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Back in 2000, I was really, really excited. Had I got a date with Kylie Minogue? No. Had West Ham won the Champions League? Not likely. I was excited because I thought I had discovered the best investment sector in the market -- life sciences.
Back in 2000, I was really, really excited. Had I got a date with Kylie Minogue? No. Had West Ham won the Champions League? Not likely. I was excited because I thought I had discovered the best investment sector in the market -- life sciences. How could I lose? The potential of new technologies such as genomics and monoclonal antibodies appeared to be huge. On top of that, I knew that most people in the developed world were living longer and becoming richer too. Buying shares in drugs companies was close to a sure thing! As time went on, I began…

PharmiWeb recently asked Merck to provide some insight into what it was like to work as a sales rep for their company. Rather than just telling us what they thought we wanted to hear, they took the more open approach of asking their team for "real life" comments, and then gave us their rather impressive raw responses, with no additions or changes.
1. OPPORTUNITIES The small size of the company means that everyone is recognised as a person who plays a vital role in the success of their territory and region, and individual successes, however small, are noted. Merck is also constantly giving me opportunities to progress within the company.We have an excellent portfolio, products that save lives and that I genuinely believe in.Autonomy and recognition for sales successes.Supportive managers, w…

Genentech and Biogen Idec announced yesterday that the FDA has approved Rituxan (Rituximab) for use as a treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Hopefully this news will mark the start of a new era in the treatment of autoimmune disease.
DailyUpdates March 1st, 2006: Genentech and Biogen Idec announced yesterday (press release) that the FDA has approved Rituxan (Rituximab) in combination with methotrexate to reduce signs and symptoms in adult patients with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies. Approved by the FDA in November 1997, Rituxan was the first therapeutic antibody approved for treating cancer in the . A supplemental Biological License Application (sBLA) was approved for Rituxan in April 2001, a…

ICON’s core competency is project management, built up over the last fifteen years managing complex projects and underpinned by comprehensive and consistent processes which conform to the ISO9001:2000 quality certification.
1. Can you describe ICON for me in a single sentence? ICON is a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.2. How and when did ICON start? ICON was founded in 1990 by Dr. John Climax and Dr. Ronan Lambe. Originally launched with just five staff all based in Dublin, we grew organically for our first 10 years, making our first acquisition in 2000. We now have 3000 staff operating from 41 offices across 27 countries. 3. Why do you think ICON is so successful?The quality of our peop…

A glimpse of the broad-based, versatile business strategy that has enabled Abbott to combine dynamic growth with long-term stability.
A glimpse of the broad-based, versatile business strategy that has enabled Abbott to combine dynamic growth with long-term stability. Abbott had an excellent 2004, according to its CEO, Miles White: it achieved double-digit growth in both of its business groups. How was this managed in the face of what is perhaps the most difficult business environment the healthcare industry has ever faced– and one that is not expected to improve significantly in the foreseeable future? How has Abbott navigated this extremely difficult environment while simultaneously transforming the company into anorganisation better prepared to overcome the same challenges in the futu…

Abbott recently had the largest gain in reputation of any company in its industry when Fortune magazine ranked it number three in the magazine’s list of the most admired companies in the United States – Fortune’s highest ranking for Abbott since 1989. How was this achieved and what factors led up to it?
Abbott recently had the largest gain in reputation of any company in its industry when Fortune magazine ranked it number three in the magazine’s list of the most admired companies in the – Fortune’s highest ranking for Abbott since 1989. How was this achieved and what factors led up to it? In April 2005, Miles White, Abbott’s CEO, summed up the previous year’s performance in one word – “Excellent”. Five years ago, it was clear that the company would have to reposition itself yet again in…

In their study due to be published in the March edition of Bioorg Med Chem Lett, Hoffmann and colleagues from Roche describe the design of two promising NK1 receptor antagonists, netupitant and befetupitant.
DailyUpdates February 23rd, 2006: The tachykinins were first identified in 1931 however realization of the therapeutic potential of antagonists that block their action has only taken place over the last decade. Tachykinin receptor antagonists have been implicated in various conditions such as depression/anxiety, pain, airway disease, incontinence, nausea and bowel disorders. The tachykinins are the products of two genes, preprotachykinin I which produces substance P (SP) and neurokinin (NK)A and preprotachykinin II which produces NKB. In 1986 the research community classified the tachy…

