Welcome to the second August 2007 edition of Carnival of Biotechnology.
International Biotechnology
The Times (UK) has a report on the UK biotech sector, calling for consolidation to overcome a lack of capital.
The Wall Street Journal has an article on Novartis’ lost patent case in India, where a patent on an improved version of Glivec (sold as Gleevec in the U.S.) was rejected for not being sufficiently improved to warrant protection. This sets a dangerous precedent for the use of evergreening strategies in India, and may potentially spread to other markets.
Pharmalot profiles a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers projecting that Asia will become the new center of gravity in drug developing, with everything from R&D to manufacturing being relocated to Asian shores.
Generic Biologics
The Wall Street Journal has a case study of Genzyme’s problems getting approval to make Myozyme, a treatment for Pompe disease, in large batches. These regulatory problems underscore the challenges of manufacturing biologic drugs.
The In Vivo Blog has details on the challenges Sandoz is facing in producing biogenerics, and the outlook for market share given the higher costs of production relative to generic pharmaceuticals.
Health Records
Venture Beat has a great article on the race to lead in healthcare record management. You might recognize some of the competitors: Google and Microsoft.
That concludes this edition.
For more information, see the Carnival of Biotechnology Homepage, or submit a link for the next edition. Interested in hosting a future Carnival of Biotechnology? Let me know.