Pharmaceutical Executive-10-01-2004

Acambis'smallpox vaccine will be among the first biodefense products to come to market under the three-month old US BioShield law.

How Kos Pharmaceuticals turned a 50-year-old drug for raising HDL cholesterol into a brand-new, burgeoning business.

The marketing challenge for every business is to sell products against a backdrop of competitive forces, technological developments, and established industry rules. While change is a constant, the natural tendency within each of these zones is to operate in some kind of normalcy, and for the relationships among them to interact in equilibrium. There are times, of course, when profound change occurs. These might be called "tipping points," where the weight of something new overwhelms the established logic.

Drugs are cheaper in some countries and more expensive in others. And that, experts say, is a good thing, not just for companies but for patients.

Waxman promised to put teeth in the proposal by levying fines on sponsors of clinical trials that fail to comply.

In an effort to diffuse the impact of generic competition, revitalize established brands, and enhance patient convenience for long-term drug therapy, pharma companies are offering an increasing number of combination drugs. These products can expand disease markets and increase patient compliance, while reducing consumer copayments, thereby benefiting pharma companies and patients.

Between now and 2008, $40 billion worth of pharmaceutical industry revenues are at risk through patent expiration on just 19 products in the United States alone. Worldwide, a much more dramatic $72 billion stands to be lost.

In the real world, progress doesn’t result in fewer complaints. It leads to complaining about better things.

Brand managers assume that more information leads to more effectiveness. Unfortunately, the reverse is true.

The fakes likely entered the market through internet commerce, yet the government seems to be encouraging online pharmacies by discussing a shakeup of retail drugstores.