Articles

The demographics of HIV patients are shifting, with the average age of those infected with HIV ever increasing due to longer life expectancy and higher survival rates. However, with increasingly complex infections and drug resistance developing in long term patients, novel medications and new combinations are now being launched to continue the fight...
Globally, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow from 35 million in 2001 to 38 million in 2003. An estimated 5 million people acquired HIV in 2003, the greatest number in any one year since the beginning of the epidemic, and in the same year almost three million died as a result of AIDS taking the total to 20 million since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981. The demographics of the HIV infected population is rapid…

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a niche cancer that accounts for 2-3% of all solid tumors in the major pharmaceutical markets. Approximately 30,000 patients are diagnosed with the disease each year in the US and 12,000 patients die of the disease annually. The market is currently dominated by the cytokines, but there is significant interest among physicians in the potential of anti-angiogenics, particularly so since renal cell carcinomas are known to be well vascularized. Bayer's BAY 43-9006 is a
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a niche cancer that accounts for 2-3% of all solid tumors in the major pharmaceutical markets. Approximately 30,000 patients are diagnosed with the disease each year in the and 12,000 patients die of the disease annually. The market is currently dominated by the cytoki…

As the dust settles on Merck's withdrawal of Vioxx's, LeadDiscovery investigates the impact that this will have on the treatment of pain, R&D activity directed towards the identification of new approaches, and on pharmaceutical sales relating to COX-2 inhibitors and related drug classes
As hurricane season continues in the US, forces of a very different nature have blown through the pharmaceutical industry with Merck's withdrawal of the blockbuster Vioxx (Rofecoxib) from the market. This move was in response to new, three-year data from a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the APPROVe (Adenomatous Polyp Prevention on VIOXX) trial. The trial, which is being stopped, was designed to evaluate the efficacy of VIOXX in preventing recurrence of colorectal polyps in patien…

The market for Alzheimer's therapy is expected to grow from 16 million patients to 21 million by 2010 in the seven major pharmaceutical markets. Alzheimer's disease market in the seven major markets is worth $4.7 billion and will increase to $6.1 billion by the year 2005 and $ 7.8 billion by the year 2010. The major unmet need in this market is for disease modification and disease prevention. Recent findings by British researchers showing that targeting the neuronal adaptor protein X11beta can r
DailyUpdates 30th September, 2004: The pharmaceutical market for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders will grow by an unprecedented amount over the next ten years. The aging of the baby-boom generation, combined with new and improved treatments for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheim…

The pharmaceutical market for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders will grow by an unprecedented amount over the next ten years. The aging of the baby-boom generation, combined with new and improved treatments for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease will lead to an expansion of the already $30 billion neurodegenerative market. Despite the growth of generic products, Parkinson's disease drug revenues grew an impressive 17% across the seven major markets
The pharmaceutical market for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders will grow by an unprecedented amount over the next ten years. The aging of the baby-boom generation, combined with new and improved treatments for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease will l…

Until a few years ago very few people would have given credence to the idea that an ongoing war is being waged in the battleground of the digestive system between good and bad bacteria, but with a marketing onslaught akin to the Star Wars world it parallels the makers of probiotics have now introduced the concept to Britain.
Until a few years ago very few people would have given credence to the idea that an ongoing war is being waged in the battleground of the digestive system between good and bad bacteria, but with a marketing onslaught akin to the Star Wars world it parallels the makers of probiotics have now introduced the concept to Britain. But are they actually any good for you, or just another attempt to sell us a quick fix that can assuage the guilt of our ‘busy lives’? “Ten years…

Earlier this year data was reported that Sankyo's angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) olmesartan medoxomil may offer improved anti-hypertensive activity when compared to other therapeutic agents within this highly competitive $31 billion market. More recently clinical data has appeared that shows olmesartan to have additional anti- inflammatory activity in hypertensive patients with vascular inflammation. This may confer additional therapeutic benefit since inflammation is an etiological compo
Earlier this year data was reported that Sankyo's angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) olmesartan medoxomil may offer improved anti-hypertensive activity when compared to other therapeutic agents within this highly competitive $31 billion market. More recently clinical data has appeared that shows…

