Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry

Rejuvenation therapy - revitalize, renew, stop ageing, getting old - lat...

2011-11-05T05:56:00.000-07:00

How scientists are discovering the secrets of eternal youth in animals -- and potentially in humans. How to stop getting old, turning off the normal physiology of ageing processes in human cells. Lessons from whales, rockfish project, turtles and parrots as well as other animals with longer lifespan. Impact on future life expectancy -- life insurance, pensions, unfunded pension liabilities, annuity rates, government debts, corporate pension fund valuations. Conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon.

Here Comes Radical Change: Future of Public Services, Demographics -- Ke...

2011-07-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Patrick Dixon -- conference keynote speaker -- impact of demographics, birth rates, youth, urban migration and immigration, life expectancy forecasts. All impact demand for public services, health care budgets, community services, demand for education, need for schools. Presentation for Welsh Parliament to public sector workers -- police officers, fire service, local councils, municipal authorities, teachers, social workers, health visitors, care assistants, community officers, health and safety advisors, government contractors and service providers. Changing culture, challenging structures and attitudes. Practical leadership lessons in change management for public sector workers. Team leadership and motivation to change working practices, encourage efficiency, cost savings, better standards, improved output and service impact.

Stop Getting Older - Anti-ageing research - stay young. Future Health -...

2011-06-28T12:50:00.000-07:00

Antiageing therapies, science and research -- how to stop your biological clock. 65% of health care spending on people over 65 years old. Aging process -- physiology of aging and remedies, antiaging therapies. How to stay young. 7 key mechanisms of ageing in human cells. How we share common aging processes with many other animals. Shared genetic code and cell structures. Non-aging fish and whales. Genetic basis of ageing and aging as a treatable condition. Genetic damage inside nucleus of cell, damage to mitochondrial DNA. From health to performance, from sickness to wellness. Better memory, more energy, better sexual performance - Future of health care. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. Private and public funding for health care treatment. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future -- people expected to fund their own health needs.

Stop getting old - science of ageing - how to stay young. Health keynot...

2011-06-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Mitochondria research -- improving memory, energy levels, use of food to create power inside cells. Antiageing therapies, science and research -- how to stop your biological clock. 65% of health care spending on people over 65 years old. Aging process -- physiology of aging and remedies, antiaging therapies. How to stay young. 7 key mechanisms of ageing in human cells. How we share common aging processes with many other animals. Shared genetic code and cell structures. Non-aging fish and whales. Genetic basis of ageing and aging as a treatable condition. Genetic damage inside nucleus of cell, damage to mitochondrial DNA. From health to performance, from sickness to wellness. Better memory, more energy, better sexual performance - Future of health care. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. Private and public funding for health care treatment. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future -- people expected to fund their own health needs.

Alternative Therapies and Treatments - Physicians and Pharmaceutical Ind...

2011-06-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Alternative medicine, therapies, homeopathy, chiropractice, Antiageing therapies, science and research -- how to stop your biological clock. unmet medical needs. Traditional healers and herbal remedies. 65% of health care spending on people over 65 years old. Aging process -- physiology of aging and remedies, antiaging therapies. How to stay young. 7 key mechanisms of ageing in human cells. How we share common aging processes with many other animals. Shared genetic code and cell structures. Non-aging fish and whales. Genetic basis of ageing and aging as a treatable condition. Genetic damage inside nucleus of cell, damage to mitochondrial DNA. From health to performance, from sickness to wellness. Better memory, more energy, better sexual performance - Future of health care. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. Private and public funding for health care treatment. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future -- people expected to fund their own health needs.

Get More Energy! Treatment for tiredeness, fatigue: Mitochondria researc...

2011-06-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

Mitochondria research – improving memory, energy levels, use of food to create power inside cells. Treatments for chronic tiredeness and chronic fatigue syndrome. Antiageing therapies, science and research – how to stop your biological clock. 65% of health care spending on people over 65 years old. Aging process – physiology of aging and remedies, antiaging therapies. How to stay young. 7 key mechanisms of ageing in human cells. How we share common aging processes with many other animals. Shared genetic code and cell structures. Non-aging fish and whales. Genetic basis of ageing and aging as a treatable condition. Genetic damage inside nucleus of cell, damage to mitochondrial DNA. From health to performance, from sickness to wellness. Better memory, more energy, better sexual performance - Future of health care. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. Private and public funding for health care treatment. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future – people expected to fund their own health needs.

Ageing nations - social and health impact of demographics - economy and ...

