In a speech last week to the City Club of San Diego, John Lechleiter, chairman and chief executive officer of Eli Lilly, offered very candid remarks about the state of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, saying that the engine of biopharmaceutical innovation is “broken.” His comments may be a bitter pill to swallow in light of escalating investment in research and development (R&D), but his frankness may just be the remedy the industry needs to reinvent itself. Read more »

Following President Barak Obama’s address on healthcare reform to a joint session of Congress this week, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries reiterated their overall support for healthcare reform. Although not commenting in detail on specific measures offered by the President or Congressional proposals, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries will be important players in the upcoming weeks and months as the final proposals for healthcare reform materialize. Read more »

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced this week that it is creating a new committee of its board of directors dedicated to small biopharmaceutical companies. The committee will be composed of full and research associate members. In a separate item, late last month, Roche confirmed that it was leaving PhRMA to join the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the US-based trade group representing the biotechnology industry, in the wake of Roche’s recent acquisition of Genentech. Taken on one level, these moves simply reflect an organizational change by a well-established association to better serve and broaden its membership and the strategic shift of one member company. On another level, however, these moves reveal broader dynamics shaping the focus of the pharmaceutical industry. Read more »

Congress has taken up the Obama administration’s goal of making healthcare more affordable by introducing various strategies for reducing the cost of prescription drugs. But the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) have resisted several of Congress’s initiatives, and cost control has been elusive so far. Read more »

We’ve all seen trademarked skeletons, wall charts, calendars, paperweights, and supplies in doctors’ offices. And it’s blatantly clear that these items came from pharmaceutical companies—their names are written all over them. But soon, those long waits in the examining room before the doctor comes in may be quite boring because there won’t be much to look at. Read more »

Last month, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and the Rockefeller Foundation announced a challenge to HIV/AIDS scientists: design an AIDS-fighting protein to win $150,000. The winning protein design and sample will advance HIV vaccine development, and the winning researchers could receive a bonus of up to $1 million and/or the chance to pursue their research further with help from IAVI. Read more »

Now is the time when the ambitious among us decide how we’re going to improve ourselves during the new year. The pharmaceutical industry is starting 2009 with an effort to reassure the public that its interactions with doctors are on the up and up. Read more »

The 2008 election is only a week away, and much of the public discussion focuses on the presidential race between Obama and McCain. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that voters will also choose their US senators and representatives. This point is not lost on the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Read more »

Is the government doing enough to help us buy drugs at reasonable prices?

Last week, the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a report asserting that taxpayers pay as much as 30% more for prescriptions under Medicare Part D than under other government programs such as Medicaid. Medicare Part D is a privately administered program designed to help the elderly and disabled afford prescription drugs. When it was enacted in January 2006, drug companies were not required to provide discounts. Read more »

Regardless of how much I may agree with the general objectives of a professional organization, there are times when I just have to question the effectiveness of its tactics. Last week, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America revised its PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals. The document is an updated list of the original 2002 edition describing what constitutes as the “highest ethical standards” for pharmaceutical marketing professionals when communicating with healthcare providers. Read more »