If you want to read the full pdf of the interview, drop me a mail - I will send it right off
Have a happy & prosperous year ahead in 2009, no matter what the media says.... and a good ma'al hijrah for all
~ peace ~
Md Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* محمدغزالی *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is true that humans will need healthcare regardless of how short on
cash they are, but David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca, says that if you
believed healthcare was recession proof, you are wrong.
While speaking at a Financial Times conference in London, he said the
recession will be "deep and long," indeed affecting healthcare,
including the pharmaceutical industry. That's likely no surprise to
those who have witnessed a variety of layoffs, cutbacks and other
restructuring efforts aimed at cost-cutting within the industry.
As a recap, in 2008, Merck cut 8,400 jobs, but we saw major cuts at
Abbot, AstraZeneca, Schering-Plough, UCB Pharma, Wyeth and at many
smaller drug companies as well. The industry is likely to see more
layoffs as we enter 2009.
According to a new review of randomized controlled trials, editorials
and commentaries published in today's issue of the Journal of the
American Medical Association (JAMA), patients who spend extra cash on
brand name heart meds do no better than patients who go the generic
route. Interestingly, the reviewers found significant discrepancies
between the randomized controlled trials and the editorials and
commentaries published in the literature.
Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School colleagues
examined studies published between 1984 and August 2008. They
identified 47 data-driven articles and 43 editorials and commentaries.
The researchers looked at angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)
inhibitors, anti-platelet medications, alpha- and beta-blockers,
calcium-channel blockers, diuretics, statins, narrow therapeutic index
(NTI) anti-arrhythmic meds and warfarin, and found no evidence that
expensive brand name heart medications are better than generic
equivalents.
Of the 47 research articles, 81 percent were randomized controlled
trials. The studies found clinical equivalence in 100 percent of
studies looking at beta-blockers (seven trials), antiplatelet agents
(three trials), statins (two trials), ACE inhibitors (one trial),
alpha-blockers (one trial), and for the NTI drugs--class I
anti-arrhythmics (one trial) and warfarin (one trial). They found
clinical equivalence in 71 percent of calcium-channel blockers (five
of seven trials) and in 91 percent of diuretics (10 of 11 trials).
According to the FDA, "A generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent
to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of
administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended
use," but patients and clinicians alike have had doubts about their
equivalency and safety.
In fact, the reviewers found 43 editorials and commentaries that met
their criteria. Over half of those expressed negativity about
switching to generics from brand name products, less than 30 percent
were positive about substituting with generics and the rest did not
reach a conclusion on the topic. When it came to the NTI meds in
particular, about two-thirds of the articles discouraged generic
substitution and less than one-fourth supported making the switch.
The discrepancies between the randomized controlled trials and the
editorials and commentaries could be due to the authors' personal
experiences or due to undisclosed financial ties with the industry,
which about half of the former--and none of the latter--disclosed.
-taken from FiercePharma-
By Tracy Staton
Remember Johnson & Johnson's Office of Strategy and Growth set up during that big reorg last year? Well, it's delivering on its mission. J&J is buying into preventive healthcare with the acquisition of HealthMedia, an online health-coaching firm that also offers software to help employers reduce healthcare costs. HealthMedia will form the core of a new division, headed up by Nicholas Valeriani, the chief of that strategy/growth office.
"We could now create a suite of products and services that are further upstream," Valeriani told the Wall Street Journal, adding that doing so might help stem the rising tide of healthcare costs.
The move marks another sort of diversification for J&J, which already has 250 operating companies in three healthcare segments: pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, and consumer health.
- see J&J's release
- read the Wall Street Journal story
----------------------------------
GSK Bio, Singapore
----------------------------------
After 10 years of work, Living Cell Technologies in New Zealand has received the green light from the government to launch an unusual human trial of a new diabetes therapy. Volunteers in the trial will be injected with pig cells, an approach the company believes will help to regulate the way their bodies produce insulin. The cells are first coated with purified sea weed so that their immune system won't recognize them and attack the cells.
"Once they have one of these implants, which is a very simple procedure, it seems to take away the wild swings (in insulin production) and helps the management," says company founder David Collinson. The two-year trial gets underway in February with eight patients. Collinson says that NZ regulators had dragged their feet for years before approving the trial.
Living Cell Technologies says it already has one such trial underway in Russia and has been gathering positive data from volunteers in that study.
- check out LCT's release
- read the report from the AAP
Related Articles:
Piglet cells used to treat Type 1 diabetes
LCT gets $6M in share capital
LCT's stem cell research should be encouraged (Sept. 2006)
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,24529871-401,00.html?from=public_rss
~ peace ~
محمدغزالي
Md Ghazali
----------------------------------
GSK Bio, Singapore
DID: 65-6496 3072
----------------------------------
| On the authority of Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said : The Messenger of Allah, saw, said : "Part of the perfection of someone's Islam is his leaving alone that which does not concern him." [Hadith hasan - Recorded by Tirmidhi] |
By Christe Bruderlin-Nelson
Big pharma will be taking a voluntary hit in its $300 million over-the-counter market for children's cold medicines. While readily available at drugstores everywhere, physicians and other experts have repeatedly called their safety and efficacy into question, although the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA)--a cold-medicine industry group--maintains the drugs are safe when used appropriately. CHPA represents major drugmakers including Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Novartis.
Leading manufacturers of the medications will change the labels to say, "do not use" in children under the age of four, as well as add language to medications containing antihistamine products essentially telling parents not to drug their children for the purposes of helping them sleep. Major companies like McNeil Consumer Healthcare (a division of Johnson & Johnson that makes Children's Sudafed, Children's Benadryl and PediaCare cough and cold medicines) and Wyeth (which makes Dimetapp and Robitussin cough and cold medicines) were among the pharma giants spearheading the voluntary effort.
While some groups, including physicians' groups, requested a ban on the medications for all children under the age of six, the FDA rejected the plea on Monday. On Tuesday, however, drug companies took an ethical leap anyway and publicly advised parents not to use OTC cough and cold remedies in children under the age of four. A previous advisory recommended against giving the medications to children under two and drug companies pulled all infant cough and cold meds off the market a year ago. Some say the hesitancy of the FDA to initiate a broader ban might rest on fears that, without the children's option, desperate parents might try to give children adult medications to relieve symptoms.
Prominent physician groups, including the American Academy of Pediatricians, say the research is weak on the drugs and that, considering the risks and the dearth of safety and efficacy information, there isn't a solid reason to use the medications in children under the age of six. In fact, an earlier CDC study found that each year approximately 7,000 children ages 11 and younger (with most between two and five years) end up in the emergency room after ingesting cough and cold medicines designed for children. Likewise, there were reports of 10 infant deaths associated with OTC cold medicines in 2006, according to Arizona researchers.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson in Canada said that the company will not put the warnings on Canadian products, however.
- here's the LA Times blog post
- find out what the Washington Post said
Lailatul Qadr
| |||
On the authority of Abu 'Amr, though others call him Abu 'Amrah Sufyan bin 'Abdullah, radiyallahu anhu, who said:
I said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam which I could not ask anyone about save you." He answered: "Say: 'I believe in Allah', and then stand firm and steadfast."
The munshid is Sheikh Salah al-Kurdi
May the salutations of Allah be upon you
O the best of Allah’s creation
And upon your Family and Companions
And upon the People of Allah
~~~~taken link from http://andalus.wordpress.com/ ~~~~~
