Articles

The 2nd international exhibition and conference event focussed exclusively on the theme of outsourcing in the research and development of new medicines. Companies both large and small are adopting this increasingly popular business strategy.
The 2nd international exhibition and conference event focussed exclusively on the theme of outsourcing in the research and development of new medicines. Companies both large and small are adopting this increasingly popular business strategy.  Pabord is relevant to service providers and R&D organisations active across the entire discovery and development chain from lead generation to product registration

Your cv is one of the most important documents you will ever write, particularly in the new internet era of recruitment. With job application becoming easier it follows that more applications are goin
Your CV is one of the most important documents you will ever write, particularly in the new internet era of recruitment. With job application becoming easier it follows that more applications are going to be received for each position advertised and this places even more emphasis on the recruiter to filter all of these applications. As a result many recruiters employ blanket rules in the first stage of whittling down the number of applicants for a post until they are in a position to invite people for interview. It is here where the most minor things can let you down, simple spelling mistakes,…

e-Clinical Trials continue to be used more and more by the market leaders - There is no doubt though that the industry is soon to go fully electronic, so don't get behind the game... Our delegates have been demanding we run this event for the last 6 years! Here is what they have said about our past events: "...one of the best. I have learned a great deal about many of the important issues associated with e-Clinical Trials", Clinical Trial Manager/EDC Liason, Forest Labs Inc. "Informatio
6th Annual e-Clinical Trials conference 23 - 24 May 2006, London, UK Register your interest at www.clinicaltrialsevents.com Streamlining electronic systems to improve data management for clinical trials The industries leading e-Clinical Trials Conference is back - for the sixth year running! Whether…

Recent high-profile drug withdrawals have resulted in a new code of conduct to govern direct-to-consumer advertising. As more and more drugs are likely to come under regulatory and public scrutiny, the pharmaceutical industry will need to employ effective marketing and education strategies to ensure patient and physician confidence is retained and the impact of drug safety scares is minimized.
Concerns over drug safety and products being withdrawn due to adverse events or risks of serious side effects are not just a recent phenomenon. In fact, they can be traced back as far as the early 20th century, when the use of pharmaceuticals to cure and relieve disease began to gain momentum. Over 30 drugs have been withdrawn from the market in the last 20 years, with many more receiving 'black bo…

According to our recent feature Pain Therapeutics 2005 the value of the pharmaceutical market for pain relief approached $23 billion in 2004.  The pain market can be divided into acute pain which is well served by OTC medications, post-operative pain and chronic pain. One of the most challenging areas of analgesia is the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.  Cancer pain also represents a largely unmet market which along with post-operative analgesia depends to a large extent on opioid-based th
According to our recent feature Pain Therapeutics 2005 the value of the pharmaceutical market for pain relief approached $23 billion in 2004.  The dynamics of the pain market have however altered greatly over the past few years, in particular as a result of the troubles surrounding the multi-bi…

If Sales Force Effectiveness is high on your agenda in the current climate, then don’t miss Pharma IQ’s Next Generation Pharmaceutical Sales Strategies event in June. Learn from speakers who have effectively increased their sales force ROI & successfully implemented alternative options to drive sales effectiveness.
If Sales Force Effectiveness is high on your agenda in the current climate, then don’t miss Pharma IQ’s Next Generation Pharmaceutical Sales Strategies event in June.  Learn from speakers who have effectively increased their sales force ROI & successfully implemented alternative options to drive sales effectiveness.  Why should you attend this event?  Including real industry case studies from Pfizer, Novartis, Orion Pharma, Takeda UK, Chiesi Farmaceutic…

The Infectious Disease Society of America's new hit list of dangerous resistant bugs has drawn attention to the lack of new antibiotics under development. The society calls for the passing of legislation to encourage companies to re-enter the antibiotics arena. However, as Datamonitor's Lisette Oversteegen investigates, legislation alone is not enough to counter the growing threat of 'superbugs'.
Bacterial infections can either be acquired in the community or the hospital, with the latter traditionally home to the majority of multi-resistant pathogens. Antibiotics are the mainstay in the treatment of these infections and are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in hospitals. However, although some are effective, they do not always succeed in eradicating micro-organisms. Antibiotic-res…

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. …