2011-06-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

Ageing population, demographics, balance in age groups, birth rates and death rates. Population growth and decline. Baby boomers and baby boom. Migration and immigration patterns and public policies. Antiageing therapies, science and research -- how to stop your biological clock. 65% of health care spending on people over 65 years old. Aging process -- physiology of aging and remedies, antiaging therapies. How to stay young. 7 key mechanisms of ageing in human cells. How we share common aging processes with many other animals. Shared genetic code and cell structures. Non-aging fish and whales. Genetic basis of ageing and aging as a treatable condition. Genetic damage inside nucleus of cell, damage to mitochondrial DNA. From health to performance, from sickness to wellness. Better memory, more energy, better sexual performance - Future of health care. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. Private and public funding for health care treatment. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future -- people expected to fund their own health needs.

Anti Ageing: Stop Your Biological Clock-- Future Health Care Speaker

2011-06-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

From treating sickness to wellbeing and performance - diagnosis, therapy...

2011-06-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

From health to performance, from sickness to wellness. Future of health care. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. Private and public funding for health care treatment. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. How insurers are using new diagnostic tests to evaluate risks in health insurance underwriting processes. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Risks in self-diagnosis and self-treatment with delay in hospital admission for conditions such as cancer, stroke, heart attack. Issues of confidentiality and secrecy in self-testing kits where the patient knows more than their doctor, and fails to disclose key health information to their insurer before buying health insurance, or life insurance cover. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future -- people expected to fund their own health needs.

Physician safety overtaken by computer diagnosis -- Future Health Care S...

2011-06-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

Self-Diagnosis, Online Medical Tests, Pharmaceutical Industry: Future He...

2011-06-28T03:14:00.000-07:00

Future of health care, impact of Google and home testing kits for genetic disease, inherited medical conditions, HIV, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis etc. How patients, clients, over the counter therapy customers, and consumers of health care products will manage their own treatment. Patrick Dixon is a health care keynote speaker at many health conferences. Patient choice and public health policy changes with government budget health cuts, health care rationing, post code lotteries. How doctors and nurses will manage patients who often know more about their own medical condition, have made their own diagnosis, have made decisions about their own treatment (patient autonomy). Impact on over the counter pharmaceutical industry, chemists, drug stores, pharmacies and retail sales of health related products. Wellbeing, disease prevention, health promotion, vitamin and health supplements, dietary supplements. How computer aided diagnostics will change clinical management of many medical conditions in hospital, clinics and in community care settings. Health care management and allocation of resources will be influenced by community-based diagnostics. Computer programmes to decide treatment and therapy guidelines. Future of the pharmaceutical industry with non-prescription medicines, remedies, therapies, drugs. Prescribing new treatments using new diagnostic tools, and patient clinical care pathways. Health policy development by governments, and health insurance companies. How insurers are using new diagnostic tests to evaluate risks in health insurance underwriting processes. Patient survival and increase in life expectancy with early diagnosis and treatment using equipment bought by consumers for home use. Risks in self-diagnosis and self-treatment with delay in hospital admission for conditions such as cancer, stroke, heart attack. Issues of confidentiality and secrecy in self-testing kits where the patient knows more than their doctor, and fails to disclose key health information to their insurer before buying health insurance, or life insurance cover. Future of the NHS and national health service, medicare in America. Funding of health care in future -- people expected to fund their own health needs.

SustainAgility book: innovation to protect future

2010-05-07T04:27:00.000-07:00

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube videoSustainagility is about how smart innovation and agile business will help protect the world, in practical ways and at affordable cost. Title of new book by Patrick Dixon and Johan Gorecki. The $40 trillion green technology boom: winners and losers in the race to develop new greener products and services. Sustainagility covers the future of energy, manufacturing, cities, transport, food, forests, water. Sustainagility describes major consumer and lifestyle shifts which will dominate the next 30 years.

Future of Dentistry - digital dentists and dental ...

