Today marks the 25th anniversary of the FDA’s approval of the first drug produced by biotechnology, Genentech’s Humulin. I often use Humulin as a case study for biotechnology, because Genentech’s bacterial-fermentation approach to making insulin was revolutionary compared to the previous methods of harvesting insulin from pig pancreas.
Thanks for OpenMarket for reminding me of this important anniversary. Their post on the topic is here
I’ve been waiting to write up the Exubera story for the next edition of Building Biotechnology, and the story just keeps getting better.
Exubera is was Pfizer’s innovative answer to the diabetes drug market. The market is so saturated with competitive products, that the only way to capture significant market share is to innovate. Either produce a better drug — difficult, unless you can think of something better than resolving an insulin deficiency by administering insulin! — or improve on current delivery methods. Answering the second challenge, Pfizer developed an inhalable version of insulin. This drug promised to eliminate the need for injections or implantable dosage systems.
Early responses were positive (Washington Post and NPR), but in what is being painted as a marketing catastrophe Read more →
I’ll be speaking at the Biotech for Turkey conference in Istanbul on November 7th. This conference, convened by Bosfor Biotech Partners, will cover global biotechnology strategies and developments in Turkey. For more details, contact Bosfor Biotech at the URL above or browse the conference schedule: Biotech for Turkey
A new issue of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology has just been posted. Drop me a line if you would like to make a submission.
Volume 13, Issue 4
| Editorial | |
| Neil Henderson |
| Is ‘evergreening’ a cause for concern? A legal perspective | |
| Scott Parker, Kevin Mooney |
| Exploiting the business opportunities in biotech connections: The power of social networks | |
| Ian P McCarthy, Leyland Pitt, Colin Campbell, Rian van der Merwe, Esmail Salehi-Sangeri |
| The roles and responsibilities of the EU qualified person for pharmacovigilance under Volume IXa March 2007 | |
| Graeme Ladds |
| Investing in new medical technologies: A decision framework | |
| Emma Cosh, Alan Girling, Richard Lilford, Helen McAteer, Terry Young |
| Innovative capabilities and strategic alliances: Who is gaining what in the pharmaceutical industry? | |
| Marisa Ohba, Paulo N Figueiredo |
| Industrial enzymes in bioindustrial sector development: An Indian perspective | |
| Anuj Kumar Chandel, Ravinder Rudravaram, Linga Venkateswar Rao, Pogaku Ravindra, Mangamoori Lakshmi Narasu |
| Legal and regulatory update | |
| Gerry Kamstra, John Wilkinson |
| Book Review: The Economics of Biotechnology: Volumes I and II | |
| Iraj Daizadeh |
| Book Review: Global Governance of Food and Agriculture Industries | |
| Alan McHughen |
| Book Review: The International Politics of Genetically Modified Food: Diplomacy, Trade and Law | |
| Robert Paarlberg |
| Science Business: The Promise, the Reality and the Future of Biotech | |
| Weijun Li |
Wired has an article on the potential for the pharmaceutical industry to support the international space station, using the microgravity environment to grow better quality crystals than can be grown on earth, in less time.
Protein crystals can be used to improve drug discovery, but the distance from crystal to drug is very long. Much time and money need to be invested to develop or modify drugs based on crystallographic findings, which makes me wonder what the value of improved crystals might be — enough to justify growing them in orbit?
Yali Friedman lives in Washington, DC and is author of Building Biotechnology and other books; founder of DrugPatentWatch; and chief editor of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology.
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