The first Index, published in 2008, revealed GSK as the company most active in improving patients’ access to medicines around the world.

The Access to Medicine Foundation have also publically released the 2010 methodology report, which includes significant changes to increase the robustness of the index and bring it in line with current changes to global access to medicine priorities.

Since 2008, the Index has gained new financial supporters including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UK Department for International Development.

Wim Leereveld, Chairman of the Foundation, said: “We have gone through an extensive process of stakeholder feedback and have incorporated various enhancements put forward by both industry and other relevant stakeholders including increasing the total number of data points to just over one hundred.

“We look forward to presenting the new Index in Amsterdam this June to an audience of industry leaders, academics, ministers, NGO’s, investors and media. The theme of our presentation will be straightforward: 4.8 billion people have access to medicine; 2 billion to go.”

The Index identifies and measures the efforts of drug companies that are doing the most to provide access to medicine. The Foundation hopes to encourage pharmaceutical companies to share best practices and explore broader internal corporate responsibility policies.

The two companies will form a joint working group to oversee the implementation of the global development program.

Transgene has granted Novartis an option to acquire an exclusive worldwide license for the therapy, for which, Novartis will pay a $10 million option fee.

If Novartis takes up this option and the development, regulatory and commercial milestones in various indications are achieved, Transgene will receive up to €700 million.

Transgene will retain control over the next clinical development phase of the drug, a pivotal, global phase IIb/III clinical trial. The study will involve approximately 1,000 patients with MUC1-positive NSCLC who have normal levels of activated Natural Killer (NK) cells at time of trial entry. The final results of the trial are expected by the end of 2013.

If Novartis opts to acquire the drug, the company will assume all development, regulatory and commercialisation costs across all indications. Transgene will receive a non-refundable licence issuance fee, further payments based on certain targets and royalties on global sales.

Transgene will also retain primary manufacturing rights, as well as co-promotion rights in certain countries including France and China.

“We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Novartis and believe they will be an excellent partner for TG4010, given their broad expertise, experience and resources in oncology and their long standing world-class research and development capabilities in cancer immunology,” commented Philippe Archinard, Chief Executive Officer of Transgene.

“We now look forward to closely working with Novartis in order to rapidly advance the Phase IIb/III development of TG4010 so that cancer patients may benefit from a new treatment option.”

As part of the partnership, a small team of Pfizer scientists will be based at the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases at King’s Guys Campus to conduct research in pain biology.

The Pfizer scientists will be part of a larger team at the College including academics such as Professors Steve McMahon and Stuart Bevan, who hope to develop a greater understanding of pain mechanisms and pathways.

The aim is that the combined research efforts will deliver new ideas and innovations for healthcare and patient welfare.

Gillian Burgess, Pain Research Chief Scientific Officer, Pfizer, said: “This partnership will allow our scientists to work in an academic setting and combine resources with King’s scientists to advance knowledge in this important area. We hope that this will lead to greater innovation and in turn bring benefits for patients living with pain.”‪‪

The Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases is a state-of-the-art facility that brings together over 25 research groups focusing on understanding the central and peripheral nervous system.

“The basic academic work that we will be doing with Pfizer in the area of pain and receptor trafficking is closely aligned with the research interests of the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases,” said Professor Pat Doherty, Director of the Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases.

“The Pfizer colleagues will have joint academic appointments within King’s College London, and will work closely together with our established teams in a truly collaborative effort aimed at understanding the fundamental mechanisms underlying chronic and neuropathic pain, conditions that affect many people.”

King’s Business is a subsidiary of the College, responsible for developing new opportunities for engagement with business and the public sector.

Warwick Evidence will be dedicated to assessing the value for money of new medical treatments and technologies on NICE’s behalf. Using this information, NICE will make decisions on whether to recommend technologies, including drugs, devices and diagnostics, for use nationally across the NHS.

The Warwick Evidence team, led by Dr Aileen Clarke and Dr Paul Sutcliffe from Warwick Medical School, is one of three new TAR teams across the country.

The multidisciplinary team will work collaboratively across several departments at the University of Warwick and will be supported by a senior team of clinical and methodological expert advisors at both local and national level.

Acting Dean of Warwick Medical School, Professor Martin Underwood, said: “We are absolutely delighted about Warwick Evidence. Assessing new technologies to make sure they provide value for money is a key function for NICE and for the NHS. The role that Warwick Evidence will play will be crucial in this.”

The investment follows the Prime Minister’s pledge to ensure that all patients with cancer symptoms receive their results from diagnostic tests within one week.

PCTs are being invited to bid for up to £100,000 to run campaigns targeted at one or more of the three biggest killers; breast, colorectal and lung cancer. The impact of each campaign will be measured so that the most effective can be repeated across the country.

PCTs will be able to use the money for a range of initiatives including advertising campaigns, outreach work and making more public information available.

National Cancer Director Mike Richards said: “This money will enable the NHS locally to raise awareness of the symptoms of the biggest cancer killers and to encourage patients to visit their GP earlier. Local campaigns and investment in new diagnostic services will also encourage GPs to ‘play it safe’ and refer patients for tests if they have any doubt.”

The Department of Health will work in partnership with the National Cancer Action Team and Cancer Research UK to support PCTs in developing, running and evaluating their campaign.

Cancer Research UK Chief Executive Harpal Kumar commented: “All too often cancer is found at a late stage when it’s harder to treat. For example, 90% of bowel cancers can be cured if treated early but only 13% are detected at the earliest stage. The projects that are funded at PCT level will have the potential to make a big impact on the number of people dying from the disease – helping to boost cancer survival to levels comparable with the best in Europe.”

PCTs will be given examples of successful campaigns. These will include the Doncaster Cough Campaign which promoted awareness that a persistent cough could mean lung cancer, through the use of a ‘coughing’ bus shelter and other innovative ideas.

New research by the independent business analyst predicts that the CVD pharma market will grow from $99bn in 2008 to $107bn in 2018, though AstraZeneca and Novo Nordisk are the only companies expected to generate positive sales growth over the period.

In its Cardiovascular and Metabolic Market Overview, Datamonitor expects the strong growth in CVD drug usage to be driven by the increase in patient populations, early diagnosis and early initiation of drug therapy as healthcare providers target complications associated with obesity.

Dr Anthony Nealon, report author and Senior Healthcare Analyst at Datamonitor, said: “The CVD market is one of the most mature pharma markets and the traditional drivers – hypertension and dyslipidemia – will be heavily impacted by patent expiries and generic competition.”

Generic competition is expected to impact Pfizer’s Lipitor and BMS/sanofi-aventis’ Plavix, but also other blockbuster drugs in the CVD market, such as Merck’s Cozaar, Novartis’ Diovan and Takeda’s Actos.

Datamonitor argues that weak development pipelines in hypertension and dyslipidaemia will not be able to replace revenues lost to generic competition. “This is due to current marketed drugs offering a wide range of therapy options for treatment,” said Dr Nealon. “Plus, there are no remaining significant clinical unmet needs to spur on development candidates.”

AstraZeneca is forecast to generate strong growth from its dyslipidaemia drug Crestor (rosuvastatin), as well as from late-stage pipeline drugs Brilinta and Onglyza. Novo Nordisk is the only other CVD company forecast to generate positive sales growth during this period, due to its market-leading position in insulin therapy.

However, Datamonitor adds, this decline will be offset by growth in diabetes and thrombosis as new drugs able to meet significant unmet clinical needs for patients reach the market. “This market growth will see diabetes become the largest therapy market in the seven major markets with sales of $37bn in 2018,” said Dr Nealon.

EUSA, a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on oncology, pain control and critical care, is now present in over 80 countries, with teams covering the US and over 20 European territories including the major EU markets.

Mr McGill joins EUSA from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, where he held the position of Vice President and Global Manager for the company’s transplantation business. Previously, he was the Head of Novartis’ Transplantation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases Business Unit in Canada, and was a Global Brand Director at Novartis’ headquarters in Switzerland.

Bryan Morton, EUSA Pharma’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Since founding EUSA four years ago, we have made tremendous progress, raising over $300 million in investment funding, establishing a portfolio of eight marketed and four pipeline products, and building a strong commercialisation platform on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Iain’s leadership skills, and track record of growing specialist pharmaceutical businesses, will prove invaluable as we complete EUSA’s transition from a development-stage company to a world leader in its field.”

Commenting on his appointment, Iain McGill added: “Having seen the team at EUSA build a great company in a very short period of time, I am delighted to join them as we drive the business to the next level. With an infrastructure now in place that can rival even our biggest competitors, EUSA is well positioned to continue its rapid development.

“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to that progress, as we focus on aggressive organic growth and further product in-licensing and acquisition.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb will gain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise the molecule and backup compounds.

The deal includes all potential indications, although Allergan will retain certain rights in ophthalmology indications for products formulated for local delivery to the eye.