The recent success of monoclonal antibody therapies such as Genentech's Rituxan and Johnson & Johnson's Remicade are driving further development of this field. MAb therapies brought in revenues of over $5.1 billion in 2003, a figure which should nearly triple over the next five years as new MAbs are launched and following the approval of new indications for MAbs already on the market. By 2008, MAbs should account for 32 percent of all revenue in the biotech market. One therapeutic antibody indic
Since the first successful kidney transplantation more than 40 years ago, the treatment of end-stage organ failure has dramatically improved. Many organs are now transplanted, the most common of which include (procedures performed in the in 2001) the kidney (14,000), heart (2,000), liver (5,000) an…

Treatments for inflammatory diseases comprise a $20 billion market spanning diseases such as psoriasis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease. Both the prostaglandins and the leukotrienes are involved in the initiation and maintenance of inflammatory responses however agents that center on these mediators have produced limited therapeutic efficacy in various inflammatory disease settings. Harnessing the properties of anti-inflammatory mediators such as l
Treatments for inflammatory diseases comprise a $20 billion market that shows no signs of slowing in growth. Some of the most prevalent inflammatory diseases include psoriasis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease (to view LeadDiscovery's feature on autoimm…

It has been estimated that 9% of the US population suffers from moderate to severe non-cancer-related pain. Acute pain resulting from conditions such as headache, muscle spasms, dental problems or following surgery, affects 90 million Americans every year and the development of analgesics represents a major pharmaceutical objective. A recent study has demonstrated the analgesic activity of corticotropin-releasing-hormone (CRH) and has shown that this activity is probably due to activity within t
It has been estimated that 9% of the population suffers from moderate to severe non-cancer-related pain. Acute pain resulting from conditions such as headache, muscle spas, dental problems or following surgery, affects 90 million Americans every year. Chronic pain affects 40-70 million Americans an…

Emerging Drug Discovery Targets provides a regular 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 reports". This edition features an LXA4 mimic for the treatment of inflammation; IL-27 as a cancer immunotherapy; anti-CD154 for organ transplant; CRH agonists for the treatment of pain; and an effective therapy
"Emerging Drug Discovery Targets" provides a regular 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 reports".…

In 2002 nearly 1,285,000 new cancer cases were diagnosed in the United States, and due to the lack of options for the treatment of advanced disease more than 550,000 Americans died of the disease. Immunotherapy represents an emerging approach to the treatment of cancer that promises high specificity with negligible side effects. This approach to cancer treatment commonly involves the stimulation of T cells and antibody production and the use of cytokines has been extensively studied. IL-12 has b
Over recent years advances in surgical intervention, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have improved overall cancer care. The prevention of tumor invasion, metastasis and recurrence has not however significant progressed. Many currently available therapeutics remain associated with debilitating sid…

Early ejaculation represents a major market, and indeed in 18-65 year olds it represents the predominant sexual dysfunction, affecting at least 20% of men. The global annual market for the treatment of early ejaculation has been estimated at $4 billion. However due to the absence of readily available therapeutics fewer than 10% of patients seek treatment for early ejaculation. Successful pharmaceutical development in this field may therefore reap immense rewards. Drug development has however bee
Early ejaculation represents a major market, and indeed in 18-65 year olds it represents the predominant sexual dysfunction, affecting at least 20% of men. The global annual market for the treatment of early ejaculation has been estimated at $4 billion (for an analysis of male health care markets cl…

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a niche cancer that accounts for 2-3% of all solid tumors in the major pharmaceutical markets. Approximately 30,000 patients are diagnosed with the disease each year in the US and 12,000 patients die of the disease annually. The market is currently dominated by the cytokines, but there is significant interest among physicians in the potential of anti-angiogenics, particularly so since renal cell carcinomas are known to be well vascularized. Researchers have now show
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a niche cancer that accounts for 2-3% of all solid tumors in the major pharmaceutical markets. Approximately 30,000 patients are diagnosed with the disease each year in the and 12,000 patients die of the disease annually. The market is currently dominated by the cytoki…

