New Drugs Declining, Research Costs Increasing, GAO Says

less innovation is normally considered a bad thing...

Drug companies are becoming less innovative, with the number of new drugs being developed failing to keep pace with the substantial increases in spending on research and development, according to congressional investigators.

A report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that annual research and development spending by the pharmaceutical industry increased 147 percent, to $60 billion, between 1993 and 2004. At the same time, the number of new drug applications to the Food and Drug Administration grew by only 38 percent, and it generally has declined since 1999.

What is more, about two-thirds of the new applications were for drugs that simply represent modifications to existing medicines, while 32 percent were for potentially innovative new drugs.

"Over the past several years it has become widely recognized throughout the industry that the productivity of its research and development expenditures has been declining," investigators wrote in the 52-page report. "That is, the number of new drugs being produced has generally declined while research and development expenditures have been steadily increasing."

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Pa. hospitals, research groups split up $45M in tobacco funds

Everybody stop smoking!!!

Twenty-three area hospitals, research institutions and other health-care organizations were among the 38 Pennsylvania entities awarded a total of $45 million in health research grants from a portion of the state's tobacco industry settlement.

The money is being awarded under the Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement program, which Gov. Ed Rendell said is designed to advance the work being conducted at Pennsylvania's leading medical and health research institutions. "This research will ultimately have a positive impact on the health of our residents," Rendell said.

The largest grant recipient was the University of Pennsylvania, which will receive $8.47 million for 10 projects that range from creating a health-services research data center to establishing a tumor tissue bank for cancer research.

Other large grants recipients include Thomas Jefferson University, which will receive $3.7 million for five projects including three aimed at developing new gene-based treatments for cancer; and $3.3 million awarded to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to discover and determine the underlying genetic causes of, and contributors to, a variety of childhood diseases.

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Amgen opens Indian office

Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, is betting big on India. The California-based biotechnology company with sales in excess of $12 billion is setting up an office in India with the aim of testing its drugs in the country and exploring opportunities for tie-ups.

"Amgen is currently forming local affiliate companies in Mumbai and Hong Kong that will have the capability to conduct clinical trials in India and East Asia.

Amgen's affiliate in Mumbai will support the company's clinical trials to take place in India," Mary Klem, Associate Director, Amgen, told Hindustan Times in an e-mailed response.

Industry sources said the company, which banks on innovation to develop therapeutic drugs, is also looking at partnerships that might lead to potential takeovers, though the company refused to divulge details on future plans.

"Amgen is contracting with partners in India and China for services to support its R&D (research and development) operations, including research, pre-clinical development, data management support and statistical programming," the e-mail said. Amgen has an annual research budget of $1.3 billion.

link to full article from Hindustan Times

Stem Cell Bill Approved by Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A stubborn Senate voted Wednesday to ease restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, ignoring President Bush's threat of a second veto on legislation designed to lead to new medical treatments.

The 63-34 vote was shy of the margin that would be needed to enact the measure over presidential opposition, despite gains made by supporters in last fall's elections.

"Not every day do we have the opportunity to vote to heal the sick," said Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., a senator less than 100 days following a tough 2006 campaign in which the stem cell controversy played a particularly prominent role. "It is a noble cause," she added.

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Astra Zeneca's new PR&D centre leverages Indian chemistry expertise

more off-shoring...this time research...

22/03/2007 - AstraZeneca is leveraging the process chemistry expertise accumulated in India's generics industry and universities by opening a $15m (€11.3m) process research and development (PR&D) laboratory next to its existing research centre for tuberculosis in Bangalore.

The newly inaugurated 8,000sq m facility on AstraZeneca's Hebbal campus can accommodate up to 75 process scientists as well as supporting office and engineering staff. The Bangalore laboratory will both consolidate the existing drug discovery programme for tuberculosis at the site and bolster the UK company's global PR&D network. This consists of one facility apiece in the UK and Sweden, plus a pending UK PR&D laboratory at AstraZeneca's Macclesfield site that is expected to start operating by mid-2009.

The company, whose research pipeline has come under critical scrutiny following a succession of damp squibs in late-stage development, has been investing heavily of late in new R&D resources, partnerships and acquisitions. At the same time, it has been making deep cuts to boost productivity and cost efficiency in its supply chain. The recent announcement that 700 manufacturing and supply jobs would go at Macclesfield contrasted pointedly with the £63.5m (€93.6 million) AstraZeneca is investing in its new PR&D laboratory at the same site.

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Johns Hopkins leads in research spending

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Johns Hopkins University was the fiscal 2005 leader in total research and development spending among all U.S. academic institutions, a report said.
Researchers at the Baltimore, Md.-based, school performed $1.44 billion in science, medical and engineering research during fiscal year 2005, which started Oct. 1, 2005, and ended Sept. 30, 2006.

The National Science Foundation said that makes Johns Hopkins the leading U.S. academic institution in total research and development spending for the 27th consecutive year.
The university also ranked first on the NSF's separate list of federally funded research and development, spending $1.277 billion during fiscal 2005 on research supported by such agencies as the National Institutes of Health, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense.

The University of Michigan was second in total R&D spending at $808 million. The University of Washington ranked second in federally financed R & D at $606 million.

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