Carnival of Biotechnology

This edition of the Carnival of Biotechnology features a number of posts on distressing industry trends, some enlightening patent discussion, and interesting commentary on issues in commercialization

Industry Trends

Forbes presents Genentech’s Next Act. his dialogue with Genentech’s chief officers acknowledges the longshot Genentech was in its early days and plots the future paths Genentech is pursuing to continue to grow.

The Economist presents Billion dollar pills — a profile of the overhaul transpiring at Pfizer. The magnitude of the hanges taking place at Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, cast a dark omen over the rest of the industry.

In a departure from the typical “David and Goliath” partnerships between typically small biotech firms and typically large pharmaceutical firms, pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb have formed a partnership to develop diabetes drugs. Could this be the start of a new trend? The Mars Blog gives you their take.

Wrapping up M&A activity in 2006, Signals Magazine finds M&As still sizzling.

Regulation and Patents

Fighting Aging has an interesting take on medical tourism. Beyond just offering lower prices due to lower operating costs, Medical Tourism Means Medical Competition because it can also skirt patent and regulatory burdens.

The Patent Baristas ask Is it Worth it for Generics to Challenge Branded Drugs? The case of Apotex’s generic Plavix highlights many of the motivations for generic firms to challenge drug patents, and questions how far a generic firm should press.

An Nobel laureate in economics posts an editorial in the British Medical Journal challenges the belief that intellectual property rights promote innovation in Scrooge and intellectual property rights and proposes “medical prize fund” in place of patents.

Commercialization

The Scientist’s article The trouble with tech transfer examines the issues
impeding the proression of inventions from research laboratories to the marketplace. The vigorous discussion in the comments section complements the article quite well!

In the light of the mass layoffs of sales workers, Pharmamarketing asks and answers the question, Are Sales Reps Necessary?


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