2008-06-21T04:50:00.001-07:00

Future of dentistry, dental practice and dentists. Health care trends,oral care and mouthcare products. Digital imaging and dental diagnostics. Prosthetics, milling, machining and manufacture of bridges, crowns and dental devices. Porceline and polymers with nanotechnology, nanoparticles - polishing, shaping, machining, finnishing. Dental techniques and future of cosmetic dentistry. 3M video and 3D imaging, three dimensional video imaging in real time. Digital dental patient records and future of data systems. Innovation in dental practice. Video by keynote conference speaker Patrick Dixon.
Dentists, dentistry, digital, imaging, video, 3D, dental, health, care, innovation, conference speaker

Falling Birth Rates? Impact of falling fertility

2008-04-19T11:52:00.001-07:00

Impact on demographics of falling birth rate in EU, America, Canada, Japan, India, China, Asia, Africa. Falling fertility with increasing age of first conception. Child birth and child care. Older mothers and biological risks. Health care and obstetrics. IVF and infertility treatments. Ageing mothers and career pressures, baby career breaks. Pensions and social impact of older population. Future families and child rearing. Children of older parents. Psychological, physical, mental and emotional pressures of parenthood. Gender inequality and gender discrimination at work. Why birth rates are falling. Impact on population. Video by keynote conference speaker Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist and author of 12 books on global trends including Futurewise and Building a Better Business. Birth rates, falling, fertility, women, female, trends, demographic, population, growth, decline, rates, treatment, families, gender, careers, children, babies, conception, child, asia, America, Europe, africa
Birth rates, falling, fertility, women, female, trends, demographic, population, growth, decline, rates, treatment, families, gender, careers, children, babies, conception, child, asia, America, Europe, Africa

Staying Young - anti ageing research

2008-03-27T04:47:00.001-07:00

Science of ageing. How to stop getting old. Medical research into physiology of ageing. How cells get old. Tissue regeneration of heart, muscle, retina, spine, brain and other organs. Repair of tissue damage. Organ regeneration. Cure for blood pressure? New facelift therapy? Humpback whales, Rockfish Project and slow ageing in turtles and parrots. Human impact of anti-aging therapy. Social impact of living longer. Impact on longevity forecasts for life insurance and pensions risk. Cure for deafness and cure for macular degeneration. Conference keynote speaker and Futurist Dr Patrick Dixon.

Cure for rheumatoid arthritis?

2008-03-26T23:43:00.003-07:00

Cure for autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis, rheumatoid, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis? Targetting specific immune cells to restore normal immune system with potentially very few side effects. Medical research using immunology. But will pharmaceutical companies wish or be able to fund such research? It will be a technique not a therapy to be sold.

Cure for diabetes?

2008-03-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

Video on: Could we find a cure for juvenile diabetes (different from type 2 adult diabetes). Health problems from raised blood sugar, insulin deficiency, nerve damage, blindness, heart disease, stroke, impotence and many other issues. Possible therapy using adult stem cells which produce natural human insulin in response to rise in blood sugar. Research with liver cells transforming into insulin secreting cells. Possible side effects. Growing type 2 diabetes among children and adults. Health care costs. conference keynote speaker and futurist.

Joint replacement for rheumatoid and osteoarthritis

2008-03-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

Growing need with older population. Largest market in US. New treatments and methods. Plastic and metal hips wear out, need revision, complications, infection, dislocation. Preserve neck of femur. Using adult stem cells to regrow joint surfaces. Grow new cartilage. Repair knee, hip, shoulder repairs. Chronic pain and disability, lack of mobility, improving mobility and function, range of movement. Medical research. Orthopaedics / orthopaedics and rheumatology future trends. Patrick Dixon, conference keynote speaker and futurist.

Bird flu - real risks to personal lives, business, society

2007-07-02T02:34:00.001-07:00

Bird flu risks - video comment by Patrick Dixon

Parkinsons disease research latest - viruses and stem ce

2007-06-27T12:18:00.001-07:00

Parkinsons disease video comment on latest research using viruses - gene therapy to stimulate GABA production rather than production of dopamine - comment by Patrick Dixon

Pharmaceutical industry and nutrition breakthroughs

2007-06-19T10:22:00.001-07:00

Interesting new developments this week in linking genes to breast cancer predictions. However this will only benefit a tiny minority of women with breast cancer.

Also in engineering a cow which produces the equivalent of skimmed milk. For years now I have been predicting that scientists will succeed in transforming the composition of cow’s milk. Another step on will be to create a cow which produces milk with almost identical formulation to human breast milk.

Current Event 2007 - article on human cloning / sheep-human chimeras

2007-06-13T04:40:00.000-07:00

Volume 106; Issue 23; ISSN: 00113492 2007 Current Events.

