual new licensing opportunities, breaking publications and new industry reports are all identified.
"Emerging Drug Discovery Targets" provides a twice monthly summary of some of the most exciting breaking information recently featured by the pharmaceutical analysts, LeadDiscovery. Information includes editorials on recently published journal articles, selected press releases and "intelligence repor…

Proof of concept studies have accumulated supporting the targeting of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) for the treatment of diabetes and CNS conditions. Now inhibitors are emerging as therapeutic candidates
Since the mid-1990s there has been a near exponential rise in the level of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) related research. Consequently the therapeutic potential of GSK-3 inhibitors has become a major area of pharmaceutical interest. To mark this surge in interest, LeadDiscovery have recently produced a full report "Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) inhibitors:Proof of concept and therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, stroke & bipolar disorders" (click here for access). The inhibition of GSK-3 offers considerable potential for the treat…

"Ghrelin: Pharmaceutical & Therapeutic Opportunities for the Treatment of Obesity" represents a cutting edge analysis of why and how ghrelin should be targeted for the identification of new therapies for obesity
lt is estimated that somewhere between 34 and 61 million people in the US are obese and in much of the developing world this incidence is increasing by about 1% per year. As a general guide, obesity increases the likelihood of death from all causes by 20%, and plays a major role in the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and gall bladder disease. Following the withdrawal of early treatments, the market for anti-obesity pharmaceuticals was reestablished in November 1997, when the FDA approved Abbott's sibutramine (Reductil/Meridia), for use in obesity, and still f…

‘Drug Rep Success’ is the most complete of the numerous books published in the last 18 months or so that purport to offer guidance to the wannabe Medical Sales Rep and enhance the productivity of the established rep.
Alex Anderson’s ‘Drug Rep Success’ Every morning here at Pharmiweb Towers, as the dawn breaks over the rolling fields of glamorous Bracknell, it is with dismay that the editorial inbox is opened to reveal several hundred unsolicited e-mails. A scene that perhaps all office bound workers who have never been to Bracknell can associate with but on opening with a sigh the first of these mails the experience of the average Pharmiweb editor suddenly veers from the norm and enters a parallel universe where deleting opportunities to exploit the financial prescience of widowed Nigeria…

Pharmiweb's first online recruitment training day saw a group of seasoned recruiters and HR professionals studying and workshopping ideas for more effective online recruitment in a one day session.
Introduction – Vincent LodyFocusing on making the case for online recruitment, this could be seen as preaching to the converted but there are myths that need dispelling. Case studies from Carlsberg-Tetley and Asda were employed to illustrate how seriously online recruitment is now taken by major companies and a recent survey from Workthing.com was used to address the myths that surround the practice, including the following: - The market is stalling - Users are trendy techies - Users are junior, young employees - Users dislike interacting via e-mail - Users don’t apply to…

The medical community is quickly evolving its understanding of menopause. Following the abrupt, early halt to the HRT portion of the Women's Health Initiative last July, due to findings that Hormone Replacement Therapy's risks outweighed its benefits, headlines now read
The medical community is quickly evolving its understanding of menopause. Following the abrupt, early halt to the HRT portion of the Women's Health Initiative last July, due to findings that Hormone Replacement Therapy's risks outweighed its benefits, headlines now read "Menopause is not a disease, but a normal part of life." Hormone "replacement" therapy (HRT) has become simply hormone "therapy" (HT) in recognition of the fact that replacing estrogen is not natural and brings dangerous side-effects, rather than the fountai…

Tim Taylor, Chief Business Development Officer at McLaren, looks at the role that IT can play in the improvement of process automation and control to positively benefit business strategies. An effective information management strategy can support companies, rather than hamper them, enabling them to build an organisation and systems that can manage extended global business applications in a compliant and efficient fashion.
Tim Taylor, Chief Business Development Officer at McLaren, looks at the role that IT can play in the improvement of process automation and control to positively benefit business strategies. An effective information management strategy can support companies, rather than hamper them, enabling them to build an organisation and systems that can manage extended global business…

Research towards the development of ion channel modulators is booming. One exciting target is the Kv1.3 voltage activated potassium channel. Expressed by human T lymphocytes Kv1.3 is involved in proliferation and cytokine secretion. Animal studies have established Kv1.3 as a target for the unmet multiple sclerosis (MS) market. Further key proof of concept data has now emerged demonstrating the selective expression of this channel in myelin-reactive effector memory T cells from MS patients
Target of the Month, (from TherapeuticAdvances, August, 2003): As research into ion channels continues to identify novel targets for multiple and diverse diseases, therapeutic successes surrounding the development of channel modulators will boom (for a full overview of this area, Click here to access Ion…

Pharma NewsBytes is LeadDiscovery's summary of news items released from the pharmaceutical and biotech sector over the previous two weeks. This week we feature the FDA's backing of the statin, Crestor; a new agreement based on the development of HDAC inhibitors which could leed to imporved cancer therapeutics; a novel and highly promising approach to metabolic disease announced by Roche; emerging clinical data on what appears to be an effective treatment of primary liver cancer and more.....
LeadDiscovery's intelligence service, DailyUpdates has evolved as a key tool to help all in the drug development sector keep track of breaking journal articles, press releases and pharmaceutical reports. Pharma NewsBytes features selected press releases recently featured on DailyUpdates and offers the…