“There is significant unmet medical need for a more efficacious and tolerable therapy for neuropathic pain,” said Francis Cuss, Senior Vice President, Discovery and Exploratory Clinical Research, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to develop this potential first-in-class compound that could help patients prevail over chronic pain and strengthen our neuroscience pipeline.”

Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay Allergan an up-front payment of $40 million, up to a further $373 million in potential milestone payments and royalties on worldwide sales.

“We are fortunate to have a deep R&D pipeline, and believe that by partnering programs that extend into primary care, we can maximise the value of our science,” said Scott Whitcup, Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Scientific Officer, Allergan. “We are excited to have a partner interested in our technology and committed to developing AGN-209323 for neuropathic pain.”

The collaboration agreement is subject to antitrust clearance by the United States Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.

Napp is also one of only 50 companies in the UK to be awarded 3 stars by Best Companies through their accreditation scheme.

Both the Sunday Times Top 100 and the Best Companies accreditation scheme recognise excellence in employee engagement, and both are derived from the results of the Best Companies survey.

This is the fourth year that Napp has entered the awards and fifth is the company’s highest ranking, having appeared ninth, twelfth and eleventh respectively over the previous three years.

Antony Mattessich, MD, said: “An engaged and motivated workforce that is willing to give their very best for their company is a good thing for any organisation, but is particularly advantageous for a pharmaceutical company because the marketplace is becoming increasingly complex and competitive. We believe that our strong commitment to fully engaging employees is key to our ongoing prosperity in such an environment.”

Napp scored highly in all areas assessed by the survey. Of the employees surveyed, 90% felt that they could make a valuable contribution to the success of the organisation, 89% said that they felt the organisation was run on strong values and principles and 89% said that they were excited about where the organisation was going.

Mattessich added: “Napp is an exciting place to be, full of energised, successful people who take personal responsibility for our success. Our open culture truly gives them the freedom to generate ideas and challenge existing strategies and tactics to give the best possible outcomes for us, the NHS and patients.”

Ixiaro is recommended for individuals aged 18 years and older that are at high risk of exposure during travel or in the course of their occupation.

The decision follows the expanded recommendations of the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in 2009.

Gerd Zettlmeissl, Chief Executive Officer of Intercell, said: “We are pleased that our joint medical management efforts with our partner Novartis are materialising now also in Europe with the first country specific recommendations. Especially for novel travel vaccines recommendations are key to foster disease and product awareness and thus increasing vaccination rates and product uptake.”

Intercell AG is an biotechnology company that develops novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases with substantial unmet medical needs. Its novel Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, Ixiaro, is the company’s first product on the market.

Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito-borne infection that causes 10,000 to 15,000 deaths each year and is the leading cause of viral neurological disease and disability in Asia.

Andreotti, who is currently President and Chief Operating Officer, has served with Bristol-Myers Squibb for 12 years in senior leadership roles, both internationally and in the US. Prior to joining Bristol-Myers Squibb, he held senior roles at KABI Pharmacia and then at Pharmacia & Upjohn.

Andreotti said: “Jim successfully led our transformation into a next-generation BioPharma leader with his strategic leadership and consistent focus on delivering our commitments.

“While challenges lie ahead, we are confident we can overcome them as we continue to successfully execute and deliver operationally, financially and strategically to maximise our future opportunities. As we succeed, the ultimate beneficiaries are patients who we help prevail against serious diseases.”

Cornelius was elected chairman of the Board of Directors in February of 2008 and was named interim CEO in September 2006, before taking on the role full-time in April 2007. During his time as CEO, Cornelius oversaw the company’s transformation to a leading next-generation biopharmaceutical company with a robust pipeline of innovative medicines for serious diseases. He will remain as chairman at the request of the Board.

Cornelius commented: “I have a high level of confidence in Lamberto and that is shared by everyone who has seen him consistently and successfully drive performance. Lamberto’s deep knowledge and insight of the BioPharma strategy make him the ideal leader as we transform into an industry benchmark.”

NICE’s latest ruling against funding tocilizumab (RoActemra) comes only a day after a negative decision on abatacept (Orencia) as a second-line treatment and restrictions were placed on the use of three other anti-TNF drug therapies (adalimumab, etanercept and infliximab).

The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) has condemned these decisions, which it says “drastically” limit treatment options for people with severe RA.

Ailsa Bosworth, Chief Executive of NRAS, said: “If NICE’s recommendations become final guidance, patients with severe RA who have failed on previous anti-TNFs will only have access to rituximab in the NHS and only very restricted access to a second anti-TNF.

“NICE seem not to understand that RA is not a one size fits all disease. With such limited treatment options, some patients will be left with the unacceptable choices of being put back onto treatments they have already failed on, or taking large doses of steroids which have extremely unacceptable side effects such as osteoporosis when given over the long term.”

RA is a lifelong, progressive disease characterised by inflammation and swelling of joints, leading to deformity, functional impairment, pain, fatigue and ultimately disability. Around 30% of RA patients fail to respond adequately or will be intolerant to a first anti-TNF therapy and the current only alternative, rituximab, does not achieve an effective response in up to 50% of patients.

If NICE’s latest guidance on abatacept and anti-TNF therapies is adopted, rituximab will be the only option open to patients following unsuccessful therapy with DMARDs or an anti-TNF.

Due to a successful appeal by the NRAS against an earlier decision, this is the second time that NICE has reviewed the effectiveness of switching between anti-TNF therapies, a tactic that many patients have found effective.

The ruling is that adalimumab, etanercept and infliximab should only be used following the failure of a previous TNF inhibitor in the context of research. NICE has maintained that there is insufficient evidence of the benefit or cost-effectiveness of switching patients to a second anti-TNF.

Dr Chris Deighton, Consultant Rheumatologist at Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, said: “Patients who fail on their first anti-TNF already have very bad rheumatoid arthritis and deserve more choice than just rituximab. We will be doing our best to ensure that the final appraisal offers more treatment options for patients.”

Ailsa Bosworth concluded: “We simply cannot accept that individuals should be denied the chance of at least regaining some quality of life and condemning them to a life of pain and disability, which could be as or even more expensive to the NHS as well as society as a whole if people, as a consequence of not being able to access clinically effective therapies, lose their jobs.”

Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for paroxysymal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH), Soliris (eculizumab), came top of the Forbes list of the top nine priciest drugs on the current global market (see table below).

Interestingly, all the drugs are for rare diseases, known as ‘orphan’ treatments, with Aldurazyme only applicable to 600 patients worldwide, according to Forbes.

Other notable features are that all the companies are US-based except Shire, most of the products are biotech and most treat genetic disorders which, if found during infancy, imply a lifetime of treatment.

“The success of specialty drugs for rare diseases comes at a time when the traditional business of selling medicines to the masses is in decline,” said the Forbes commentary.

Data provided by Forbes and Pharmaceutical Commerce

NICE has concluded that the drug does not represent a good use of NHS funds, though it is reimbursed in this indication in most other European countries.

A group of UK cancer patient support organisations have also expressed their disappointed and anger and have set up a petition against the decision.

Celgene will argue that Vidaza as a treatment for MDS meets not only the end of life criteria (set out by the Department of Health), but also the innovation criteria (set out by NICE).

“There is no higher priority for Celgene than to ensure that patients are able to access our life-extending therapies for rare blood cancers,” said Sam Pearce, General Manager of Celgene UK. “Through this appeal we are committed to working tirelessly to reach a positive outcome for patients.”

MDS is a rare cancer with high unmet need, limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. Though chemotherapy is the conventional care regimen for these patients, NICE’s decision will mean that supportive care is the only alternative option.

A study published in The Lancet Oncology demonstrated that the median overall survival for higher-risk MDS patients receiving Vidaza was 24.5 months compared to 15 months for patients receiving supportive care or chemotherapy.

The study also showed that at two years, the survival rate for patients receiving Vidaza was 50.8%, nearly double that of patients receiving conventional care regimens (26.2%).

Vidaza is currently licensed for the treatment of patients not eligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with intermediate-2 and high-risk MDS. It is also licensed for chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

The drug is currently approved and reimbursed for patients with higher-risk MDS, AML and CMML in more than 30 countries around the world.

David Hall, Chairman of the MDS UK Patient Support Group, said: “This is a huge blow to MDS patients, particularly those with the high risk forms of these diseases for whom the outlook is often bleak. Azacitidine is the only licensed drug available specifically to treat MDS and has been proven not only to slow the progress of the disease but also vastly improve patients’ quality of life by freeing them from repeated cycles of blood transfusions.

“A total of only 700 patients a year in England and Wales would require treatment with azacitidine so we do not believe that providing this life-extending treatment would make a huge impact on the NHS budget.”

The petition calling on the Prime Minister to ensure that MDS care in the UK is comparable with that in other European countries has so far attracted over 300 signatures. It is available at http://www.ukmdsforum.org/petition.php.

