The Old AstraZeneca Charnwood Site
Trying to find tenants for the former AstraZeneca campus at Charnwood. A few buildings are being demolished to make room, and they're hoping for biomedical researchers to move in. I hope that works; it seems like a good research site. I'm not sure that trying to sell it as ". . .perfectly located between Leicester, Nottingham and Derby" is as good a pitch as can be made, but there are worse ones. (Source: In the Pipeline)
Source: In the Pipeline - December 4, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Drug Industry History Source Type: blogs
NIH, FDA and Academic Institutions: Announce Industry Academic Collaborations
Several recent announcements have discussed new industry-academic collaborations as well as new funding opportunities to help translate scientific discoveries to improve patient care and health.
Harvard and AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca and Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering recently announced a partnership "to use its organs-on-chips technology--miniature human organs made of a clear, flexible polymer that contain tiny tubes lined with living human cells--to help improve the way it tests drugs for humans," according to a press release.
"The chips are translucent, which could provide ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - November 27, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Digging deeper into the new cholesterol guidelines
The American Heart Association, in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology, recently released recommendations that should change the way we prescribe medications called statins, including drugs like Lipitor and Crestor and their generics, atorvastatin and rosuvastatin.
The headlines say stuff like, “More Americans may be Eligible to Receive Cholesterol Lowering Drugs!”
I am a bit skeptical of news about statin therapy because Lipitor, before it went generic, was responsible for over 6 billion dollars in revenue for Pfizer and since it went generic, AstraZeneca is raking in more revenue than they...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 26, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Meds Heart Medications Source Type: blogs
The Freshness Index
One way to look at a drug company's pipeline and portfolio is the "Freshness Index" - how much of its sales are coming from products approved within the past five years. Here's Bernard Munos earlier this year on this topic, where he shows that (too much) revenue lately has been coming from older products. At the time, the figures for the big companies started off with Novartis (19% "fresh" sales), GlaxoSmithKline (12%), J&J (11.8%) and Pfizer (10%).
I bring this up because there's a new look at the freshness index. This one has only products from 2010 or later, and year-to-date sales figures. Under those conditions, it's ...
Source: In the Pipeline - November 26, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Business and Markets Source Type: blogs
Confused Thinking about New Cholesterol Guidelines - Were Conflicts of Interest to Blame?
For years, clinical practice guidelines promulgated by prominent health care organizations have been hailed with accolades as received wisdom. However, there is increasing reason to be skeptical of such guidelines. Many guidelines are not based on rigorous application of the principles of evidence-based medicine, and often seem to arise from the personal opinions of their authors. This is particularly troublesome when those authors have conflicts of interest, and when the organizations that sponsor guideline development have institutional conflicts of interest. Back in 2011, an Institute of Me...
Source: Health Care Renewal - November 22, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Tags: American College of Cardiology American Heart Association conflicts of interest evidence-based medicine guidelines logical fallacies Source Type: blogs
Up And Down The Ladder... Job Changes
Hired someone new and exciting? Promoted a rising star? Finally solved that hard-to-fill spot? Share the news with us and we’ll share with it others. That’s right. Send us your announcements and we’ll find a home for them. Don’t be shy. Everyone wants to know who is coming and going, especially with all the layoffs. Despite the downsizing, there is movement. Here are some of the latest changes. Recognize anyone?
And here is our regular feature. Send us a photo and we will spotlight a different person each week. This time around, we note that Rho hired Gail Fowler as vp of operations. Previously, she was vp, clinic...
Source: Pharmalot - November 21, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
A Few Dozen Here, A Few Hundred There... More Pharma Layoffs
For those keeping tabs, there are still more layoffs to report in the pharmaceutical industry. The latest cuts involve as many as 270 information technology jobs at an AstraZeneca (AZN) facility in the UK, The Macclesfield Express reports. The move was actually foreshadowed several months ago, when the drugmaker disclosed plans to eliminate 4,900 R&D, sales and marketing, and administrative jobs (back story).
Meanwhile, Actavis, the generic drugmaker that earlier this year acquired Watson Pharmaceuticals, is eliminating about 300 sales reps - about 30 percent of its staff - and 54 jobs from Corona, California, accordin...
