Bio/Pharma Business

Scientists studying epilepsy have traditionally focused on the comings and goings of ions through molecular channels in nerve cells, and many current antiseizure therapies seek to modulate that dynamic.

Pharmaceutical Technology's annual survey on equipment and machinery shows fewer companies increased spending in 2008 and still fewer will increase spending in 2009 as overall economic conditions affects purchasing decisions.

Pfizer is no normal company. As recently as 2007 it was still the industry's largest player with $47.5 billion (36.8 billion euro) coming in from pharma sales alone.

Conflict between departments costs money, wastes time and hinders strategy implementation. But we can reduce it and manage it if we understand it, says Dr Brian D. Smith.

A new year, all things being equal, is a time of looking to the future with positive intent and traditional bonhomie. At the very least, it suggests new beginnings. As we enter 2009, however, the world is moving into a major recession and things are far from equal.

Paul Gardiner and Andrea Sobrio explain why most companies need 'organizational polygamy' to maximize profit and best serve their customers.

Results from Pharmaceutical Technology's Annual Employment Survey.

It is a universally acknowledged truth that a biotech start-up in possession of little fortune must be in want of venture capital (VC). Perhaps less well acknowledged, however, is that VC investors operate in a way consistent with being rational economic entities...

TranScrip Partners' Flic Gabbay explains why an approach that provides expertise on an 'as needed basis' is flourishing.

...the new administration is not anti-science or even anti-industry. It just wants lower prices.

You don't have to spend any time in the company of its chairman to see that there is no other Big Pharma company like Servier.

Molecules called "chaperones" facilitate correct protein folding.

I confess I am no financial expert. My knowledge about the current credit crisis can be summed up in six words: 'debt is bad; cash is good', which was pretty much the limit of my understanding about money before it all began.

The most public argument against direct-to-consumer advertising in Europe is essentially paternalistic: to protect people from companies who are considered unable to present an objective account of their drugs.

The days of a 'job for life' at a Big Pharma company seem to be well behind us, whether we're at the bench or in the boardroom, but that doesn't mean we should view the employment landscape with trepidation.

...some companies complained that what they received was not joint advice or combined advice but parallel advice, without coherence...

Pharmaceuticals used to be such a simple business when everyone knew their place.

Survey results indicate a healthy market, but increasing competition.

Drugmakers seeking to block the activity of a protein may have a new strategy at their disposal.

Scientists are uncovering signaling systems that operate via cannabinoid messenger molecules.

According to the latest figures from IMS Health, Inc., Japan's pharmaceutical market is expected to grow 1–2% this year compared to global industry growth expectations of 5–6%.

Antibodies are highly specific molecules that can be tailored to recognize almost any stretch of peptide that nature can conjure: a feature that has been exploited for years now to produce therapeutic antibodies.

The pharmaceutical industry plans moderate increases in spending for equipment and machinery in 2008. Investments include equipment for solid-dosage manufacturing, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and parenteral manufacturing.

New research and ideas for March 2008

Text sirtuins are the new kinases, according to a presentation given last month at the JP Healthcare Investors Conference in San Francisco by Sirtis CEO Christoph Westphal.

Nearly 1300 pharmaceutical employees provide insights into the issues most relevant to their jobs and the state of the industry workforce today.

An industry survey finds that pharma's outsourcing practices keep the industry from reaping the full benefits of outsourcing.

An industry survey finds that pharma's outsourcing practices keep the industry from reaping the full benefits of outsourcing.

While some companies float with the tide, others grab market share while business is good.

Cambridge, MA (June 7)-Genzyme Corp. is growing, with a new biomanufacturing plant planned and other expansions nearing completion.