A package of tough new actions was agreed at a summit to discuss current difficulties with the supply of medicines, hosted by Health Secretary Andy Burnham and Health Minister Mike O’Brien.

The issue of medicine shortages was raised last year due to the scarcity of certain drugs as a result of unscrupulous traders exporting medicines meant for NHS patients to Europe for profit.

The actions agreed include a more explicit duty for manufacturers and wholesalers to ensure that sufficient stocks of medicines are available to NHS patients, a series of targeted inspections by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) and tougher standards for the issue of licences to medical wholesalers.

Best practice guidance will also be developed on how supply difficulties should be dealt with by doctors, pharmacists, manufacturers and wholesalers.

The targeted inspections mean that manufacturers and wholesalers will risk losing their licences and face prosecution if they breach legal duties on supply of medicines. Pharmacists and doctors risk being called to account by their professional bodies for breaching their ethical obligation to put patients first.

Ministers met with representatives from the ABPI, the British Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, the National Pharmacy Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the MHRA to discuss the nature and scale of medicines supply problems.

Richard Barker, Director General of the ABPI, said: “Getting vital medicines to NHS patients is the job of all of us in the medicines supply chain and so we welcome the collaborative approach being taken by the Forum. We also strongly support the proposal to raise the standards to be applied to the licensing of wholesalers, to reinforce their mission to deliver medicines to meet the needs of UK patients, who should be at the centre of all of our activities.”

AZ’s R&D site at Charnwood in Leicestershire is to close, as well as a smaller facility in Cambridge. The company also intends to end R&D work at its Avlon facility near Bristol. Some workers will move to AZ’s largest R&D site, Alderley Park in Cheshire.

The cuts come as AZ ceases research into ten different therapy areas – a quarter of those currently being researched.

AZ has decided it will no longer develop treatments for blood clots, acid reflux, ovarian and bladder cancers, systemic scleroderma and hepatitis C. Exploration into therapies for psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression will also end, as will research into vaccines other than those for respiratory syncytial virus and influenza.

Other companies have recently pulled research in areas where little therapeutic improvement seems likely to be made, notably GlaxoSmithKline’s decision to halt development of new medicines for depression and pain.

AZ recently predicted that it will need to cut 3,500 jobs in R&D by 2014 as part of its cost-cutting strategies.

Responding to the news, Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: “I’m obviously disappointed that AstraZeneca is closing Charnwood, but the announcement that Alderley Park will become one of AZ’s top three global R&D sites shows that the UK remains an attractive location for investment in pharmaceuticals. That’s testament to the work the Government has done through the Office for Life Sciences to support the sector, especially the creation of the patent box.”

A joint initiative by the International Society of Nephrology and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations, World Kidney Day is set to increase knowledge about the health of our kidneys to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide.

Kidney cancer accounts for around 3,700 deaths annually and UK diagnosis rates have increased by 22% in the last ten years.

The awareness day will be supported by patient groups such as the James Whale Fund for Kidney Cancer.

Nick Turkentine, CEO of the Fund, said: “World Kidney Day is a great day to highlight how important a role our kidney’s play and why kidney health is so essential. Smoking and lifestyle choices all contribute to the health of our kidneys and it’s a great initiative by the SN and the IFKF to raise awareness.

“The James Whale Fund concentrates mainly on kidney cancer but we’re completely in support of all the work these two foundations do as kidney health overall is key.”

The Fund is the UK’s leading kidney cancer charity and was set up in 2006 by the broadcaster James Whale who lost a kidney to cancer in the year 2000.

The companies have announced the formation of the Asian Cancer Research Group (ACRG), established to improve the knowledge of cancers prevalent in Asia and to accelerate drug discovery efforts by freely sharing data with the scientific community.

The ACRG’s formation reflects a growing trend for large pharma companies to combine their resources and expertise to rapidly increase their knowledge of disease and disease processes.

“Through its work and the subsequent sharing of information, the ACRG hopes to empower researchers, foster innovation and improve the prognosis and treatment of patients with cancer,” said Gary Gilliland, Senior Vice President and franchise head, Oncology, Merck Research Laboratories.

It is planned that the ACRG will initially focus on lung and gastric cancers, two of the most common forms of cancer in Asia.

Up to 40% of patients with lung cancer in Asia demonstrate an EGFR mutation. This mutation is relatively rare in Western patients and results in differences in response to some treatments.

“Environmental and genetic factors are believed to underlie the dramatic differences in the molecular subtypes and incidence of cancers in Asia and other parts of the world,” said Neil Gibson, Chief Scientific Officer of Pfizer’s Oncology Research Unit. “Although some progress has been achieved in the last few years in understanding and treating these cancers, they remain a huge unmet need and a disproportionate health burden to Asian patients.”

Over the next two years, Lilly, Merck and Pfizer have committed to creating one of the most extensive pharmacogenomic cancer databases. This database will be made publicly available to researchers and gradually populated with clinical data from further analysis.

The company now owns the trade assets of Cambridge Laboratories, and has supplemented its portfolio with 18 prescription products across several therapeutic areas, including a range of oncology products.

The transaction was partly financed by a £4 million loan facility secured by Alliance from Lloyds Banking Group.

Richard Wright, Finance Director, Alliance Pharma, said: “This acquisition represents a major step in the development of Alliance and we look forward to working with the Bank again in the near future.”

Over the last decade, the Bank has supported Alliance’s numerous acquisitions, an Integrated Finance transaction, an AIM listing and two refinancings/restructurings. In August 2009 the Bank supported the acquisition of two brands, Timodine and Buccastem, from Reckitt Benckiser.

Peter Jackson, Relationship Director, Thames Valley and South region, Corporate Markets, Lloyds Banking Group, said: “The management at Alliance Pharma has a clear strategy in place to acquire low-risk and established products and has a proven track record of identifying and integrating a number of pharmaceutical product licence acquisitions. Over the last decade we have supported the company during a period of continual growth, ensuring it received the guidance, advice and finance to support its strategy.”

Aviesan (the French Life Sciences and Healthcare Alliance) is comprised of the CEA, CNRS, INRA, INRIA, Inserm, Institut Pasteur, IRD, Conference of University Presidents and Conference of Regional and University Hospital CEOs.

The aim of the research partnership is to enhance scientific knowledge in the areas of life sciences and healthcare, to contribute to the strength of French research and to develop projects in areas such as ageing, immuno-inflammatory diseases, infectious diseases and regenerative medicine.

“This partnership with the National Alliance for Life Sciences and Healthcare is a major breakthrough in terms of public-private partnerships in France,” said Christopher A. Viehbacher, CEO of sanofi-aventis. “By pooling the creativity and expertise of a multitude of world-renowned researchers, we are sure that this fruitful collaboration will boost innovation in life sciences in France, and ultimately lead to major discoveries that will benefit patients.”

Pr. André Syrota, Chairman of Aviesan, added: “This partnership should enable us to better showcase French research abroad. We are very pleased to stand side-by-side with sanofi-aventis to conduct research from fundamental science to patient application.”

Around 80% of UK R&D was conducted by just one hundred of the top R&D investing companies, many of which operate in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector.

The R&D Scoreboard is an annual investigation of the top 1,000 UK and top 1,000 global corporate investors in Research and Development (R&D), published by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).

The release of this information follows an announcement by the Prime Minister last month that £200m from the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF) will be invested in life sciences, digital and advanced manufacturing businesses.

In 2008, the top 1,000 UK companies invested more than £26bn on developing new products and services and improving productivity, an increase of 9.2% compared with 2007. This increase was largely due to firms in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, aerospace and defence, software and computer services and banking sectors, the report found.

The investigation also revealed that 80% of investment in R&D by the global 1,000 companies occurs in the US, Japan, Germany, France and the UK and that the top 50 UK R&D companies contributed some £385 billion to the broader economies in which they operate.

Even though the current data highlights spending on R&D in 2008 – before the worst of the global economic downturn – BIS argues that it remains an important data source for tracking commercial investment over time.

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson said: “Since 2000, we’ve provided almost £3.9 billion to innovative companies through R&D tax credits. The UK Innovation Investment Fund is about to invest £325 million in promising technology firms. From 2013, we’re reducing corporation tax on income from patents to 10%. The Government’s commitment to support companies with high-growth potential is clear.”

The announcement coincides with World Rare Disease Day (28^th February), which seeks to call attention to rare diseases as a public health issue, and to reinforce the increased need for access to information, research and treatment.

The use of just one report will simplify the process and reduce the workload for sponsor companies, but also make it easier for the EMA and FDA to share information.

Previously both regulatory agents required the submission of an annual report for orphan designated products. These would include a review of ongoing clinical studies, an investigation plan for the coming year and any potential changes that may impact the product’s orphan status.

The single annual report is voluntary, and only applies to sponsors who have obtained orphan designation status in both the EU and the US. Each regulatory body will conduct its own assessment of the report to assure the information meets all of its legal and scientific requirements.

