Pharmaceutical Executive-03-01-2001

London, UK-Changes to the law on human embryo research could herald a new era for UK biotech research. The government feared its proposals to allow the cloning of embryos as sources for stem cells for research would be thrown out by the House of Lords-where a powerful body of opinion holds that they represent a slippery slope toward reproductive cloning-but the proposals passed by a surprisingly large majority.

Industry Must Set Product Prices That Ensure Reasonable Profit - and Minimize Political Fallout

Sodertalje, Sweden-After two consecutive years of robust postmerger growth, AstraZeneca is facing a tough 2001. The company recorded a 16 percent increase in pretax profits for 2000, but CEO Tom McKillop advises that this year}s growth will be in the 5}6 percent range when Losec/Prilosec (omeprazole)-the world}s best-selling medicine-goes off patent and the US launch of its successor Nexium (esomeprazole) is delayed.

A cure for cancer is the Holy Grail of modern medicine--long sought but seemingly unattainable. Because cancer cells are not foreign, easily identifiable invaders, but native parts of the bodies in which they live, neither the immune system nor chemical compounds have been able to accurately target and eliminate them from healthy tissue.

New Delhi, India-Anthrax, a disease that most commonly infects livestock, has been diagnosed at an increasing rate in humans in the southern states of India. The disease has been eradicated in the developed world but remains endemic in South India, mostly due to a lack of effective human and animal vaccines.

Beijing, China-Chinese scientists registered more than 110 patents on genes cloned last year from the human hypothalamus}pituitary}adrenal axis. They profiled the axis} gene expression, cloning more than 300 previously unknown genes discovered during its sequencing.

FDA proposals for expanding the pediatric study program include tax incentives and }transferable exclusivity.}

Sidney Taurel Takes His Global Team Beyond Prozac

Huntingdon, UK-Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract research organization under siege by animal rights activists, secured its short-term future through a refinancing package offered by overseas institutions.

Stirling, UK-Scotia became the first public UK biotechnology company to seek protection from creditors after the European Medicines Evaluation Agency rejected Foscan (temoporfin), the anticancer agent on which its fortunes were pinned.

United States-At this time last year, the United States} supply of tetanus vaccine was easily met by the two companies licensed to produce it there, Aventis Pasteur and Wyeth-Ayerst. But in June 2000, the latter ran into regulatory problems, and FDA seized thousands of substandard doses of acellular pertussis vaccine from the company}s Marietta, Pennsylvania, plant.

Brazil}In 1994, the World Bank estimated that 1.2 million Brazilians would be HIV-positive in 2000.

Socioeconomic Reform in Japan Clears the Path for Pharma Companies' Success There.

}Drug costs continue to rise at an alarming rate. Two major reasons for the increasing costs are introductions of new drugs and direct-to-consumer advertising campaigns that have been effective in marketing expensive name brand drugs.}