On Thursday 25th November 2004 Clinical Events will be hosting the next in the series of annual seminars focusing on the future of leading edge clinical research in the UK. This is following on from the success of last year’s Annual Update. Clinical Events Professional Development Seminars cover a wide range of drug development topics. Seminar delegates comprise individuals working in most departments of pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
On Clinical Events will be hosting the next in the series of annual seminars focusing on the future of leading edge clinical research in the .  This is following on from the success of last year’s Annual Update.  Clinical Events Professional Development Seminars cover a wide range of drug development topics.  Seminar delegate…

The TNF blockers Enbrel (etanercept) and Remicade (infliximab), have contributed to a revolution in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug development community is now expending considerable resources on developing next generation disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) with improved efficacy and safety as well as oral activity. GlaxoSmithKline's IkappaB kinase 2 (IKK-2) inhibitor, TCPA-1 has recently been developed and has shown considerable promise in early stage development.
The TNF blockers Enbrel (etanercept) and Remicade (infliximab), have contributed to a revolution in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug development community is now expending considerable resources on developing next generation disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) with improve…

We all forget to take medication from time to time, or maybe even don't bother to refill our prescriptions because we're feeling fine. However, the cumulative effect of all this is costing the pharmaceutical industry in excess of $30 billion a year. Datamonitor's Adele Schulz offers pharmaceutical companies some practical solutions to help stop the financial bleeding...
Data from the Medicines Monitoring Unit (MEMO) at the indicates that only one third of patients are fully compliant with their drug prescriptions. A third are non-compliant while the remaining third are considered completely non-compliant. On top of the over $30 billion annual cost to the pharmaceutical companies from prescriptions and repeat prescriptions never filled, patients also suffer in terms of loss of quality of…

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, having received considerable R&D attention, are now being led through the clinic by SAHA which is currently in phase II development. A second HDAC inhibitor, Titan's Pivanex, has now been shown to be effective as a single agent therapeutic in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Due to toxicity observed when used in combination with docetaxel, development for this indication has been terminated. Studies have however recently been initiated to investiga
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, having received considerable R&D attention, are now being led through the clinic by SAHA which is currently in phase II development. A second HDAC inhibitor, Titan's Pivanex, has now been shown to be effective as a single agent therapeutic in patients with…

The RENAAL study, published in 2001 demonstrated that Merck's Losartan slows diabetic nephropathy and reduces the risk of heart failure. In a more recent analysis of the RENAAL database, researchers have shown that albuminuria predicts heart failure as well as other cardiovascular events and that the degree of success with which Losartan can reduce albumin levels is related to the extent of cardiovascular protection.
The RENAAL study, published in 2001 demonstrated that Merck's Losartan slows diabetic nephropathy and reduces the risk of heart failure. In a more recent analysis of the RENAAL database, researchers have shown that albuminuria predicts heart failure as well as other cardiovascular events and that the degree of success with which Losartan can reduce albumin levels is related t…

Isotechnika's Q2 loss shows a sharp reversal in fortunes. Profit in 2003 was largely attributable to a research payment for ISA247 from Roche, which has since pulled out of part of the deal. Isotechnika will be hoping that Roche continues to support ISA247 in the field of transplantation, but, says Datamonitor's Timothy Pang, it would be boosted by the cash that a new partner would bring...
Canadian drug development specialist Isotechnika reported a Q2 loss this week of C$4.55 million, or six Canadian cents a share. This loss contrasts with the profit reported for Q2 2003, which Isotechnika credited mainly to an C$8.4 million research payment from Roche. Roche and Isotechnika had been jointly developing ISA247, the Canadian company's lead candidate, as part of a global co-development deal s…