“This process provides benefits for both agencies,” said Timothy Coté, Director of FDA’s Office of Orphan Products Development. “Additionally, it reduces the duplication involved for sponsors in reporting to two separate regulatory agencies.”

Professor Kerstin Westermark, Chair of the EMA Committee for Orphan Medicinal

Products, commented: “This new step in our collaboration provides each of our agencies with information in real time on any challenges arising during the development of products for rare diseases and will help identifying and acting on bottlenecks.”

Under previous guidelines, the FDA required orphan product sponsors to submit an annual report within 14 months of submission and annually thereafter, whereas the EMA requested annual updates from designation onwards.

The vaccine is under investigation by Viennese biotech company AFFiRiS AG, and will be based on the company’s AFFITOME technology, in addition to AFFiRiS’s other vaccines under development for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and atherosclerosis.

The vaccine is targeting angiotensin II, a peptide hormone that can cause narrowing of the blood vessels and thereby hypertension.

Dr Walter Schmidt, CEO of AFFiRiS AG, commented: “With projects in seven different indications at the moment, AFFiRiS AG has achieved a broad diversification of potential development risks. While building up this pipeline, we were consequently guided by our strategic focus, which is targeting disease areas with very large numbers of patients and lack of optimal therapies.”

The unique AFFITOME platform technology allows the generation of vaccines targeting autologous structures such as proteins and peptides. With Angiotensin II, AFFiRiS AG is addressing a human hormone for the first time.

CSO Dr Frank Mattner said: “Although chronic hypertension can be treated with drugs, the patient has to be precisely attuned to them and must then take medication constantly, which often doesn’t work out. Our vaccine is intended to lower the burden of strictly following this medication dictate, thereby contributing to ensuring lasting success.”

AFFiRiS develops tailor-made peptide vaccines against Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and four other conditions of urgent medical need.

In October 2008, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals became the licence partner for AFFiRiS’s Alzheimer’s vaccine and will pay the company milestone payments of up to EUR 430 million.

The Institute will consider Bayer’s appeal (submitted in December 2009) of its draft negative Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) for Nexavar in HCC, which was published after nearly two years of consultation.

Bayer appealed on the grounds that NICE failed to act fairly and in accordance with its own published procedures, as well as failing to consider the long-term benefits of innovation.

Following the outcome of the hearing, NICE will issue its final ruling in March 2010.

Nicole Farmer, Business Unit Head of Bayer Schering Pharma Oncology in the UK, said: “It is so frustrating that for the 600 liver cancer patients who could really benefit from Nexavar, there still remains the chance that they will be denied. We really hope that NICE takes this opportunity to reconsider some of the data and ensures that real innovations in healthcare, like Nexavar, are made available to all who need it, not just those who could afford to pay privately.”

Since NICE’s negative ruling in November, patient groups and clinicians have been involved in a high-profile media appeal, including a systematic letter writing campaign by oncologists to NICE and the media.

Nexavar is the first systemic drug for advanced HCC to show a significant survival benefit after 30 years of comparative trials, and has demonstrated a 44% increase in survival for advanced HCC patients compared to best supportive care alone.

Professor Karol Sikora, Professor of Cancer Medicine and Medical Director of CancerPartnersUK, said: “Since NICE’s decision not to fund the drug in November, many clinicians (a number of whom would have been involved in the UK trials of the drug) have been put in the painful position of having to deny their patients the only survival option for them.

“As we reach the end of this laborious process, which has left both patients and clinicians in limbo for far too long, we can only hope that NICE will use this final window of time to properly consider the very strong recommendations from UK oncologists, who only want the best for their patients.”

Cases of liver cancer have almost tripled over the past three decades, according to figures recently published by Cancer Research UK. In 1975 there were 865 cases of primary liver cancer in the UK, and in 2006 that had risen to around 3,200 new cases. HCC accounts for 80–90% of these primary liver cancers.

However, those companies that have been able to diversify into biologics, niche products and generics will still enjoy positive growth, says business analyst Datamonitor.

The report, Pharmaceutical Company Outlook to 2014, considers the forecast performance of the world’s biggest pharma and biotech companies, termed the “PharmaVitae Universe”.

The analysis reveals prescription sales are expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.2% up to 2014, compared to a historical growth rate of 10.5% over 2002–08. The report blames patent expiry and generic competition for this sharp decline.

“The major obstacle to the PharmaVitae Universe’s continued expansion is undoubtedly the growth of the generics market, eroding sales of major brands and market value. While this will directly impact products facing patent expiry, there will also be an indirect impact to patented brands as they are forced to compete with alternative generics,” said Rebecca Whitham, Datamonitor Analyst.

However, the report forecasts that several companies will outperform the PharmaVitae Universe average growth rate, particularly those that have diversified into the biologics sectors of monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic proteins. Datamonitor expects Roche, for example, to benefit from its early move into the monoclonal antibody market due to the sector’s high growth.

Mid-sized companies Gilead, Actelion and Celgene are also expected to achieve double-digit CAGRs, due to their strategy of targeting niche indications and areas of high unmet need. In addition, the report points out, companies such as Novartis that have developed their own generic presence will benefit from the growth in this market.

Other companies will weather the storm through mergers and acquisitions. “Where M&A has acted as the PharmaVitae Universe’s biggest growth driver over 2002–08, this unknown quantity will likely continue to play a key role in driving company performance going forward,” concluded Whitham.

“Despite bearing the impact of generic competition to some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical brands, the large-scale M&A witnessed in 2009 will see Pfizer-Wyeth and Merck-Schering-Plough become the first and second largest companies within the PharmaVitae Universe by 2014.”

The report Pharmaceutical Company Outlook to 2014: Analysis of the Top Pharma and Biotech Companies examines the forecast performance of the world’s 43 biggest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies according to 2008 prescription pharmaceutical revenues.

The company fought off competition from 3M Drug Delivery Systems, Mediplus and Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition to win the award, which was partly judged by Natalie Uhlarz, Editor of Pharmaceutical Marketing.

Schering-Plough Senior Brand Manager Russell Abberley was also a runner-up in the Marketer of the Year category, an award for professionals “who have demonstrated exceptional marketing skills, knowledge and initiative.”

The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s annual awards evening was held at the Grange St Paul’s Hotel, London and hosted by Hugh Dennis of Mock the Week fame.

The overall Chairman’s Award was given to Ernst & Young for their outstanding contribution to the profession with their winning entry in the Professional Services category. The award was accepted by Ernst & Young’s marketing director EMEIA, Andrew Shaylor.

David Thorp, Director of Research and Professional Development at The Chartered Institute of Marketing, commented: “The entrants demonstrated the creativity needed to demonstrate good marketing practice and innovation, even during the current financial downturn. The diversity and creativity of the entries resulted in much deliberation by the judging teams to judge and mark the final and worthy shortlist.”

The awards endeavour to acknowledge and reward organisations and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution to the profession. They invite applications from all marketers regardless of sector or organisation size, aiming to highlight the fundamental position that marketing occupies in business and the public sector and to celebrate marketing achievements across a range of industries.

The petition has been launched in response to the recent revelation that the UK’s death rate is still around 6% higher than the European average, though spending on cancer medicines is only 60% that of other countries.

The relatively poor take-up of new treatments in the UK was one of the reasons listed in the report as “contributing to the higher death rate”.

The charity has described the current system for appraising drugs as “extremely bureaucratic, callous, time-consuming, outdated and in desperate need of reform”.

James Whale, Founder of the James Whale Fund, commented: “The Government needs to wake up to the fact that cancer services in the UK are abysmal and the survival rates for kidney cancer patients are hugely affected by this poor level of service.

“This is just one example of the dire situation facing many cancer patients in the UK today. No matter what the cancer is, the poor uptake by NICE of cancer treatments is leaving the UK lagging far behind in survival rates.”

The online petition, spearheaded by the Cancer Patient Support Group at the James Whale Fund for kidney cancer, is attracting over 100 signatures per day due to patients promoting the petition themselves.

This follows recent news that NICE has issued preliminary guidance to the NHS rejecting everolimus (trade name Afinitor, manufactured by Novartis), a new and innovative drug for advanced kidney cancer.

To view the petition or sign up, go to: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/NewCancerDrugs/.

Decisions about which drugs to abandon to fund new treatments recommended by the NICE are inconsistent and may be contributing to the postcode lottery – one of the key issues that NICE was set up to tackle, Dyfrig Hughes and Robin Ferner argue.

The article goes on to argue that the methods for identifying drugs that can be discontinued need to be “as rigorous as those for assessing potential new treatments to ensure best use of NHS resources”.

The NHS is legally obliged to fund treatments recommended by NICE but does not receive extra money to do so. This means that the funding of new, expensive medicines relies increasingly on displacing other treatments, but NICE does not specify which. The authors ask how we should establish which medicines to discontinue.

Obvious targets include treatments that have been replaced by more effective medicines, but the authors claim that it could be better to maintain an older treatment that is marginally less effective but much cheaper.