Source: Pharmalot - November 20, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Two former MedImmune execs out at AstraZeneca unit
AstraZeneca PLC has parted ways with Scott Carmer and Tim Gray, two formerMedImmune executives who most recently held top positions in AZ's newly created specialty care division, the pharmaceutical giant confirmed this week.Both Carmer and Gray left the company on Nov. 8, according to AstraZeneca spokeswoman Michele Meixell. She declined to elaborate on the circumstances of their exit and would not say whether or not they were let go.The two departures are the latest in ongoing structural changes at the Gaithersburg biotech, but are no less complex to explain. London-based AstraZeneca acq...
Source: PharmaGossip - November 20, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Two former MedImmune execs out at AstraZeneca unit - by Bill Flook
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/techflash/2013/11/two-key-execs-out-at-medimmune.html? (Source: PharmaGossip)
Source: PharmaGossip - November 20, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... The Weekend Nears
And so, another working week is about to draw to a close. As you may recall, this is our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans, atlhough we are getting an early start, since we have another use-it-or-lose it day at hand. What does this mean? We will post a couple of stories and then off we go. In any event, our weekend agenda is modest. We plan to attend yet another soccer match played by short people and then hang with some old friends. And then there are those leaves to rake. But what about you? Anything groovy planned? This is a lovely time of year to enjoy the outdoors, of course. You could boost the economy...
Source: Pharmalot - November 15, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
The Cholesterol Guidelines Panel And Conflicts Of Interest
Earlier this week, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology released new guidelines that will dramatically change the calculus for prescribing cholesterol-lowering medicines. And while there is debate about the extent to which prescribing habits will change quickly, the big winners are expected to be drugmakers that sell statins, since other types of pills were not recommended (back story).
However, here is an interesting note. Of the 15 panelists that authored these new guidelines, six reported having recent or current ties to drugmakers that already sell or are developing cholesterol medicati...
Source: Pharmalot - November 14, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Leaving Antibiotics: An Interview
Here's the (edited) transcript of an interview that Pfizer's VP of clinical research, Charles Knirsch, gave to PBS's Frontline program. The subject was the rise of resistant bacteria - which is a therapeutic area that Pfizer is no longer active in.
And that's the subject of the interview, or one of its main subjects. I get the impression that the interviewer would very much like to tell a story about how big companies walked away to let people die because they couldn't make enough money off of them:
. . .If you look at the course of a therapeutic to treat pneumonia, OK, … we make something, a macrolide, that does that....
Source: In the Pipeline - November 12, 2013 Category: Chemists Tags: Infectious Diseases Source Type: blogs
Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... Good Morning
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another working week. Once again, another weekend respite has come and gone. Hopefully, you enjoyed yourselves. In any event, that familiar routine of meetings and deadlines has now resumed. To cope, we are brewing a cup of stimulation, although our choice today is a spot of tea. A little variety can be a good thing, yes? So please join us as we hunker down for a busy day. As always, here are some items of interest. Hope your day goes well and do stay in touch...
Shire To Pay $4.2 Billion For ViroPharma To Add Orphan Drugs (Bloomberg News)
J&J And Amazon Clash Over Third-Party Product Sa...
Source: Pharmalot - November 11, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Bristol-Myers Ends Some Discovery Work And Cuts R&D Jobs
Yet another drugmaker is reworking its R&D operations and shedding jobs. The latest is Bristol-Myers Squibb, which is ending drug discovery in three areas – hepatitis C, diabetes and neurological disorders – and cutting up to 75 researchers, or about 1 percent of its R&D workforce of approximately 8,000 people, according to a spokeswoman.
The drugmaker plans to increase investments in research in immuno-onocology, as well as continuing a focus on HIV, heart failure, oncology and hepatitis B, among others. There is no change in the late-stage pipeline support. “We are focusing our R&D organization on deliv...
Source: Pharmalot - November 8, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... The Weekend Nears
And so, another working week will soon draw to a close. This is, as you know, our treasured signal to daydream about weekend plans. Our agenda is somewhat uncertain at the moment, although there is a soccer match involving one of the short people. We also hope to tidy up around the mansion and, perhaps, catch up with some old friends. And you? Anything interesting planned? If the weather is accommodating, this may be an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Or maybe plan a trip to Portland, Maine, to enjoy the new recreational law. You could also contemplate the future of your health insurance. Whatever you do, have a g...
Source: Pharmalot - November 8, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: esilverman Source Type: blogs
