When Eias Zerhouni, head of Sanofi’s R&D arrived at the company, he set about changing the company’s large pharma research model to a more “biotech” like one in an attempt to be more creative and nimble. However, Eias has just realized that discovering drugs is more difficult than he had originally thought. No worries- there […]
Most Innovative Pharmaceutical Companies
From 2006 through 2010, 112 new drugs were approved by the FDA at an average rate of 22.4 approvals per year; there wasn’t much variance- 23 in 2006, 19 in 2007, 23 in 2008, 26 in 2009, and 21 in 2010. (In fact, an average of 23 new molecular entities (NMEs) per year were approved […]
Neurogesx and Depomed seek to persuade pain specialists
I attended a recent medical conference where pain specialists outlined the history and direction of the pain industry, covering both nociceptive and neuropathic pain. After the conference, I had a chance to talk one-on-one with several pain specialists. I asked for their input on the industry and several products that I found particularly promising. […]
Pfizer moves forward with Pristiq for Hot Flashes
Last week, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced that they had presented results from sub-study of Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) at the 59th annual clinical meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The results were from a large, phase 3 trial, that sought to elaborate the safety and efficacy of Pristiq for the use in hot flashes […]
Micromet Leads In Bispecific Antibodies, Watch For DARTs
Bispecific antibodies are another front in the race to modify therapeutic antibodies for increased efficacy. Unlike normal antibodies, bispecifics are able to recognize and bind two or even three different antigens. The modified antibodies have new attributes allowing them to perform functions inconceivable for standard antibodies. The pursuit of bispecific antibodies began at least two […]
GSK: What To Do With ViiV
Great story came out May 6 from Reuters, reporting that Morgan Stanley analysts recently told investors a ViiV IPO or spinoff could be beneficial for GSK and the Pfizer/GSK joint venture. ViiV was formed in 2009 to wrap together GSK and Pfizer’s HIV drug assets under the premise that a separate entity would allow for […]
Vertex is Overvalued
Don’t get me wrong here, I think Vertex’s telaprevir is an incredible development that will usher in a new era in HCV treatment. Current estimates of the HCV market are about $2.5 billion, with the number increasing 4-fold as new therapies enter the market- that’s potentially $10 billion, getting close to the $15 billion expected […]
Pharmasset Stock Triples- Have We Seen This Before?
Pharmasset stock has risen from $33 to $100 in the last six months on the back of impressive data for its lineup of HCV antiviral drug candidates. The company specializes in a class of compounds known as nucleoside polymerase inhibitors. Its most advanced compound, RG7128 is partnered with Roche. PSI-7977 and PSI-938 are its two […]
Depomed’s research posters and presentations from recent medical conferences
Depomed, Inc. (NASDAQ:DEPO) presented two analyses of phase 3 clinical data of Gralise™, a once-daily formulation of gabapentin for management of postherpetic neuralgia, at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Below is a poster, presented at AAN, that concludes that there was no effect of previous treatment with gabapentin and […]
Incyte Or YM Biosciences, Which JAK To Choose?
Advances in treatment for myelofibrosis (MF) have come by leaps and bounds in the last few years since the discovery of the activating mutation JAK2V617F in myeloproliferative disorders including MF, polycythemia vera, and essential thrombocytopenia. Incyte’s JAK inhibitor, ruxolitinib (INCB018424), looks to be the first drug to reach approval for the disorder, but a slew […]
Adeona Pharma released results
Information on Adeona Pharmaceuticals (AMEX:AEN) Adeona Poster: http://www.adeonapharma.com/AANposter.pdf Adeona Conference Call: http://j.mp/hEXdw7 Adam Feurestein’s Article on Adeona: here
Lack Of New Antibiotics: How Severe Is The Problem?
An analysis from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) titled Stoking the antibiotics pipeline noted only 1.6 % of drugs in development by the world’s 15 largest pharmaceutical companies were antibiotics. The author blames this lack of investment on several things including current practice dictating that older generics are used as first line treatments while new […]
Sunesis Signs Deal, Improves Pipeline Prospects
South San Francisco based Sunesis announced a license agreement on April 5 with Millennium Pharmaceuticals to develop its pan-Raf kinase inhibitor. Under the terms of this deal, Sunesis received $4 million upfront and potentially $60 million in milestones as well as royalties. Millennium will pay for all costs of the Phase I trial, after which […]
Personalized Medicine Is Rapidly Progressing
An article cited by popular blogger Derek Lowe from Nature News, noted the genetic diversity of tumor cells. The scientists compared the genome sequences of tumors from 50 estrogen receptor positive patients from two clinical trials of aromatase inhibitors. Of these, 26 were estrogen-sensitive tumors while 24 were resistant. The data was crunched with supercomputers […]
Xenoport Drug Horizant approved
Today, the FDA approved Xenoport’s (NASDAQ:XNPT) and GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE:GSK) Horizant (gabapentin enacarbil) for the treatment of Restless Leg Syndrome (‘RLS’). EfficacyThe efficacy of Horizant in the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe primary RLS was demonstrated in two 12-week clinical trials in adults. Recommended DoseThe recommended dosage of Horizant is 600 mg once daily taken with food at about […]
Cubist and Optimer Holding Hands
After yesterday’s 13-0 FDA advisory committee vote of confidence in Optimer’s Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) drug, now known as Dificid (fidaxomicin), the company has moved quickly to secure a co-promotion agreement with antibiotics maker, Cubist. The agreement calls for joint sales of Dificid to physicians in hospitals, long-term care facilities and other healthcare institutions in […]
Be You Own VC
Venture capital investing has always belonged in the realm of an elite group of investors such as high net-worth individuals and large pension funds. VC is most commonly used to fund the development of early stage companies with novel technologies and require long holding periods. While the chance of failure for each individual project is […]
Optimer Receives Nod From FDA Panel
Today, the FDA’s independent expert panel voted unanimously 13-0 that Optimer’s drug, fidaxomicin, is safe and effective for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The panel was split six for, six opposed, and one abstaining on the question of whether the drug was effective in lower the risk of recurrence. Given the strong backing […]
