The growth of pharma industries has slowed in recent years because of various reasons such as patent expiries, generic competition, drying pipelines, and increasingly stringent regulatory guidelines. Many blockbuster drugs will loose their exclusivity in next 5 years. Therefore, the current economic situation plus the huge generic competition shifted the focus of pharmaceutical companies from t...

Drug discovery nowadays is a highly innovative process by which new drugs are discovered and/or designed. It is expected that in the year 2010, at least 50% of all new approved drugs will come from the biopharmaceutical sector. The discovery and validation process is mostly carried out by new innovative and medium-sized companies. But, despite advances in technology and greater understanding of...

There are two central issues to consider in assessing the motor side effects of atypical antipsychotic (AA) drugs. The fi rst is the defi nition of what it means to be an AA drug. While one review states that ‘the defi ning characteristic of an AA is its lower risk of inducing EPS [extra pyramidal symptoms] [1]’ there is, in fact, no consensus defi nition [2] of what it means to be ‘atypical’. ...

BACKGROUND The present study aimed to describe exposure and attitudes of French medical residents towards pharmaceutical industry. The study was performed shortly after the Mediator affair which revealed several serious conflicts of interest inside the French health system. METHODS AND FINDINGS A cross-sectional study was implemented among residents from 6 French medical faculties. Independen...

Inadequate information is available on how newborn babies and infants handle drugs, due to a large extent to the many ethical, financial and practical issues which discourage drug trials in neonates. The reluctance of drug companies to license neonatal drugs has been highlighted recently in the media. Such reticence is not surprising as the commonly used drugs in neonates have been around for a...

The present work on drug-induced ototoxicity, tinnitus and vertigo represents the update and revision of a previous guide to adverse drug reactions for italian physicians (2005). The panorama of drug-induced side effects causing ototoxicity or symptoms such as tinnitus or dizziness and vertigo has enlarged in recent years, thanks to a better knowledge and a more specific attention of pharmaceut...

What health professionals know about medicines resembles the information provided in the advertisements of pharmaceutical companies rather than the scientific literature. Drug companies spend 15-20% of their income on promotion. They are responsible for providing adequate information about drugs, and the wording and illustrations should be consistent with the scientific data sheet for the drug ...

about its effectiveness will have to be high, and payers will need to be concerned about inappropriate use. Their four-year-old analysis of the factors needed for risk-sharing arrangements to succeed still rings true. Earlier this year, Aetna and Cigna signed deals with Novartis that link payments for its new heart failure medication, a valsartan–sacubitril combination (Entresto), to the hospit...

Drug companies breathe easier as PDUFA VI heads for approval.

Patients have certain expectations. High on their list will be the wish that doctors are impartial and that the choice of the drugs they prescribe is based on independent information rather than on partisan advice from a drug company. The pharmaceutical industry believes and acts otherwise, and the success with which drug companies have gained the initiative and currently dominate therapeutic p...