Online healthcare: an opportunity, not a replacement

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Women's health: tamoxifen may do more harm than good

While the drug is undeniably highly effective at treating breast cancer, some of the efforts to use it as a preventative medicine may be more questionable. For many women, the side effects could prove more dangerous than the risk of breast cancer. More studies need to be carried out to determine exactly which groups will benefit from the drug.

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Inex/GSK: the growing importance of drug delivery

GSK will foot the bill for Inex's development work. In a market where drug delivery is becoming as important as the compound itself, the deal represents a good chance for GSK to boost the sales and life expectancy of its drug. Inex, meanwhile, should gain significant opportunities by partnering with a leading pharmaceutical company.

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ID Biomedical: prevention is better than cure

If ID's Streptococcus vaccine proves to be effective, it has a strong chance of commercial success. There is a strong opportunity to develop vaccines for bacterial disease, as vaccination is considered preferable to antibiotic treatment. ID is at a particular advantage in this area, due to its Proteosomes nasal drug delivery technology.

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Xenova/QLT: tackling multidrug resistance

UK biotech Xenova and its North American ally QLT will trial tariquidar for multidrug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer. As long as the results are positive, tariquidar should have a bright future: multidrug resistance is an increasingly serious problem in cancer treatment, and the developers look set to provide strong marketing support.

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Bayer: seeking Gamunex approval

Bayer has filed for approval for its immune globulin intravenous drug, Gamunex. It's a purer alternative to Bayer's existing Gamimune; its major indication is primary immunodeficiency. For Gamunex to be a major success, Bayer will need to convince healthcare payors that its lower risk of associated infection makes it more cost-effective than its stablemate.

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PowderJect: Dukoral must catch the traveler's eye

PowderJect Pharmaceuticals has received Canadian marketing approval for its traveler's diarrhoea vaccine, Dukoral. The vaccine is orally administered and this will prove an advantage in terms of uptake success. However, compliance is typically low for travel vaccines and the company will need to adopt active promotional strategies to drive sales of the vaccine.

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Solvay/Biovail: too little, too late for Teveten

Although Solvay/Biovail's Teveten (eprosartan) has demonstrated benefits in isolated systolic hypertension, Solvay has been reluctant to file for this indication. The results of the most recent trial may well be too little too late now that Teveten's major competitors, such as Diovan (valsartan), are also targeting this indication.

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GSK: defending its flagship drug

GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] has asked the FDA to remove three of the patents relating to its antidepressant Paxil. The drug's high revenues make it a major target for genericization by rival manufacturers and the loss of protection due in 2006 is envisaged to result in a dramatic decline in prescriptions and revenue for GSK.

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AstraZeneca: blockbuster status remains distant for Iressa

AstraZeneca's [AZN.L] Iressa was billed as one of a new class of anti-tumor agents that would revolutionize the treatment of lung cancer. However, to date the drug has been disappointing and approvals continue to be for third-line treatment. If Iressa is to reach blockbuster status, it must reach patients as a first line therapy.

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