PharmaDeals Review Business Commentaries
Dr Fintan Walton, PharmaVentures’ CEO, provides monthly comment on topical biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry issues. Includes access to Fintan’s commentaries broadcast on PharmaTelevision.
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Therapy Focus: Diabetes
From issue 86 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-08-01)
This article considers the use of oral hypoglycaemics as therapeutics for type 2 diabetes. The characteristics are examined of each of the seven classes of these drugs that are available, with a focus on the sales aspects, and a look at the implications of new report published by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on the comparative effectiveness and safety of these medications.
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Amgen's Reality Check
From issue 85 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-07-01)
Amgen has experienced incredible growth rates over the last 20 years, but has also seen an equally astonishing run of bad luck in the last 6 months. Poor clinical trial results, the introduction of biosimilars, and the impending introduction of new competitors have put the earning potential of Amgen's anaemia franchise, which made up nearly 50% of the company's 2006 revenue, into serious doubt. To offset any resulting revenue losses, and boost future growth, Amgen has been looking to expand its technology and product portfolio using its considerable cash reserves. To this end, the company has acquired the two US biotech companies Alantos and Ilypsa. This article discusses Amgen's current situation and the likelihood of these two deals proving to be the success that Amgen so badly needs them to be.
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The Bioterrorism Threat: Smallpox Vaccine Stockpiling
From issue 85 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-07-01)
This article discusses the recent BioShield contract awarded by the US Department of Health and Human Services to Bavarian Nordic. The contract specifies the manufacture and delivery of Bavarian Nordic's smallpox vaccine Imvamune® for the US Government stockpile, and has a potential value of US$1.6 B, the largest ever for a deal under the BioShield initiative. Aspects of the deal that are discussed include the reasons why the US Government may have awarded this particular contract to Bavarian Nordic, the company's contract history with the US Government, the main competition facing the Imamune vaccine – and the advantages of this vaccine, as well as the deals that Bavarian Nordic has entered into with other governments. Recent changes to the BioShield initiative, and how Bavarian Nordic will benefit from these, are also examined.
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How Companies Source Their Licensing Opportunities, Part II: The Importance of Personal Networks
From issue 85 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-07-01)
In last month's PharmaDeals Review, we looked at who is doing the sourcing of licensing opportunities within companies, and discovered that there is an across-the-board desire to optimise this process. In the second part of this feature, we look at the scale of the task that challenges licensing executives, and ask which part of the in-licensing process they wish they could improve. We also take a look at how and where companies find their in-licensing opportunities, and find some interesting results, which suggest that the most traditional routes are still the most favoured.
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Therapy Focus: Osteoporosis
From issue 85 of the PharmaDeals Review (2007-07-01)
Approximately 50% of women over the age of 50 are affected by osteoporosis – the excessive thinning of bone. Traditionally, a number of different classes of antiresorptives have been used to treat it – typically bisphosphonates, as well as selective oestrogen reuptuke modulators and calcitonin. Recently, a novel dual-action drug that acts as both a resorptive and an anabolic has become available, as well as true anabolic therapies which induce new bone formation. The development of convenient administration regimes has also been a key advance in increasing compliance and clinical improvements. In addition, research into basic cell biology has thrown up new targets that are now being exploited in R&D programmes, and may result in several new classes of therapy.
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