What do you get when you cross a sheep with a human? That sounds like a joke, but the question is no laughing matter; it's serious science. The result, a chimera, is an animal with cells from another animal. Recently, Esmail Zanjani, a scientist at the University of Nevada, announced he had created sheep with 15 percent human cells. His goal is to create partly human organs for people who need transplants.
The word chimera comes from a mythical Greek beast with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's tail. Skeptics say that the prospect of growing human spare parts in sheep is still a distant dream. Modern cloning techniques, however, have allowed scientists to enter uncharted and, some people say, dangerous territory. Currently, no laws regulate the creation of chimeras-only voluntary guidelines from the National Academies. And the absence of legislation is, to some, as scary as the original Greek chimera.
BIOLOGICAL NIGHTMARE
In 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush called for "legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms," including "creating human-animal hybrids." At the time, his speech left many people scratching their heads and wondering whether the president had just proposed a ban on mermaids. But Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) knew exactly what Bush meant.
"Human chimeras-long considered science fiction or mythology-have become reality," he said in a 2005 speech at Harvard Law School. "These hybrid creatures blur the line between humans and animals and [seriously] compromise human dignity." Brownback proposed a law in 2006 banning human chimera research. One of his main concerns is that such research often uses human embryonic stem cells, the extraction of which destroys the embryo. Brownback is among many critics who consider that practice immoral.
Brownback also fears that mixing human and animal genetic material could create new diseases. Dr. Patrick Dixon, a lecturer on biological trends, worries that new viruses could be a "biological nightmare" for humans. "Mutant animal viruses are a real threat, as we have seen with HIV [the virus that causes AIDS]."

Mobile phone radiation - health risks - facts

2007-05-27T08:52:00.001-07:00

Video about mobile phone radiation and health

Future of the Pharmaceutical industry - new attack on ethics - pushing lifestyle issues

2006-06-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

A new report in the Public Library of Science Medicine has again accused the pharmaceutical industry of unethical behaviour, this time by “disease-mongering” and “lifestyle” treatments for minor problems.

This comes at a time when AstraZeneca, Shire Pharmaceuticals, GSK and others are reporting strong profit growth.

The problem for the report is that it seems to ignore the pattern of history of medicine.

As society has become more affluent, and as medical progress has continued, each generation has tended to think of illness in a new way. Issues that were considered just the inconveniences of life in previous decades now become treatable conditions which people are wanting help with.

I often talk of above the line and below the line: above is medical, below is performance or lifestyle – but the line keeps falling.

IVF – was below the line in the UK, a fact of life if you are infertile. But now has become a treatable condition under the NHS.

Cosmetic surgery was entirely below the line except when dealing with injuries, but in today’s NHS even a total sex change operation is now above the line, as is just about any kind of cosmetic surgery if a strong enough case can be made about the psychological damage being caused.

Hair loss in women – above the line.

Hair loss in men – below the line.

Impotence – definitely now above the line.

Mental enhancement drugs in older people with memory loss – above the line.

Mental enhancement drugs in older people without memory loss – below the line.

The big issue for the future of the pharmacueutical industry is to get accurate predictions about how that line is likely to move in the next 5-15 years – but that in turn also depends on what new options become available.

Repair of inner ear - deaf cure - using stem cells

2006-06-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

For a while I have been working on the idea that we will one day be able to repair deafness – which is a universal problem for all those over the age of 75. In fact you can find some kind of hearing loss in anyone over the age of 55 if you look hard enough.

The market for a cure for deafness is huge.

In Nature this month there is a report by Neil Segil and colleagues at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles – University of Southern California – in which they show they have made new hair cells from adult stem cells in the inner ear.

These cells have turned off production of a protein p27. This offers a possible drug route to cure deafness, by blocking the p27 system and encouraging these cells to develop into new hair cells.

The work was done in culture but is still very exciting.

This is not the first time that scientists have explored ear cell regeneration.

It is becoming clear from many different studies that repair of the retina, inner ear, spinal cord, heart or brain will one day be relatively easy.

The challenge for the future of the pharmaceutical industry will be to be able to develop a drug which can encourage these cell-based transformations without removing cells in any way. Watch this space – many different teams in biotech companies are actively developing solutions along these lines.

Transplant patients receive own cells

2006-06-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

The first patients have received organs grown from their own tissue in the laboratory. Bladders have been grown from people’s own muscle and bladder cells – work done by the Advanced Urology Institute in Illinois. I think the whole are of tissue regeneration is set to take off over the next 3-5 years.

For more on stem cells and other similar issues of tissue regeneration see:

http://www.globalchange.com/stemcells2.htm

Cure for Alzheimers disease?

2006-06-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

I shared a platform with Baroness Susan Greenfield this week at an event for Munich Re. Susan is also Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University and a leading authority on neurophysiology.

