Genetic Engineering News Reports on Boosting Pharmaceutical Industry Productivity.LARCHMONT, N.Y. -- Despite a broad range of R&D projects and significant financial investment, both the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. and the pharmaceutical industry are concerned over the decline in innovation and productivity regarding new drug products, reports Genetic Engineering News (GEN; www.genengnews.com). A key problem facing the biotech and pharmaceutical industries is their poor record in predicting which drug candidates will win and those that will fail, according to the May 1 issue of GEN. "Four out of five products in Phase I never make it to the market, and half of those in Phase III ultimately fail," says John Sterling, Editor-in-Chief of GEN. "But companies are now beginning to employ novel technologies and strategies, expand the use of biomarkers, and improve quality control in their manufacturing operations to increase their chances of success in developing new drugs." Wyeth (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :WYE), for example, completely re-engineered its R&D at every stage of operations, making scientists more accountable, linking reward to performance, and focusing on putting innovative (rather than life-cycle management) and high-value products into the pipeline. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE 1. (text, editor) PFE - Programmer's File Editor. 2. (language) PFE - Portable Forth Environment. ) has been developing CCR 1. CCR - condition code register. 2. CCR - (Database) concurrency control and recovery. 5 antagonists against HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome , an area where there is an ongoing need for effective agents. A lesion in the CCR5 gene has been linked to lack of progression of the disease in high-risk groups, highlighting this as a new target. Putting strategy and technology into practice, Pfizer has come up with a new compound paying particular attention to moderating its lipophilicity, potency, and toxicity. The drug candidate is now in Phase III. Also covered in the GEN article are AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN), Pharmidex, Helix Genomics, Tripos (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :TRPS TRPS Trigger Point (myofacial pain) TRPS TrichoRhinoPhalangeal Syndrome TRPS Temperature Regulating Power Supply TRPS Time Reporting and Payroll System ), and ChipMan Technologies. Genetic Engineering News is published 21 times a year by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. For a copy of the May 1 issue, please call 914-740-2122, or email: ebicovny@liebertpub.com. |
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