The pharmaceutical industry is currently sinking considerable resources into the treatment of autoimmune disorders. One new candidate target is the histone deacetylase, HDAC7, reviewed in LeadDiscovery’s Target of the Month for July. HDAC7 inhibits Nur77 expression, a key regulator of T cell receptor mediated T cell apoptosis. Blocking HDAC7 can potentialy enhance apoptosis of autoreactive T cells and HDAC7 inhibitors may therefore be candidate treatments of autoimmune disorders.
Over 50 different autoimmune diseases have been identified, some of which are common (eg rheumatoid arthritis) while other are very rare. According to some analysts, new therapeutic approaches will drive the market for autoimmune disorders to grow at a rate of over 15%, to a value of over $21 billion by 2006. Th…

Statins have become the gold standard in the treatment of dyslipidemia, accounting for approximately 60% of treatments prescribed to patients with coronary heart disease in the late 1990s. However, wi
Statins have become the gold standard in the treatment of dyslipidemia, accounting for approximately 60% of treatments prescribed to patients with coronary heart disease in the late 1990s. However, with these drugs limited in their ability to lower LDL cholesterol to the target recommended by the National Institutes of Health an opportunity awaits for a therapy able to achieve this goal. In the Market Brief 'Statin Adjunct Therapy: Zetia, Revenue Protection For Zocor?' Datamonitor examines Zetia, the first in a new class of cholesterol-lowering agents to reach the market in the past 15 year…

Eli Lilly and Company is set to launch Cymbalta into the depression and stress urinary incontinence markets in mid-2003. Datamonitor analyzes whether the company most synonymous with the antidepressan
Eli Lilly and Company is set to launch Cymbalta into the depression and stress urinary incontinence markets in mid-2003. Datamonitor analyzes whether the company most synonymous with the antidepressant market can become a key player again and challenge the position of established compounds such as Wyeth's Effexor. The Market Brief "Duloxetine - The Next Blockbuster Antidepressant?" evaluates the current data for Cymbalta (duloxetine) in both depression and stress urinary incontinence and examines the drug in comparison to key rivals, such as Wyeth's Effexor. The Brief also considers the…

An extensive study carried out by Frost & Sullivan has revealed the tremendous potential for e-Detailing technology in Australia.
An extensive study carried out by Frost & Sullivan has revealed the tremendous potential for e-Detailing technology in Australia. E-Detailing is the latest approach, especially in the United States and Europe, for promoting pharmaceutical products among healthcare professionals. To unravel the immense potential of e-Detailing in the Australian market, Frost & Sullivan interviewed physicians to gauge their perceptions about the pharmaceuticals market in the country with a special emphasis on their views on current sales and promotional activities. E-Detailing is likely to be the first step toward a network-oriented approach to product promotions in the h…

Switzerland has been a major force in the development of new medicines for over a century. Around 5% of current global pharmaceutical R&D is attributable to Swiss companies.
An international outlook Switzerland has been a major force in the development of new medicines for over a century. Switzerland’s success has been due to its well-established pharmaceutical industry, but this innovative capacity is now being supplemented by a burgeoning biotech industry. The Swiss companies have always had an international outlook and this has been an important contributor to their success. For example, within 15 years of its formation in 1896, Roche opened affiliates in France, Germany, Italy, the USA, the UK and Russia. Swiss companies have now established their presence in over 100 countries, with…

Many of our candidates benefited from the previous book, and we are sure that the new edition will build on this success
Professor Peter Stonier was delighted to be asked to edit the updated version of “Careers with the Pharmaceutical Industry”. Peter is the Medical Director at AXESS, the Resourcing Solutions business that specialises in the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Healthcare industries. Since the first book “Discovering New Medicines” was published nine years ago, it has been seen as a bible for those interested in starting, or further developing, a career in the Pharmaceutical industry. 28 authors, experts in their fields, have contributed to the book. It gives background and advice on a wide number of roles in research and development, marketing and sales. Sue Ransom, Dire…

The healthcare industry has utilized the Internet most recently as both a marketing tool and as a facility to pass on important medical information. Leading drug maker Abbott Laboratories will be look
The healthcare industry has utilized the Internet most recently as both a marketing tool and as a facility to pass on important medical information. Leading drug maker Abbott Laboratories will be looking to increase media exposure for its rheumatoid arthritis treatment after launching a dedicated website for the drug. Other websites created were designed to offer additional sources of information for patients suffering from illnesses as serious as cancer to those with allergies and asthma. Online healthcare information Online colorectal cancer resource launches HealthTalk Interactive has…

Over the past decade, behavioral disorders have received increasing attention, both from the media and medical professionals, however only attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has emerged as a key
Over the past decade, behavioral disorders have received increasing attention, both from the media and medical professionals, however only attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder has emerged as a key market. Poor awareness and low treatment rates have in the past limited market opportunity, but pharmaceutical companies should be aware that the new understanding of behavioral disorders will lead to increased potential in the sector. In Behavioral Disorders: Opportunities to shape future markets , Datamonitor examines today's behavioral disorder market, providing key insight into why this s…

Asthma drives a large but competitive market. Current therapeutics are generally effective but patient compliance is often poor. Future commercial successes in the asthma arena will likely focus on mo
From 1980 to 1996, the number of Americans afflicted with asthma more than doubled to almost 15 million, with children under five years old experiencing the highest rate of increase. The steady rise in the prevalence of asthma constitutes an epidemic, which by all indications is continuing. Even if rates were to stabilize, asthma would continue to be a profound public health problem, responsible for 9 million visits to health care providers per year, over 1.8 million emergency room visits per year, and over 460 thousand hospitalizations per year. As well as placing a considerable burden in ter…