Today's edition of DailyUpdates features work conducted by Imperial College researchers who have identified an aptamer able to reduce the proliferation of lymphoma cells by 40%. This work represents a licensing opportunity. The aptamer is of potential therapeutic use and may be of interest to companies with an interest in biologic approach to oncology. The aptamers also forms the basis of a HTS assay that should help identify small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of hematological cancers
Today's edition of DailyUpdates features work conducted by Imperial College researchers who have identified an aptamer able to reduce the proliferation of lymphoma cells by 40%. This work represents a licensing opportunity. The aptamer is of potential therapeutic use and may be of interest to compan…

Although COPD is a devastating disease affecting an estimated one in 10 people aged 45 and older, up to 80% of sufferers are unaware they have it. Furthermore, even for patients who do receive treatment, current therapies do not stop the disease's progression. Until better treatments are available, then, efforts must focus on improving smoking cessation therapies and increasing awareness of COPD.
Although COPD is a devastating disease affecting an estimated one in 10 people aged 45 and older, up to 80% of sufferers are unaware they have it. Furthermore, even for patients who do receive treatment, current therapies do not stop the disease's progression. Until better treatments are available, then, efforts must focus on improving smoking cessation therapies and increasing awareness of COPD. …

The approval of Novartis’ Glivec in 2001 represents one of the real success stories in the treatment of Chronic myeloid leukaemia. Already generating $2.2 billion in global sales (2005 figures), Glivec is Novartis’ second highest revenue generator and the continued development of this blockbuster seems certain to increase these figures still further. Here we focus on clinical studies aimed at advancing Gleevec as a treatment of small-cell lung cancer
A devastating disease with a poor prognosis for many patients, until recently CML has had few treatment options and, for the most part, these have succeeded only in delaying disease progression by up to a few years. Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder affecting 1 to 2 people per 100,000 annually. These disorders…

Therapeutic vaccines have faced numerous setbacks recently. The only three vaccines to reach the market so far have had insignificant sales, and have failed to gain approval in the critical US market. Meanwhile, numerous high-profile pipeline failures and the lack of new product launches have seriously dampened investor enthusiasm. However, the industry's fortunes could be set for a major change.
Therapeutic vaccines are defined as medications that can induce a new immune response in the patient to treat a pre-existing condition (in contrast to traditional, prophylactic vaccines administered to healthy individuals to prevent disease). By their nature, the most obvious applicability for such therapies is in diseases where the immune system needs to be activated and augmented: most notably in…

The prevalence of obesity has increased by 61% in the US during the period 1991-2001. According to Datamonitor’s report, Obesity - commercial opportunities and therapeutic pipeline analysis 127m people were classified obese in the seven major markets in 2003. Obesity is an active area of R&D and numerous novel molecular targets are currently being evaluated. One target, ghrelin was the subject of a major target discovery report from LeadDiscovery published in 2003 Ghrelin: Pharmaceutical & Ther
The prevalence of obesity has increased by 61% in the during the period 1991-2001. According to Datamonitor’s report, Obesity - commercial opportunities and therapeutic pipeline analysis 127m people were classified obese in the seven major markets in 2003. Even though there is an increasing awarene…

With bacteriological diseases such as SARS and MRSA on the increase and with concern about these diseases at an all time high, the medical community is under tremendous pressure to implement measures in order to minimise the risk of potential outbreaks.
With bacteriological diseases such as SARS and MRSA on the increase and with concern about these diseases at an all time high, the medical community is under tremendous pressure to implement measures in order to minimise the risk of potential outbreaks. Recent official reports suggest that MRSA can be found in 40 per cent of UK hospitals . Transmission occurs through coming into contact with an object carrying the bacteria or via direct skin-to-skin exposure.  Hospitals therefore have an up-hill struggle to eradicate superbugs. …

