This morning I read about a public–private collaboration that reflects many of the latest trends in the drug industry today. The project began when the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) created the 21st Century Biodefense (21CB) initiative to enhance the nation’s biosecurity. Robert J. Cindrich, who is leading the initiative, said in a press release that the project’s goal was to foster advances in vaccine development and manufacturing. Battelle (Columbus, OH), a research and development organization, IBM (Armonk, NY), Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ), and GE Healthcare (Waukesha, WI) have all joined the collaboration so far. Read more »

These days, mandatory furloughs and staff cuts have employees in all industries nervously glancing over their shoulders. The pharmaceutical industry is no exception. Last week, Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ) revealed plans to reduce its workforce by 15% by the end of 2012. Read more »

The numbers are in, and it looks like 2009 produced a bumper crop of biopharmaceuticals. The US Food and Drug Administration approved a record 16 new biopharmaceutical entities last year, as opposed to 10 in 2008, according to a study by the Biotechnology Information Institute. Seven recombinant-protein or antibody products were approved last year, continuing an upward trend for these molecules. Great news, right? Read more »

It’s a new year and the cusp of a new decade. In boardrooms and management suites, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical executives are asking each other how their companies can develop innovative new products and turn a profit in the coming years. Here’s my unsolicited advice: hire more women managers. Read more »

Art imitates life, and sometimes drug-delivery mechanisms do, too. Scientists often draw inspiration from natural agents and the body’s processes when developing carriers for therapies. Synthetic red blood cells are a new product of this strategy that seems to raise new possibilities in drug delivery. Read more »

Despite, or because of, economic difficulties and meager pipelines, the recent past has seen many drug companies investigate alternative delivery methods for new and established products. A new deal between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, London) and Intercell (Vienna) reflects this trend and raises hopes for the development of innovative routes of administration. Read more »

Last week, Genzyme’s (Cambridge, MA) Allston Landing, Massachusetts, plant resumed production of Cerezyme, the company’s treatment for Gaucher’s disease. Genzyme presumably found and eliminated the source of contamination that had been reported weeks earlier. You’d think that after putting out this latest fire at the troubled plant, the company would be justified in heaving a sigh of relief. Read more »

Friday the 13th was an unlucky day for Genzyme (Cambridge, MA). On that day, the company and the US Food and Drug Administration alerted healthcare providers that stainless steel fragments, nonlatex rubber, and fiberlike material had been found in products filled at Genzyme’s Allston Landing manufacturing facility. The enzyme-replacement products Cerezyme, Fabrazyme, Myozyme, Aldurazyme, and Thyrogen were affected. FDA advised that visual inspection and filtration of the products should reduce the risk of administering contaminated medicines to patients. Read more »

After much ado, the US House of Representatives passed a healthcare-reform bill this weekend. Drugmakers and commentators are understandably eager to parse the bill to find out what it would mean for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. So what’s the verdict? Read more »

I’ve been paying attention to Merck’s (Whitehouse Station, NJ) Gardasil vaccine ever since I first heard of it because it’s a subject that combines biopharmaceuticals, gender issues, and the politics of public health. At first, critics contended that giving young girls Merck’s human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine would not just prevent cervical cancer, but also promote promiscuity. This concern may have subsided, but two new wrinkles in the Gardasil story came to light on Friday. Read more »