Purple Haze
The prospects of a medicinal version of cannabis being produced have never been better but manufacturers are still trying to see through the haze of ethical and practical issues.

Financial Snapshot For December 2003
Bulls Charge Ahead

What’s Next for Pharma?
Experts from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development discuss the outlook for R&D, mergers, and the FDA’s changing role

India: Big Pharma’s New Promised Land?
For years, software companies have known that they can slash costs by hiring eager, smart, and inexpensive programmers and engineers in India. Following in software’s footsteps, corporations providing telephone support and back-office services soon saw the virtues of India’s well-trained workforce as well. Now, Big Pharma is discovering the same benefits, as multinationals such as Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Novartis tap India’s research and manufacturing prowess to cut costs and speed development of new pharmaceuticals.

Genetically engineered Glofish spark controversy
The nation’s first genetically engineered pet glows in the dark and has been lighting up cash registers in Michigan pet shops. But Glofish, created by splicing a sea anemone gene into a zebra fish, may not be available for long.

Feeling Lucky?
Counterfeiters have moved beyond bogus currency and fake designer handbags into the lucrative world of prescription drugs, setting off a technology race to foil copycats who profit on phony pharmaceuticals.

Biotech industry raises $16.4B in new funding in 2003
The biotechnology industry raised $16.4 billion in new financing and earned 37 FDA approvals in 2003, the Biotechnology Industry Organization in Washington, D.C., said Monday.

Baby Steps
New work shows the promise, and pitfalls, of embryonic-stem-cell research

A Happy Pill for Some Biotechs
Analysts predict 2003’s rally will continue, with the winners changing to include a few blue-chip names and select up-and-comers.

Biotech: A Coming Boom — or Bust?
Two industry veterans lay out contrasting views about what the sector and its investors can expect over the next 12 months.