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be treated by a class of drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEI’s), which increase the availability of acetylcholine in the brain by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE).
Dementia is a neurodegenerative and devastating disease Dementia is a degenerative disease of the brain that progressively destroys the neurons controlling memory, language and reasoning. It progresses at different rates in different people. It is estimated that dementia currently affects nearly 18 million people worldwide (1). As the mean age of the population increases, these numbers are steadily increasing. Forms of dementia and their estimated prevalence: 1 Alzheimer's disease (AD) 55% Vascular dementia (VaD)20% Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and dementia…

The size of the cytotoxic market in the seven major pharmaceutical markets is estimated to be approximately $9.6 billion. Datamonitor expects it to reach a peak of $12.8 billion by 2009. However, mainly due to major patent expiries, it is expected to drop to $11.3 billion by 2014. Topoisomerase inhibitors represent a subgroup of the plant alkaloid class of cytotoxics. DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors are among the most efficacious drugs for the treatment of cancer although they are associated wi
DailyUpdates 3rd February, 2006: The size of the cytotoxic market in the seven major pharmaceutical markets is estimated to be approximately $9.6 billion. Datamonitor expects it to reach a peak of $12.8 billion by 2009. However, mainly due to major patent expiries, it is expected to drop to $11.3 bi…

The market for antibacterials, valued at $24 billion in the seven major markets, faces significant revenue loss in the period 2005-2007 due to major patent expiries. In exception, considerable success has been met by those targeting drug resistant infections. This is highlighted by the rapid uptake of products focused on drug-resistant infections, such as Pfizer's Zyvox (linezolid). Here we highlight a promising early stage candidate being developed by Replidyne, REP8839
  The market for antibacterials, valued at $24 billion in the seven major markets, faces significant revenue loss in the period 2005-2007 due to major patent expiries (see Commercial Insight: Antibacterials). Despite the problems faced by companies involved in antibacterials considerable success has been met by th…

AstraZeneca's SMART is an experimental new regimen for its leading asthma drug Symbicort. A successful approval of this regimen may provide a major incentive to switch patients from GlaxoSmithKline's Seretide and keep new rivals at bay. However, recent labeling changes proposed by the FDA have significant implications for the possibility of future US approvals of variable dosing regimes.
The SMART (Symbicort Maintenance and Reliever Therapy) approach allows patients to increase the dose of Symbicort (a combination of an inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting bronchodilator) during worsening of symptoms, which may offer a paradigm-changing approach to asthma therapy; reducing the severity of asthma exacerbations by empowering patients to control their symptoms and to break free from the fear…

The early part of a New Year can be a good time to focus on your career and your personal goals for the coming year. You may be thinking of either looking for promotion within your current company or you may be thinking of applying to another company. Is there anything that you can do in order to increase your chances of being offered your dream job? The answer is yes, however it does need considerable input from you...
Of course before getting that crucial job offer there are the following hurdles to clear; your CV requires careful writing, there is pre-interview research to do and then the interview process itself to go through. You could stumble at any one of these hurdles. Checking these simple tips from the Vacancy Management Company can help you improve your chances of being offered…

OX40 (CD134) is one of the newer tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family members. Expressed on CD4+ T-cells, its activation by OX40L, a type II membrane protein expressed on activated B-cells, dendritic cells and macrophages, plays an important T-cell co-stimulatory role. Today we highlight additional involvement in heart disease
DailyUpdates Jan 31st: OX40:OX40L interaction – evolving from a key component of autoimmunity to a possible target for cardiovascular disease OX40 (CD134) is one of the newer tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family members.  Expressed on CD4+ T-cells, its activation by OX40L, a type II membrane protein expressed on activated B-cells, dendritic cells and macrophages, plays an important T-cell co-stimulatory role. In our recent feature on Autoimmun…

Genomics and proteomics comprise a fundamental area of bioinformatics however exploiting the wealth of information gained using such disciplines remains a rate limiting step in the drug discovery process. Today’s edition of DailyUpdates (Jan 25th 2005) describes ground breaking work that has allowed researchers to identify candidate therapeutics for the treatment of SARs virus infection in under a month using the virus genome as a starting point
Source DailyUpdates Jan 25th:  As information technology becomes increasingly important in drug R&D, the application of bioinformatics/informatics applications has the potential to drive growth in the worldwide pharmaceuticals drug market from the $240 billion today to $3 trillion by 2020.The role of bioinformatics/informatics in the drug d…