In conclusion, the article calls for an explicit framework for the identification and appraisal of medicines for disinvestment to provide better value for money while reducing inequity.

Under the terms of the agreement, Basilea will receive an upfront payment of CHF 75 million and will be eligible to receive up to CHF 478 million in additional payments on achievement of pre-specified development and sales milestones.

In return, Astellas has gained the right to commercialise isavuconazole, though Basilea will retain an option to co-promote the product in the US, Canada, major European countries and China.

Dr Anthony Man, CEO, Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, said: “Astellas has a successful track record in developing and commercialising antifungals in the hospital sector internationally. We look forward to working together with Astellas to achieve isavuconazole’s full potential as a novel therapeutic option for treating serious and life-threatening fungal infections.”

Astellas will lead the clinical development program investigating isavuconazole for the treatment of invasive fungal infections caused by Aspergillus or other filamentous fungi (mould infections) and Candida fungi (yeast infections).

Masafumi Nogimori, President and CEO, Astellas, commented: “Astellas already has experience in the development and marketing of the echinocandin antifungal agent Mycamine (micafungin) worldwide and is committed to focusing on infectious diseases. This partnership is an important step to further expand our business and to reinforce our franchise in infectious diseases.”

The Risk Sharing Scheme, which was to run for ten years, was implemented by the DH in 2002 when NICE decided that certain disease-modifying drugs were not cost-effective. The drugs involved are Biogen Idec’s Avonex, Bayer Schering Pharma’s Betaferon, Teva/sanofi-aventis’ Copaxone and Merck Serono’s Rebif.

However, the MS Society argues that the scheme has been poorly managed and is even affecting patient access to the NICE-approved drug Tysabri.

A review of the scheme was published in the British Medical Journal in December 2009, which highlighted various methodological difficulties.

The MS Society also points out that the scheme is causing confusion over entitlement to Tysabri, that access to the drugs is governed by a post-code lottery and that NICE’s MS guidance is out of date due to awaiting the outcome of the programme.

Simon Gillespie, Chief Executive of the MS Society, said: “This is a deeply frustrating situation. The four drugs involved are not the issue and many have benefitted from taking them. It is the way the scheme has been run that is the problem.

“People with MS and taxpayers deserve much better. Government’s approach towards the treatment of 100,000 people with MS across the UK doesn’t give them, or their families, confidence for the future. We already have evidence that the ineffective operation of the scheme has exacerbated the post code lottery in treatments, for example in prescribing the newer drug Tysabri for people with severe MS.”

James Gray MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on MS, represented these feelings in a debate with Health Minister Mike O’Brien MP, concluding: “the scheme is knackered, it cannot be mended and anyone with half a brain would call for its abolition!”

Mike O’Brien responded that it was too early to reach firm conclusions about the cost-effectiveness of the drugs. He added that he would “investigate any concerns that primary care trusts are refusing to fund the use of Tysabri as recommended by NICE” and that “if there is any evidence of postcode prescribing, we will be anxious to see it.”

Simon Gillespie concluded: “Unless the shortcomings of the scheme are addressed rapidly, the introduction of other new therapies for MS is also likely to be delayed. Most people live with their MS for many decades, and it is imperative that people with MS receive the correct treatment at the right time.

“Anything short of this would be a grave injustice to all those with MS, as well as ultimately costing society more for hospital stays and care that could be avoided.”

The recommendation is another example of a negative NICE decision being reversed due to a patient access scheme agreed with the manufacturer.

In this case, UCB has agreed to provide the first 12 weeks of certolizumab pegol free for all patients starting treatment. The company also provided additional cost effectiveness data that influenced NICE’s decision.

Dr Carole Longson, Director, Health Technology Evaluation Centre, said: “The recommendations have been facilitated by the positive response of the manufacturer (UCB Pharma) in providing more detailed information on the clinical and cost effectiveness of its treatment, and by offering the patient access scheme. Rheumatoid arthritis can be very painful and consequently, very debilitating, so I am sure this decision will be welcomed by all those affected by the disease.”

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease in which joints in the body become inflamed, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. It often affects the small joints of the hands and the feet, and usually both sides equally and symmetrically.

Professor Peter Taylor, investigator and Professor in Experimental Rheumatology, Imperial College London NHS Trust, commented: “Certolizumab pegol has been shown to rapidly improve patients’ symptoms and to significantly reduce the rate of progression of joint damage associated with rheumatoid arthritis. This fast and lasting effect is important as it quickly improves function, reduces work disability and leads to a better quality of life for patients.”

Certolizumab pegol is a TNF (tumour necrosis factor) inhibitor, which is indicated in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of moderate to severe, active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients, when the response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including methotrexate, has been inadequate.

The new final guidance recommends trabectedin for the treatment of certain patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma, reversing the Institute’s earlier negative assessment.

The recommendation was made following the manufacturer PharmaMar’s agreement to meet the costs of the drug when it is needed beyond the fifth cycle of treatment.

Dr Carole Longson, Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director at NICE, said: “It’s thought between 500 and 600 people live with advanced soft tissue sarcoma in England and Wales. We are pleased to be able to recommend trabectedin for NHS use as it will provide a treatment option for some patients.”

NICE has recommended the use of trabectedin as a treatment for people with advanced soft tissue sarcoma if treatment with anthracyclines and ifosfamide has failed or they are intolerant to these therapies.

Roger Wilson, from Sarcoma UK, commented: “It has been a challenging journey for everyone concerned, doctors, patients, regulators and the manufacturer. This news encourages everyone as it opens the way for a new era in the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma, for which there have been few advances in over 20 years.

“Few pharmaceutical companies pay much regard to rare cancers so I would pay tribute to PharmaMar for their determination to see Yondelis into clinical use, and to thank them for the patient access scheme which makes it possible.”

Soft tissue sarcomas are tumours that develop in the soft, supporting tissue in the body, such as fat, muscle and blood vessels and can occur anywhere in the body.

Trabectedin (Yondelis) is an intravenous drug that works by damaging the DNA in cancer cells, making them unable to grow and spread. It is administered over 24-hours with a three week interval between cycles.

Research has shown that the drug can extend the life of a person with advanced soft tissue sarcoma by at least three more months than current NHS treatment.

England currently spends £18.33 billion on cancer care annually, but this could increase to £24.72 billion over the next few years, found a new report by think tank Policy Exchange, The Cost of Cancer.

The figures take into account healthcare costs, costs to patients and families and losses in productivity, making it the most comprehensive study of the total costs of cancer to have taken place in England.

The report blames late diagnosis, poor survival rates for older people and those in deprived communities, and relatively poor take-up of new treatments and technologies for the UK’s high mortality rate.

Overall, the study found, England spends 5.6% of its public healthcare budget on cancer, compared to 7.7% in France, 9.2% in the US and 9.6% in Germany.

If UK survival rates were improved in line with the best in Europe, by 2020 the cost of cancer care could be reduced by £10 billion, and 71, 500 lives could be saved.

The report recommends that the DH should adopt best practice in cancer services from other European countries, refocus resources where the largest reductions in mortality can be achieved and focus on prevention strategies, including smoking reduction initiatives.

Henry Featherstone, Head of Policy Exchange’s Health Unit and author of the report, said: “Cancer kills over one in four people in England, and is seen by the public as being the top disease priority for the NHS. The current cost of cancer – to say nothing of the human tragedy involved – is currently at a staggering £18.33 billion, and will only rise further.

“With cross-programme action on earlier diagnosis and better targeting of resources towards older people and communities who are most at risk we could make significant reductions in mortality rates, saving not only billions of pounds, but also the upset and suffering caused to thousands of individuals and families.”

The long-running dispute arose over the issue of transfer pricing – the amount a company pays to buy goods from its own overseas subsidiaries. The £505 million payment will resolve all claims made by HMRC in relation to this issue.

The first installment of £350m will be paid in March 2010, with a second final installment of £155m due in March 2011. Pending litigation has now been cancelled in light of the payment.

AZ set aside £890 million to settle the dispute, some of which can now be added to its profit forecast for the year.

Tax authorities believe that large companies sometimes use transfer pricing to move their profits to low-tax countries in order to avoid corporation tax. The HMRC has recently hired specialists to crack down on this activity.

AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, generated global revenues of US $32.8 billion in 2009.

The biosimilar, manufactured by Hospira, received a positive opinion from the CHMP for subcutaneous (SC) use in renal anaemia.

Once approved by the European Commission (EC), Retacrit will be the first biosimilar epoetin (EPO) for SC and intravenous (IV) administration in the nephrology setting.

This new recommendation supplements the existing licence of Retacrit IV administration in renal anaemia, plus SC administration in anaemia associated with cancer chemotherapy.

