Quality/GMPs

Doctors can charge up to $500 per hour to discuss the pros and cons of clinical drug trials.

This quality approach to biotech manufacturing may also establish a pathway for approving generic versions of biotech therapies.

You tell me whar a man gits his corn pone, en I'll tell you what his 'pinions is."

Achieving approval of a new pharmacologic agent or device on a worldwide basis is a significant challenge. The guidelines and requirements that steer our efforts at enhancing and extending life around the world are tedious and, fortunately, comprehensive. In spite of relatively few setbacks, perhaps in no other category than pharmaceutical development are the advantages of these guidelines more evident.

"Smart" tags speak only when spoken to. "Brilliant" tags are capable of independent decision-making.

[email protected] will contain current product labeling information plus safety data gleaned from adverse event reports.

According to a 2005 study by the American Academy of Neurology, donepezil may improve the memory of Alzheimers patients and those suffering with multiple sclerosis.

Validation of a cleaning process demonstrates that it can reliably and effectively remove residue to an acceptable level.

Several methods are available to assess RNA integrity and purity, which may affect downstream applications.

Operating costs are the white-hot issue in the boardrooms of our life sciences clients and they tend to rule the site selection process. A soft economy, worldwide trade competition, drug cost containment pressures from the US government, and a lean and mean message sent by the venture capital community mean that quantitative factors that focus on the cost of doing business are trumping qualitative lifestyle factors, especially when evaluating sites for a new biopharmaceutical facility.

Many industry professionals know that analytical testing for biopharmaceuticals for all raw materials, production in-process stages, and final containers must be validated, and they generally understand how this can be achieved. Many of us even understand the basic concepts of laboratory compliance and production process quality. However, how exactly are analytical test method performance and process robustness related and how do they depend on each other? Furthermore, how do we monitor and maintain the accuracy and reliability of analytical methods long after validation completion to ensure the suitability of these methods for measuring process quality?

...each day a product is delayed is estimated to cost upwards of $1 million to $100 million.

Departure from dilutional similarity can be interpreted as evidence that the groups of organisms are not comparable or the preparations do not contain the same active compounds.

IT, payroll, manufacturing, and clinical-trial data management are key areas for growth in biopharm outsourcing efforts.

Health programs seek to establish secure systems to manage the fast-expanding quantities of drugs and medical products going to developing countries.

The Senate confirmed Lester Crawford in July as the official head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Crawford's nomination had been put on hold as various legislators pressured FDA to approve an over-the-counter version of the "morning-after" pill, Plan B, and to support broader drug importing.

Formal process and operation improvement activities are being employed in almost every biopharmaceutical manufacturing company, according to a recent survey conducted by Tefen Ltd and Millipore Corporation. The industry-wide survey was conducted to assess current biopharmaceutical operations excellence (OpEx) trends and needs, as well as OpEx perceptions and expectations related to industry suppliers.

...biopharmaceutical companies still face rampant piracy and counterfeiting of patented products.

Daunting but common challenges currently face many biotech, pharmaceutical, and device firms. These companies are encountering a restless public, worried investors, and a skeptical, publicity-hungry Congress that are all concerned about product safety and the reliability of regulators' scrutiny.

Current best practices of containment reduce the risks associated with biotech development.

Pharma industry equipment utilization hovers below 40 percent, which would be an unacceptable figure in most industries.

Part of the problem with cancer drugs as investment picks is that investors don't trust the underlying studies that seem to prop up vaccine maker stocks.

Historically, the big pharmaceutical companies (Big Pharma) have sought to feed their marketing machines by manufacturing blockbuster drugs—chemical-based, one-type-fits-all products that treat chronic conditions such as heart disease or arthritis. This approach has yielded recurring revenue streams from large patient populations. In contrast, biotechnology companies typically have created protein-based drugs,or biologics, to treat acute or niche conditions and diseases. With few exceptions (such as the biotech giant Amgen), biotech companies have foregone doing the marketing and sales of their drugs themselves, and have, instead, relied on others to perform their marketing and sales functions.

The Interface of America's Antitrust and Intellectual Property Laws

Patents are litigated in the biopharmaceutical industry perhaps more often than any other form of IP