Contraception: advances for men and women

Last week not only saw the launch of the first contraceptive patch for women, but the release of promising data regarding a male pill/patch combination. Ortho-McNeil's female patch looks likely to do well. But although male hormonal contraceptives have potential, the companies involved will face considerable barriers to their uptake.

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Coping with new realities in asthma

Asthma is a chronic, long-term and prevalent disease - and thus, a major cost center for healthcare systems. This makes it a prime target for government efforts to reduce spending on drug reimbursement, potentially spelling trouble for pharma companies in the market. But how much impact will these changes have, and how can companies best cope with them?<BR />

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Cystic fibrosis: HIV and Ebola could be a cure

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Delivery specialists - convenient partners or dangerous rivals?

Pharmaceutical companies and drug delivery specialists once had a cozy, symbiotic relationship. But now, the growing amount of money being pumped into the specialists is providing them with the resources to go it alone. Especially as smaller companies merge into larger one-stop shops, the potential to compete with pharmaceutical companies is increasing. But will they turn into a real danger?<BR /><BR />

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Diabetes: an end to insulin injections draws nearer

Daily injections of insulin are a way of life for many diabetics, making more convenient administration a major unmet need. The latest results suggest that many pharma companies are close to meeting the need - but only a few will see significant success in the $3.5 billion insulin market. Novo Nordisk/Aradigm, Eli Lilly/Generex and GSK/Nobex are the likeliest to do well.

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Diabetes: calling time on insulin injections

Daily injections of insulin are a way of life for many diabetics, making more convenient administration a major unmet need. According to results presented at a diabetes conference the days of injections could be numbered. But, with several companies racing to complete development, who will steal a march on the competition and unleash their product first on the $3.5 billion insulin market?<BR />

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Diabetes: inhaled insulin yet to convince all

With the date of the final approval for an inhaled insulin product appearing to draw closer, a talk at the latest European Association for the Study of Diabetes' meeting in Athens has outlined the drawbacks of this particular method of insulin administration. While the FDA advisory committee ruled in favor of inhaled insulin, there are still a number of concerns that remain unaddressed.

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Directed molecular evolution: lifecycle management for biologics

Although biologics have an extremely attractive growth rate profile compared to small molecules, the rapid market expansion expected to occur between 2005 and 2010 will not continue at the same rate, due in part to the emergence of biosimilars. Thus, biologics manufacturers need to look at optimizing the lifecycle of their products through directed molecular evolution.

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Diverse challenges await generics industry

Because of the ever-increasing costs of healthcare provision the world over, many governments are enacting legislation to promote generic prescription in order to keep costs down. With drugs worth $160 billion in sales coming off patent by 2015, it would seem a good time to be in the generics industry. However the generics market is not without challenges.

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Drug lifecycle management could be the answer to the $100 billion question

Generics are finding their way onto the drugs market with increasing ease and speed. As a result, drug lifecycle management is becoming ever more important for pharmaceutical companies looking to generate the best possible revenues from their branded products.

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