“As part of Hospira’s continued commitment to expand biosimilar options for patients, we are pleased that Retacrit is the first biosimilar epoetin to get a recommendation from the CHMP for subcutaneous administration in the nephrology setting,” said Michael Kotsanis, Hospira’s President of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“Once approved by the European Commission, Retacrit will be suitable for subcutaneous as well as intravenous administration in the nephrology setting. This will give clinicians greater flexibility in managing symptomatic anaemia in their renal patients and provide healthcare professionals with a cost-effective alternative to originator epoetins.”

Biosimilars can provide a more cost-effective option than originator brands and so help to reduce healthcare costs. The European Generic Medicines Association estimates that biosimilar competition resulting in a 20% price reduction in five off-patent biopharmaceuticals could save the EU over €1.6 billion per year.

Kees Groenhout, Vice President of Global Clinical R&D, Hospira, added: “The approval will be a significant step forward, because patients who aren’t yet on haemodialysis can be treated with Retacrit at home. Many will also be able to self-inject Retacrit for the first time. For several reasons, subcutaneous administration can conserve hospital resources and save valuable time for patients, too.”

The recommendation of Retacrit is based on data from a rigorous Phase III clinical trial demonstrating comparable efficacy and safety between epoetin zeta and the reference product, epoetin alfa, when administered subcutaneously in patients with end-stage renal failure on chronic haemodialysis.

The CHMP has rejected the anti-MRSA antibiotic Zeftera (ceftobiprole medocaril) for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections.

Cilag GmbH International, a Johnson & Johnson company, has given Basilea Pharmaceutica notice of termination of their worldwide collaboration agreement.

This is the second time the CHMP has appraised Zeftera. Despite securing a positive opinion in November 2008, there was severe delay in the approval of the antibiotic, as both the FDA and the EMA expressed concerns about the reliability of its clinical data.

The EMA requested that Good Clinical Practice inspections be carried out at the research sites. In response, Basilea filed a Request for Arbitration against its partner Johnson & Johnson due its loss of earnings as a result of delayed approvals.

Zeftera, including pending applications and in-market products, will now be transitioned back to Basilea under the terms of the companies’ license agreement.

The five-month awareness and education campaign is designed to improve GP understanding of the diagnosis, treatment and care solutions for patients with eye health problems.

To launch the campaign, the RNIB will work with Doctors.net.uk, the UK’s largest and most active network of medical professionals. The campaign content is to be based on the findings of research into doctors’ confidence when dealing with eye health issues.

Barbara McLaughlan, RNIB Campaigns Manager, said: “Our work has previously focused on influencing national policy or individuals’ health choices, but targeting GPs effectively has been a challenge for us. Thanks to the in-depth research we were able to conduct beforehand, we’ve designed a campaign which addresses the specific areas in which GPs have said they require the most help.”

The RNIB’s 2009 publication Future Sight Loss UK found that 50% of sight loss is avoidable.

Simon Grime, Head of Healthcare Communications for Doctors.net.uk, added: “Thanks to the comprehensive educational resources that have been created, this campaign will bring about a real change in the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic patients.”

The companies aim to achieve better treatment outcomes in cancer patients by determining which patients are most likely to respond to certain investigational therapeutic candidates.

As part of the agreement, Roche will provide Merck with access to its developmental microarray-based AmpliChip p53 Test, which is designed to detect mutations in the tumor suppressor gene p53.

“Roche designed its investigational AmpliChip p53 Test to rapidly provide clinically important information that can be used early in pharmaceutical development to help predict cancer patient responses to certain therapeutic candidates,” said Paul Brown, President and CEO, Roche Molecular Diagnostics.

The p53 protein activates DNA repair proteins, inducing growth arrest for repair of DNA damage. When p53 function is deficient, a cell’s response to DNA damage is severely impaired, contributing to tumor growth and increasing tumor cells’ resistance to chemotherapy.

Roche’s investigational AmpliChip p53 Test is designed to detect damage to p53 DNA in tumor cells to identify which cells carry dysfunctional p53 proteins that can lead to treatment resistance.

“The goal of our research is to discover and develop innovative cancer therapeutics and deliver them to the right patients at the right time,” said Eric Rubin, MD, Vice President, Oncology, Merck Research Laboratories. “By applying the AmpliChip p53 Test in selected clinical trials we hope to identify those patients most likely to respond to specific therapeutic regimens in development.”

The new Economist Intelligence Unit report, Doing more with less: Britain’s healthcare funding challenges, which is sponsored by BMI Healthcare, also says that funding choices based on clinical evidence could help to avoid expensive reforms.

Economists and healthcare managers interviewed for the report said that key recommendations of the 2002 review of the NHS by Sir Derek Wanless, which included reforms to improve quality and productivity, had not been fulfilled.

The Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts demand for health services to rise at a faster pace than GDP over the next five years, driven by an expanding, ageing and increasingly well-informed population, advances in medical science and a rise in the incidence of chronic disease, among other factors.

“Several important policy steps are available which could help to relieve some of the cost and demand burdens on British healthcare,” said Iain Scott, Senior Editor, Economist Intelligence Unit. “If they are going to work, any reforms ought to rely less on fiddling with institutions and structures, and more on changing the culture of the health service and getting to the root of how to advance the quality of care.”

Those interviewed for the new report warned that staff and managers have been left weary and demoralised by attempts to reorganise the NHS and the emphasis on performance targets. Respondents also indicated a belief that the public would not tolerate a return to longer waiting times as a result of cuts to frontline services.

Meanwhile, the report argues that evidence-based approaches typified by NICE and patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) could relieve pressure on the healthcare system without requiring expensive, top-down reforms.

The report Doing more with less: Britain’s healthcare funding challenges used information from the Wanless report, as well as research by The King’s Fund and the Social Market Foundation. Further material came from NHS institutions, separate Economist Intelligence Unit research and in-depth interviews with leading economists and NHS managers.

The site mentalhealthcare.org.uk is a joint venture between The Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM), in association with Rethink, the campaigning mental health charity. It is funded by a public engagement grant from The Wellcome Trust.

Elizabeth Kuipers, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the IoP is leading the development of the website. She said: “Looking after someone with psychosis can, at times, be emotionally demanding. There is still an enormous amount of stigma and shame about psychosis, and worry and upset when a relative is diagnosed with a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia.

“Through this new website we aim to provide clear information about treatment, medication and other support available to carers and people with psychosis.”

mentalhealthcare.org.uk will provide filmed interviews with health professionals and researchers, an area where visitors can submit questions to a pharmacist, psychologist or a psychiatrist and information about psychosis research and how patients can get involved.

The site also provides information about medication and other treatments, such as talking therapies.

“Access to reliable information in the early stages of diagnosis is crucial,” said Marshall Whiting who supported his late brother and now his eldest son, through schizophrenia. “Although therapies and medication have moved on significantly since my brother was diagnosed in 1962, there is still not enough information and support from the authorities or the medical profession.”

All information on the website is provided by IoP researchers and SLaM mental health professionals who have extensive knowledge and experience of psychosis.

Psychosis is a symptom of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder. It can also be a symptom of dementia, some forms of personality disorder, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and other illnesses.

This is the second pandemic vaccine to be assessed by the Committee using an emergency procedure which fast-tracks the evaluation of new vaccines developed during a pandemic.

Information on Humenza was evaluated in an accelerated timeframe using a rolling review which started in June 2009.

A group of vaccination experts were convened to further analyse test results for Humenza in comparison to a previously authorised pandemic vaccine, Celvapan.

Following discussion with these experts, the Committee concluded that despite some variability in the test results, the vaccine is sufficiently effective in all age groups when administered in two doses at an interval of at least three weeks.

The Committee also reviewed further results from clinical studies and post-marketing experience for the three authorised pandemic influenza vaccines, Celvapan, Focetria and Pandemrix. The data confirmed the expected immunogenicity and safety profile for the vaccines.

The drug is currently undergoing a Phase I clinical study and a final decision from the European Commission is expected in a few weeks.

Aprea is part of the Karolinska Development portfolio.

“Aprea is developing a new class of anticancer drugs for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukaemia, the most common acute leukaemia affecting adults which is currently lacking efficient treatment. An orphan drug status would significantly shorten the development time, lower development costs and, if approved, extend market exclusivity to the benefit of affected patients, Aprea and Karolinska Development,” said Conny Bogentoft, CEO Karolinska Development.

Karolinska Development manages one of the largest portfolios of life science companies in Europe. It holds 43% of Aprea share capital and votes.

Since 2003, Karolinska Development has built a portfolio of around 40 companies. Its portfolio includes 12 compounds that are undergoing clinical trials and a total of 19 potential first-in-class products.

The takeover has provided Abbott with a large and complementary portfolio of pharmaceutical products and expanded its presence in key global emerging markets.

It is expected that the acquisition will add approximately $2.9 billion to Abbott’s 2010 total reported sales and approximately $500 million to Abbott’s annual pharmaceutical R&D investment.

