Industry news

Starting antiretroviral treatment early improves outcomes for HIV-infected individuals

U.S. National Institute of Health

A major international randomized clinical trial has found that HIV-infected individuals have a considerably lower risk of developing AIDS or other serious illnesses if they start taking antiretroviral drugs sooner, when their CD4+ T-cell count—a key measure of immune system health—is higher, instead of waiting until the CD4+ cell count drops to lower levels. Together with data from previous studies showing that antiretroviral treatment reduced the risk of HIV transmission to uninfected sexual partners, these findings support offering treatment to everyone with HIV.

27 May 2015

NovaMedica is Expanding Ophta Horizons

NovaMedica, a Russian pharmaceutical company, participated in the White Nights-2015 International Ophthalmology Congress and hosted a satellite symposium “NovaMedica: New Ophta Horizons”. The symposium was started by Boris Malyugin, Deputy General Director for Science at MNTK “Eye Microsurgery” named after Federov S.N., and presented the first publication of in vitro research results on potency of netilmicin and reference drug products.

Singapore moving to meet pharma manufacturing demand for high-quality water

Joseph Keenan / FiercePharmaManufacturing

Singapore, like other Asian countries looking to woo pharmaceutical manufacturers, is moving quickly to meet increasing demand for high-quality water required by strict regulations in the U.S. and European Union.

EU's medicines agency stands by recommendation to suspend drugs studied at GVK India facility

Joseph Keenan / FiercePharmaManufacturing

The European Medicines Agency is standing by its original recommendation made earlier this year to suspend a number of medicines that received European Union clearance based on clinical studies conducted by GVK Biosciences in India.

CBMG says China and U.S. growing quickly closer in biotech space

EJ Lane / FeircePharmaAsia

Collaboration between biotech companies from the U.S. and China is in a good state of flux as plays from "friends and family" and signs of growing venture capital and Big Pharma licensing deals are in motion at the same time, according to Andrew Chan, senior vice president of corporate business development for China-only Nasdaq-listed biotech, Cellular Biomedicine Group ($CBMG).

Patents: More Important to Biopharmaceutical Sector than Other Industries

Setareh Samii / PhRMA

According to Abraham Lincoln, the patent system “secured to the inventor for a limited time exclusive use of his inventions, and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius in the discovery and productions of new and useful things.”

New Study Illustrates Biopharmaceutical Industry’s Commitment to Personalized Medicine

Gretta Stone / PhRMA

Potential personalized medicines represent 42 percent of drugs in the pipeline. This new finding, from a survey by the Tufts Center for the Study for Drug Development (CSDD), is remarkably high, particularly given that about 15 years ago the science of genomic medicine was just developing and that number was virtually zero.

Biopharmaceutical Companies Recognized as Meaningful Places to Work

John Tunnell / PhRMA

According to Business Insider the scores were calculated considering “high job satisfaction, low job stress, ability to telecommute, high job meaning, experienced median pay/total cash compensation, and salary delta.”

Import Substitution to Cost Russia $50 Billion

The Moscow Times

Russia's import substitution program will cost at least 2.5 trillion rubles ($50 billion), news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday, citing Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov.

FDA to allow midstream changes to device trials as part of effort to speed up approvals

Varun Saxena / FierceMedicalDevices

The FDA continued its focus on improving the clinical trial paradigm with this week's issuance of a draft guidance on adaptive designs for medical device clinical studies. Similar to a prior guidance on the incorporation of patient preference data in clinical trials, the latest guidance should help companies perform trials faster, and signals greater flexibility on the behalf of the FDA.