Pharmacy Education On Internet

Open Innovation for Pharmaceutical Industry

Open Innovation is a term promoted by Henry Chesbrough, a professor and executive director at the Center for Open Innovation at Berkeley. The concept is related to (but distinct from) user innovation, cumulative innovation and distributed innovation.

The central idea behind open innovation is that in a world of widely distributed knowledge, companies cannot afford to rely entirely on their own research, but should instead buy or license processes or inventions (i.e. patents) from other companies.

Drug distribution restricted as manufacturers attempt to guard supply chain

Ideally, drug supply should be a simple and transparent chain that connects the manufacturer and patient in as few steps as possible. However, in practice, this is rarely the case. Manufacturers are trying to exercise greater control over the supply chain and cut the number of intermediaries; however, a recent European Commission recommendation could put a stop to many of these efforts.

Bacteria-Eating Virus Approved as Food Additive

Not all viruses harm people. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a mixture of viruses as a food additive to protect people. The additive can be used in processing plants for spraying onto ready-to-eat meat and poultry products to protect consumers from the potentially life-threatening bacterium Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes).

Bacteriophages are found in the environment. "We're routinely exposed to bacteriophages," says Zajac. "They are found in soil and water, and they are part of the microbial population in the human gut and oral cavity."

Are you prepared for the coming gobal changes?

Medinfar, Portugal

Medinfar is a Pharmaceutical Company located in Portugal and with business in Portugal and African countries. Now, Medinfar is seeking for out-licensing its products around the world. Our politics for the business could be out-licensing, distribution, or other kind of contractual conditions that should be negociated.

Our core business are OTC, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical (sugar free) products.

For additional informations, please contact:

Julia Oliveira

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Potential lung cancer epidemic looming in Asia

Regulatory Issues - Europe continues to make strides while the US lags behind

The drive for increased cost savings by healthcare providers is increasing the focus on boosting the biosimilar market. With a regulatory approval pathway in place in Europe and substantial guidelines to support biosimilar development, the European biosimilars market is significantly more advanced than the US, where plans for a biosimilar regulatory approval pathway have stalled.

Chinese Pharmaceutical Market Overview - Regulatory reform and the evolving healthcare market provide

The Chinese pharmaceutical market, although only positioned ninth globally, has experienced pronounced and rapid expansion in recent years, driven by the growth of both Chinese and Western manufacturers. Increasingly, there is a shift towards a research-based industry, focused on generating new, innovative therapies, supported by improving intellectual property regulations.

Antithrombotics - Pipeline products to dampen the impact of patent expiries and cost containment initiatives

The ageing of the population will result in an increased incidence of coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. In addition to these epidemiological forces, the antithrombotics market will be sustained by the forthcoming launch of innovative novel agents whose sales revenue is expected to dampen the commercial impact of generic incursion in blockbuster proceeds.

Migraine - Innovation essential as weak late-stage pipeline fails to hold off the impact of triptan

After the launch of Trexima in 2007, triptan genericization coupled with a weak late-stage pipeline will result in a major shift in market dynamics, and will result in the migraine market value decreasing to $3.2 billion in 2015. The market remains receptive to superior prophylactics however, with innovation being essential for the progression of the acute market, post-triptan era.

Gynecological Cancers - Niche opportunities in advanced disease

Cases of endometrial cancer are set to rise in developed countries due to an increase in risk factors such as obesity. In contrast, while incidence of cervical cancer is set to decrease in developed countries following the implementation of anti-HPV immunization with Merck & Co's Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix, it will remain a major cause of cancer-related death in the developing world.

Pricing and Reimbursement in Oncology - Do payers believe oncology drugs offer good value?

The oncology market has shown remarkable growth in recent years, driven by the advent of targeted therapy and the high level of unmet needs in the disease, and it is poised for further expansion. While this will provide companies with opportunities, a key hurdle for novel cancer drugs will be the increasing pharmacoeconomic vigilance that prevails within cash-strapped healthcare systems.

Obesity - Lack of Reimbursement Limits Market Potential

Datamonitor predicts a somewhat enthusiastic uptake of two agents currently in development by 2015. However, reimbursement is critical to the uptake of new medication, due to the high cost of therapy. If the reimbursable status is not achieved, the expansion of the market will not match the rate of growth of the obese population and the great potential of the obesity market will remain untapped.

Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines - A turbulent path from bench to bedside

Unmet needs across the cancer market remain high, with most therapies conferring low levels of specificity and high toxicity. Therapeutic cancer vaccines offer an attractive therapeutic addition, delivering treatment of high specificity, low toxicity and prolonged activity. However, despite years of R&D, a reproducible survival benefit has proved elusive, leaving the market wide open.

Antibacterials - Growth in resistance rates drives niche indications

The global antibacterial market, valued at $25.5 billion in 2005, is highly mature. Modest growth (CAGR 2001-2005: 5.1%) is fuelled by ageing, immunosuppression and emerging resistances, especially in the hospital and former niche markets (e.g. MRSA). The community market, however, is facing a value loss following the patent expiries of several blockbusters (e.g. Pfizer's Zithromax) in 2005.

Prescribing trends indicate that neurologists are not adhering to guidelines

A lack of prescriber adherence to both marketing licenses and pharmacoeconomic guidelines represents both a challenge and opportunity for pharmaceutical companies marketing current Alzheimer's disease drugs. Indication expansion between disease severities may not be a viable commercial option; conversely, stricter guidelines by bodies such as the UK's NICE will not necessarily threaten the market.

With increasing regulatory clarity and high revenue potential, interest in biosimilars increases

With increasing regulatory clarity and the expiries of key patents covering innovator biologics, the development of biosimilars for a range of recombinant protein classes is becoming increasingly attractive. Although many companies are targeting the market, 12 companies dominate. These include established generics companies, leading biosimilars developers, plus emerging biosimilar developers.