“The acquisition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals is a key part of Abbott’s strategy to bolster our presence in key markets and deliver sustainable, industry-leading growth,” said Miles D. White, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Abbott. “In addition to taking both Abbott and Solvay products into new and expanding markets, the acquisition enhances our R&D investment, providing Abbott with the opportunity to drive future pharmaceutical growth.”

Solvay’s products complement Abbott’s presence in specialty markets such as cardiovascular disease, neuroscience and gastroenterology, and include treatments for men’s and women’s hormonal health.

“The combination of Solvay and Abbott’s pharmaceutical businesses will enable Abbott to attain leadership in key emerging markets, where there is significant opportunity for branded generics,” said Olivier Bohuon, Executive Vice President, Pharmaceutical Products Group, Abbott. “The addition of Solvay Pharmaceuticals is the catalyst for Abbott’s growth and leadership in this area, and will ensure Abbott has the infrastructure, reach and product offerings to continue meeting the needs of patients around the world.”

BOPA awarded BJ Clin Pharm a year-long agreement to undertake editorial services on its behalf following a competitive two-way pitch with its rival publication, RPS Publishing’s Clinical Pharmacist.

BJ Clin Pharm, published by the Pharmacy Publishing Company (PPC), will publish two standard issues of BOPA’s periodical, as well as a special conference issue to support BOPA’s annual meeting in October. PPC and the BOPA Executive Committee will also explore additional publishing opportunities as both parties seek to build on the partnership.

The periodical will be published with the July (2010), December (2010) and April (2011) issues of BJ Clin Pharm and distributed to the Journal’s key audience of 13,000 hospital and clinical pharmacists, as well as BOPA’s 500-strong membership.

Hannah Pike, Editor of BJ Clin Pharm, said: “We are delighted that BOPA has chosen The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy as the medium through which it can communicate with its members and the wider clinical pharmacy population. Expanding clinical roles mean that pharmacists of all specialties are likely to come into contact with cancer patients, both on the wards and in outpatient clinics. Partnership with BOPA will enable The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy to share the work of this advanced group of clinical specialists with its important and growing readership.”

BJ Clin Pharm was launched in January 2009 and has established itself as a must-read publication for UK clinical pharmacists — an increasingly influential customer-group for the pharmaceutical industry. Independent reader research last September showed that over half (56%) of the survey’s respondents are consulted by doctors about drug use each day. A total of 88% of respondents consider BJ Clin Pharm to be a valuable professional resource.

BOPA was founded in 1996, having grown out of the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA). Its aim is to promote excellence in the pharmaceutical care of patients with cancer through education, communication, research and innovation by an alliance of hospital, community and academic pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, the pharmaceutical industry and other healthcare professionals. It currently has over 500 members.

The ceremony honoured a range of campaigns, including Pfizer’s ‘Real Danger’ patient information campaign about counterfeit medicines, and Schering Plough’s ‘Compass’ hospital campaign for hepatitis C. The latter also received awards for best Hospital Journal Ad and Journal Ad Campaign.

The PM Awards, which celebrate the best in advertising and digital innovation, are held annually at the Grosevenor hotel, London. This year’s event was hosted by comedian Alexander Armstrong and attracted more than 1300 executives from across pharmaceutical sales and marketing.

Marketing agency Langland earned success for Eisai’s Neurobloc campaign in the Detailing Aid and International Core campaign categories, scooping an unprecedented seven awards in total.

Langland MD Philip Chin said: “We were delighted to set a record at this year’s PM Society Advertising Awards. The sheer number of awards won demonstrates that Langland can create category-leading work in response to a wide range of pharma industry marketing issues. Good creative work can only be developed when there is a strong partnership between agency and client.”

The award categories included five target audience awards and 12 craft awards, plus the prestigious Geoff Brook Award for Digital Innovation which went to Creative Lynx for its work with Wyeth on Tygacil (‘Ward Invaders’). The campaign was also awarded as the best Interactive Digital Media.

Other notable winners on the day included Stiefel Laboratories and Woolley Pau for their Warticon campaign, Shire and McCann Erickson’s Changing Faces of ADHD film and Roche’s work on Pegasys (wave) with Nitrogen (Huntsworth Health). See below for the full list of winners.

The Hospital Journal Advertisement award was sponsored by The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, which is published by The Pharmacy Publishing Company, a trading name of Health Sector Publishing Ltd.

In its 1.2mg dose, liraglutide has been recommended as part of triple therapy regimens (in combination with metformin and sulfonylurea, or metformin and a thiazolidinedione), but not in dual therapy. The drug’s 1.8mg dosage was also not recommended.

Dr Carole Longson, Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director at NICE, said: “We felt that there was not sufficient evidence to recommend liraglutide in dual therapy regimens for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Committee concluded that there were disparities in the data provided by the manufacturer, particularly regarding the economic analyses of liraglutide in dual therapy regimens for this type of diabetes.”

Novo Nordisk has responded that it is confident it can provide the information requested to support a recommendation in this indication, as well as evidence of the benefits of the 1.8mg dose in particular patient groups.

Managing Director Viggo Birch said: “We are very encouraged that NICE have seen the value of liraglutide and the major benefits that it has for patients with type 2 diabetes. We look forward to the next stage of discussions with NICE and the resulting guidance expected around June, which we hope will mirror the license we were awarded in July 2009 by the European Medicines Agency.”

In triple therapy, the advised use of the product is in patients who have inadequate control of their blood glucose, have a body mass index (BMI) that classes them as obese and specific psychological or medical problems associated with their weight.

It is also recommended for patients who are not obese, but where insulin therapy would have significant occupational implications, or weight loss would benefit the patient’s health in other ways.

NICE has also added that treatment with liraglutide should only continue if there is at least a 1% reduction in the patient’s blood glucose levels and a 3% reduction in body weight after six months.

In its first annual report to Parliament on the state of healthcare and adult social care in England, the CQC cautioned that some services were lagging behind and that there were areas of common concern, notably keeping people safe and staff training.

CQC said that the next big challenge for health and social care is to accelerate efforts to make services more joined-up and centred around people’s needs.

The report, marking the first time that an independent regulator has looked simultaneously across both the health and social care sectors, argues that joining up the care services can deliver both better care and greater efficiency. It calls for investment in services that maintain people’s independence by reducing the need for expensive hospital and residential care.

CQC also published a five-year strategic plan, which sets out what it wants to achieve for people using health and social care services and how it will go about it.

CQC’s Interim Chair, Dame Jo Williams, said: “Successes have come in areas that really matter to people such as reducing hospital infection rates and helping people live independently at home. But we are mindful of the fact that pockets of poor practice remain.

“Trends such as increasing demand and rising expectations will be exacerbated by pressure on finances. That means we cannot go on as we are. To cope, we need some radical changes in the way that we organise and deliver services. This means shifting the culture away from a one-size-fits-all approach to care that puts the needs of individuals and carers at the centre of everything.”

This was one of the findings of a national review into the MUR patient service conducted by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Clinical Audit Support Centre Limited.

Pharmacists from eight PCOs taking part in the audit said long-term conditions and multiple medicines were the main reasons they undertook an MUR.

Eighty per cent of pharmacists made recommendations as a result of an MUR, with the most common being on medicines adherence or lifestyle. Encouragingly, 93% of patients given recommendations said they were likely to make those changes.

RPSGB England Practice and Policy Lead, Heidi Wright said: “MURs are a valuable service and these results are really positive. Importantly this audit is the first method which has been used to get a national picture of MURs so we know how well they are received and where the service can be improved.

“I would now urge more PCOs to get involved as we need patients, pharmacists and GPs to all fully engage with the audit to ensure the national data are consistent.”

GPs said MURs had the benefit of improving patients’ compliance with medicine regimes and their understanding of medicines.

Further results of the audit are available at: www.qi4pd.org.uk.

The review Fair Society, Healthy Lives proposes a new way to reduce health inequalities in England post 2010 and argues that traditionally government policies to reduce health inequalities have focused resources only on some segments of society.

To improve health for everyone, the review says, action is needed to build on the past ten years’ work on health inequalities to continue to improve everyone’s health and reduce differences that are both unfair and unjust.

At the moment people living in the poorest neighbourhoods in England will on average die seven years earlier than people living in the richest neighbourhoods. And even more disturbing, people living in poorer areas not only die sooner, but spend more of their shorter lives with disability – an average total difference of 17 years.

The review has estimated that health inequalities in England are costing £31–33 billion in productivity losses, around £20–32 billion in lost taxes and higher welfare payments and an excess of £5.5 billion in additional NHS healthcare costs each year.

The review predicts an increase in the cost of treating the various illnesses that result from inequalities in obesity alone to rise from £2 billion per year to nearly £5 billion per year by 2025.

NICE has welcomed the recommendations and has urged a focus on public health measures that prevent ill health. Professor Mike Kelly, Director, Public Health Excellence Centre at NICE, said: “Our guidance aims to improve the health of the population as a whole and to reduce health inequalities. The interventions we recommend are highly cost effective and represent very good value for money and hence are a good use of public funds.

