The pharmaceutical industry has created highly innovative medicines, and in years past, was one of the most profitable industries in the world. It has lost that status as the costs of developing a drug have grown, with the FDA demanding ever-higher standards for approval. Fewer than one in ten compounds entering the clinic are approved […]

It seems not a day goes by without talk of an innovation crisis in the pharmaceutical industry. On, October 25, the German consultancy, Roland Berger, released an article titled “Fight of Flight” stating 65% of companies surveyed believe that the pharmaceutical industry is facing a strategic crisis. As the patent cliff nears, it appears the […]

Jason Chew In the US, patent holders are granted a 20-year term of exclusivity on their inventions. In the pharmaceutical industry, long drug development timelines combined with the Hatch-Waxman act have whittled the effective patent life of new drugs to less than 12 years on average. When this period ends, generic drugs enter the market […]

Jason Chew Innovation is the lifeblood of the economy. Exceptional basic research is crucial to private industry’s success in driving economic growth. This has been true in industries ranging from aeronautics to the internet. In both cases, much of the enabling technologies were developed in government-sponsored labs. This has been especially true in the life […]

Jason Chew The US is far and away the leader in the bioscience industry for now, but under-investment by government and hesitation by the Venture Capital industry may allow other countries to take the lead over the long term. In terms of statistics, America stands heads and shoulders above the competition: Receives one-third of new […]

Jason Chew There is no doubt that antibody therapeutics have revolutionized medicine in the last decades. Sales of antibody drugs are estimated to be $30 billion in 2009 and expected to grow at a 14% rate through 2012- this is more than double the rate of growth for all drug sales. Biotech companies have produced […]

Jason Chew According to a 2007 study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to entrepreneurship, 40% of youths between the ages of eight and 21 say they would someday like to start their own business. In our highly entrepreneurial society, risk-takers and innovators propel our continued economic growth. Garage and dorm-room start-ups […]

The term “Valley of Death” has come to describe the period of transition when a developing technology is deemed promising, but too new to validate its commercial potential and thereby attract the capital necessary for its continued development[1]. During this transition, there is often a funding gap due to the weariness of risk-adverse investors. This […]

Jason Chew(Featured in TheBigRedBiotechBlog, digitalpathologyinsights) Historically, the Big Pharma business model has been that of a fully integrated pharmaceutical company, complete with basic research and development, clinical trials, sales and marketing, focused on the development of blockbuster drugs. This model has recently been roundly criticized. A research article issued in January from Morgan Stanley titled […]

The genomics and proteomics revolution has produced thousands of new targets for drug discovery. Designing molecules with novel mechanisms is sexy and can be very rewarding but is risky and time consuming- though some would say this novelty and pursuit of innovation is the embodiment of the biotech industry. But the pursuit of innovation requires […]

Virtual Drug Development has been around since the 1990s with little fanfare. In this model, only the key personnel to manage the core operations of a project are retained, while all other functions are outsourced. Roche was an early adopter of virtual drug development, forming a subsidiary called Protodigm in 1996 consisting of only nine […]

Jason Chew Taiwan’s drug makers have largely focused on generics; few are in the business of developing novel medicines. This is partially due to the large resources required for such an endeavor combined with Taiwan’s small market potential. To justify the costs of developing a new drug, companies must have the ability to navigate across […]

Jason Chew Biotechnology is an emerging industry in Taiwan. After the country’s immense success in high tech, the government is searching for another engine of economic growth. There are now at least five science research parks and as of 2004, at least 238 biotechnology companies. Perhaps due, in part to Taiwan’s roots in computer sciences […]

Jason Chew(Featured in FieceBiotech, TheBigRedBiotechBlog) This autumn is turning out to be a busy season for Seattle Genetics. The company is expecting results from up to three clinical trials between September and October- each of which, if successful, may form the basis for the filing of an NDA. Two trials are nearing completion for flagship […]