August 2007

Amgen’s patents protect Epogen. Again.

August 29, 2007

Amgen’s got a record of savvy patenting to protect their blockbusters, and they’ve just done it again. A U.S. Federal District Court in Boston has ruled that Roche’s pegylated-erythropoietin infringes one of Amgen’s patents. I’m eager to hear the backstory on this one. Amgen previously prevented Transkaryotic (now owned by Shire) from using a completely [...]

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Drug approvals fall. Who’s to blame?

August 16, 2007

The FDA approved 38 drugs through July this year, down 31 percent from 55 approvals for the same period last year. Who’s to blame? According to Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, the FDA. Why? Vioxx. For details on extra scrutiny being applied by the FDA, see this CNNMoney summary.

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Carnival of Biotechnology

August 16, 2007

Welcome to the second August 2007 edition of Carnival of Biotechnology. International Biotechnology The Times (UK) has a report on the UK biotech sector, calling for consolidation to overcome a lack of capital. The Wall Street Journal has an article on Novartis’ lost patent case in India, where a patent on an improved version of [...]

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Journal of Commercial Biotechnology

August 13, 2007

I’ve recently joined the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology as managing editor. Drop me a line if you would like to make a submission. The most recent issue, edited by Neil Henderson, has just been published: Volume 13, Issue 3 Articles When should you fire the founder? PDF William Bains Constructing a processual model of communication [...]

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Call for chapters: Best practices in biotechnology business development

August 11, 2007

I’m in the final stages of preparing a book on best practices in biotechnology business development, and am looking for 1-2 more chapters. The chapters I’ve received so far are: Top Five Mistakes Communicating With Investors and The Media Securing Intellectual Property From The Inside Out Aggressive Intellectual Property Strategies Biotechnology Transfers And Models Facilitate [...]

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Drug Patent Expirations in August 2007

August 6, 2007

Courtesy of DrugPatentWatch.com: Drug Patent Expirations in August 2007*Drugs may be covered by more than one patent Tradename Applicant Generic Name Patent Number Patent Expiration ACCUPRIL Pfizer Pharms quinapril hydrochloride 4,743,450 AUG 24,2007 ACCURETIC Pfizer Pharms hydrochlorothiazide; quinapril hydrochloride 4,743,450 AUG 24,2007 ANTARA (MICRONIZED) Oscient fenofibrate 4,800,079 AUG 10,2007 CEREBYX Parke Davis fosphenytoin sodium 4,925,860 [...]

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Carnival of Biotechnology

August 1, 2007

Welcome to the August 2007 edition of Carnival of Biotechnology. Industry Trends Singapore-based ES Cell International, the company that was poised to lead in stem cell therapeutics, has abandoned its plans for stem cell therapies. Sometimes its hard for a company to live up to the high expectations they engender in their quest for financing. [...]

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