We talked about new approaches to treatment of Alzheimers disease. The key will be to find surrogate markers which indicate early progression before symptoms appear of memory loss. This will mean far shorter clinical trials. We will be able to see rapidly if drugs work or not, by observing if further losses of brain cells have occurred and if so at what speed, regardless of whether there are any noticeable effects on mental performance.

Susan is confident that we will find reliable surrogate markers and also some interesting new therapies which will slow down or stop the deaths of brain cells. While such treatments will not reverse previous damage, surrogate markers will allow very early intervention.

Susan also showed interesting studies on the impact of brain stimulation. The brain remodels itself every day, with new neuronal connections made as a result of experience. There is strong evidence from many studies that mental effort of all kinds is linked to formation of new neuronal connections, and the more of these we have, the greater our so-called cognitive reserve, or capacity to withstand loss of brain cells.

Pharmacueutical industry faces fresh pressure on intellectual property

2006-06-06T04:07:00.000-07:00

Expect new pressures on the pharmaceutical industry when it comes to protecting the patents on their product portfolio.

In some territories such as China the situation is far from clear from the legal point of view. But even if a pharmaceutical company feels it has a strong case, the real question is whether the corporation has the moral strength to pursue a court battle.

As we saw in the collapse of a prominent legal battle in S Africa over the use of generic drugs against HIV, the industry as a whole shows little appetite for big, highly publicised legal cases.

The more urgently needed a drug is to help save lives in the poorest nations, the greater the probability that the patent owner will be under pressure to allow other manufacturers to make and sell more or less at cost, or to cut their own market price.

Future blockbuster drugs are therefore more likely to be those which are targetted at developed markets, for lifestyle or chronic conditions.

In the meantime the cost of developing a new drug is approaching $1bn, and the time needed for the whole process of discovery through to marketing can be as long as 15 years, further eroding the 25 year protection interval for exploitation of a discovery.

Olive oil antiinflammatory effect

2006-05-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

Interesting report in New Scientist recently showing that 50mls per day of olive oil in the diet is equivalent to a dose of ibrupfofen. We are increasingly recognising the impact of diet on disease processes. Expect to see new ranges of neutraceuticals: products with nutrition as well as therapeutic effects. Many of these will be artificial creations such as bananas which contain a vaccine.

Threat from generics in an online world

2006-04-30T01:37:00.000-07:00

A few months ago there were two prices for Cipro online: the price in New York $5 a tablet, and in Delhi 35c a tablet.

One was made officially, the other was an "illegal" generic.

In the old days before the web such a thing would hardly have mattered so long as generics stayed in emerging economies where sales of the high priced alternative would have been almost zero.

But in the net world, with Fedex and other carriers able to carry packets in a day, and customs / regulators overwhelmed, more or less any medicine can turn up in any country from any source.

Expect countries like India and China to tighten up their intellectual property regulations, while other emerging nations quickly fill the gap as safe havens for unauthorised generic manufacturing.

Why pipelines are so empty

2006-04-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

Around 75% of all pharmaceutical research spending is by the very few largest companies, while around 66% of all new innovation is being carried out by many hundreds of smaller independent biotech startups and similar organisations. In many pharma companies most of their work is still driven by extending the functionality and patent protection of existing therapies.

Meanwhile it now costs over $800 million to bring a new drug to market, and can take 15 years. The entire model is becoming unsustainable. Expect significant reforms and changes in pharma structure over the next decade.

Inventing disease or true unmet need - accusations against pharmacuetical industry

2006-04-28T00:23:00.000-07:00

The future of the pharmaceutical industry will be dominated by innovation, much of it biotech driven. But success depends on linking new product innovation to genuine unmet need. The accusation is that some pharma companies have been inventing new treatment areas and diseases to maximise revenue from drugs that would otherwise have low sales.

However, at the end of the day the only real judge of unmet need is the person who is suffering. As a physician myself I know how blind doctors can be to the true toll of illness on those who come to them. An obvious example is the relief of pain in hospice medicine (my own specialty in the days when I was a practising doctor). The entire hospice movement has been created in part to solve a nightmare for cancer patients – untreated pain and other major symptoms, despite the fact that many highly effective therapies are available. Doctors are often ignorant, or afraid to ask the questions and patients often hold back from revealing the truth. The reasons for these things are complex, but this is just one example where surveys of unmet need show huge differences between what doctors think is happening, what patients tell their doctors about and what patients actually experience.

Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry

2006-04-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Future of the Pharmaceutical Industry - articles and presentations