Monthly Archives: March 2012

Should Smokers Cough Up Money for Cancer Research?

By Ben Comer | Published: March 30, 2012
This June, Californians will be asked whether cigarette smokers should subsidize research to treat diseases related to smoking cigarettes. California’s Proposition 29, if passed, would levy an additional tax of $1 on every pack of smokes sold in the state beginning in October 2012. The tax would generate an estimated $615 million in 2012/2013, and [...]
Posted in Legal, R&D, Regulatory, Safety, Strategy, healthcare | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The JOBS Act: A Boost for Biopharma?

By Guest Blogger | Published: March 30, 2012
Amid one of the most divisive eras in our nation’s political history, one thing we can all pretty much agree on is the fact that our stalled economic engine needs a jumpstart. According to recent data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate has been above 8% for more than three straight [...]
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Fabry Disease Drug Shortage: Crisis Averted But No Long-Term Fix

By Guest Blogger | Published: March 23, 2012
By Amy Ritter. A critical drug that has experienced shortages is Genzyme’s Fabrazyme (agalsidase beta), the only enzyme replacement therapy approved in the US for Fabry disease. The drug was originally produced at the company’s Allston, Massachusetts plant. The Allston plant was plagued with quality problems, which resulted in a consent decree, temporary closure of the [...]
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Supreme Court: Prometheus Decision a Harbinger for Myriad?

By Ben Comer | Published: March 21, 2012
In judging the Prometheus patents invalid, the Supreme Court may have shown its hand on the upcoming Myriad Genetics case. In a unanimous decision on Tuesday, the Supreme Court stripped two Prometheus patents on the grounds that the company didn’t go far enough beyond merely identifying a natural law. Natural laws – a product [...]
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UK Pharma/Bio Responds to 'Predictable' Budget

By Julian Upton | Published: March 21, 2012
UK pharma and biopharma was quick to respond positively to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s annual Budget speech last week, despite some industry disappointment at a fiscal program widely derided as safe, neutral, and, in Andrew Goodwin of Ernst & Young’s words, “one of the most predictable” of recent times. 
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