A modest switch in resources to public health, to invest in those interventions which have been shown to be effective and cost effective by NICE, would from a societal point of view and a social justice point of view, be an important investment for the future.”

A team of 10 Commissioners drew up the recommendations, chaired by Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London. They included the President of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor Ian Gilmore, and the Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research Council, Professor Ian Diamond.

Sir Michael said: “There will be those who say that our recommendations cannot be afforded, particularly in the current economic climate. We say that it is inaction that cannot be afforded, the economic and more importantly human costs are simply too high.

The health and wellbeing of today’s children, and of those children when they become adults, depend on us having the courage and imagination to do things differently, to put sustainability and well-being before a narrow focus on economic growth and bring about a more equal and fair society.”

The review hopes to create conditions for people to take control over their own lives by:

1. Giving every child the best start in life (highest priority recommendation)
2. Enabling all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives
3. Creating fair employment and good work for all
4. Ensuring a healthy standard of living for all
5. Creating and developing sustainable places and communities
6. Strengthening the role and impact of ill-health prevention.

The King’s Fund has also expressed approval of the recommendations, adding that the onus is now on politicians to reduce inequalities in areas such as housing, working conditions and education, as well as healthcare.

Acting Chief Executive Dr Anna Dixon added: “The problems that contribute to health inequalities are complex and longstanding. It is clearly the role of the NHS to help everyone improve their chances of living longer and healthier lives. But the health service cannot eradicate these inequalities on its own. It’s imperative that politicians continue to support the reduction of inequalities as a goal, even if the outcomes might not be achieved until after they have left office.”

Government policies have created a healthcare market where commercially-run firms can compete with existing NHS trusts and GP practices to provide NHS care. The BMA claims that this is having an adverse impact on many parts of the NHS in England.

Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of Council at the BMA, said: “We want an NHS with patients, not profits, at its heart. The public values the NHS as a publicly provided, publicly funded service. Like doctors, they do not want vital funding to be diverted to shareholders.

“NHS staff see on a daily basis the waste of taxpayers’ money caused by this fixation with market ideology. Particularly as the public purse strings tighten, it is crucial that public money is no longer wasted on expensive commercial experiments.”

The campaign website has been revamped and the BMA plans to send ‘Look After our NHS’ campaign packs to each of its members in England – over 100,000 doctors and medical students.

Leaflets will also be distributed to patients in GP practices and hospitals, warning them that “your local GP practice, hospital or community health service could be run by a commercial, profit-driven company in the future”.

In response, the Department of Health has defended the use of private companies in delivering better services to patients. A DH spokesperson told the BBC: “Independent and third sector organisations were used successfully to get down waiting lists for operations and can make a contribution to this by helping to add capacity and increase patient choice.”

Despite agreement among industry executives that companies such as IT, retail and telecommunications firms will help reshape the healthcare marketplace, most feel unprepared to address the challenges these new creative alliances will bring.

The Progressions, Pharma 3.0 report identifies several industry trends driving this collaborative working, including health reform, health IT, comparative effectiveness and the rising confidence in consumer power.

These factors and others are prompting pharmaceutical companies to broaden their focus from simply producing new medicines to delivering ‘healthy outcomes’ – a shift that will be driven through creative partnerships and the adoption of new business models.

“Despite the tumultuous changes over the last few years, executives realise the road ahead will become even more complex with the entry of new players which are being lured to the sector in increasing numbers,” said Carolyn Buck Luce, Ernst & Young LLP, Global Pharmaceutical Leader.

“In this environment, successful companies will find new ways to combine their unique assets and attributes with those of partners through dynamic collaborations focused squarely on patient outcomes and the consumer experience.”

The Progressions report describes the rapid transition from the industry’s longstanding vertically integrated blockbuster-driven model, defined in the study as Pharma 1.0, to today’s Pharma 2.0 business model.

Under this business model, companies have adopted a number of changes to improve productivity and financial performance, including pursuing more targeted therapies, broadening their portfolio of products and capabilities, establishing more flexible R&D units, boosting partnerships with biotech firms and outsourcing non-core functions.

The report supports the prediction of PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Pharma 2020 series that under new market conditions, companies will be forced to widen their range of services through collaboration with external providers.

The new specialist eye service in Birmingham has helped save the sight of nearly 450 people in its first year, more than three times the number originally planned, through its project ‘Saving sight the NICE way’.

The team won the clinical category of the NICE Shared Learning Awards for successfully implementing NICE guidance on the use of the drug ranibizumab (Lucentis) for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD).

By following the development of this guidance and working with a range of experts, the service was able to treat its first patient with ranibizumab just three working days after the guidance recommending the treatment was published. Due to short waiting times and a flexible way of working, all patients receive their first assessment within one week of being referred and none of those treated during the first year have been registered blind.

Consultant Ophthalmologist Marie Tsaloumas said: “Having anticipated the NICE guidance, we worked closely with GPs, optometrists, patients and others to establish an effective and efficient service. The main lessons we have learnt are that NICE guidance is your ‘friend’ in developing services to help patients, and that team work is essential.”

Two other West Midlands projects were also recognised at the Awards. The Staffordshire branch of treatment charity Addaction won the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ category for improving a needle and syringe programme using NICE guidance. South Staffordshire and Shropshire NHS Foundation Trust came top in the ‘General’ category for their work to ensure that healthcare professionals are aware of relevant NICE guidance.

Chris Connell, NICE’s Implementation Consultant for the West Midlands, said: “To have the West Midlands win all three categories at the NICE Shared Learning Awards highlights the hard work by organisations in the region to use NICE guidance for the benefit of patients.

“All three projects thoroughly deserve their awards. The team at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust in particular deserve their accolade. The gift of sight is truly precious and the team’s unwavering dedication to helping save the sight of hundreds of patients is inspiring.”

Nominations for the 2010 Shared Learning Awards are now open. See www.nice.org.uk/sharedlearning for more information.

The drug is now the first and only rate-limiting anti-anginal licensed for use in combination with beta-blockers for chronic stable angina patients for whom an optimal dose of beta-blockers is insufficient, and whose heart rate is above 60 beats per minute.

Procoralan selectively reduces heart rate, thereby increasing coronary filling time and blood flow and reducing myocardial oxygen demand.

Through selective heart rate reduction, monotherapy Procoralan 7.5mg twice daily has been proven to reduce angina attacks by 70%. Treatment with Procoralan in measures of 5mg and 7.5mg twice daily have also shown to be at least as effective as 50mg and 100mg atenolol (beta-blocker).

Clinical data have shown that the addition of Procoralan 7.5mg to a beta-blocker significantly increases all exercise test parameters, with total exercise capacity being increased threefold compared to treatment with a beta-blocker alone.

Dr Paul Kalra, Consultant Cardiologist at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, commented: “Appropriate control of elevated heart rate is fundamental to the successful management of patients with angina. This is therefore an important advance for the treatment of thousands of patients whose symptoms cannot be controlled with beta-blockers alone.

“Whilst combination anti-anginal therapy has long been used to treat patients with angina, the ASSOCIATE trial has provided robust data demonstrating the significant benefit of combination therapy with ivabradine.”

Procoralan was hailed as one of the most important advances in cardiovascular treatment when it was first authorised for use in Europe in November 2005.

Chief Executive Andrew Witty announced a series of new initiatives targeted at further transforming the company’s approach to diseases that disproportionately affect the world’s most deprived countries.

Highlights of the strategy include the establishment of an ‘open lab’ with initial funding of $8 million, the release of data on 13,500 malaria compounds identified by GSK researchers and the awarding of new grants totaling $2.5 million to four NGOs working in Africa.

In a speech given at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Mr Witty said: “Since I took over at GSK I have been focused on changing the business model for the company to improve performance. But equally important is the imperative to earn the trust of society, not just by meeting expectations but by exceeding them.

“We want to be a company that is truly a partner in addressing the healthcare challenges in the world’s poorest countries, no matter how difficult they are. A restless company, never satisfied with what it has achieved, but always looking for ways of doing more.”

One of GSK’s partners, Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), is a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to reducing the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries. Dr Timothy Wells, Chief Scientific Officer of the MMV, said: “At MMV we are proud to be associated with GSK’s new initiatives, which have the potential to dramatically alter the way the world approaches research and development for neglected diseases.

By sharing the data from the MMV-GSK screening collaboration, the research community can start to build up a public repository of knowledge that should be as powerful as the human genome databases and could set a new trend to revolutionize the urgent search for new medicines to tackle malaria.”

The business simulation section of the Pf Awards assessment day tests candidate’s ability to manage their territory, set clear objectives and make sound business decisions.

This is the seventh year in a row that IMS Health UK will be providing the Pf Awards’ business simulation, as well as sponsoring the assessment day itself.

Helen Parfitt, Senior Manager, Business Line Management, Commercial Effectiveness, said: “It is a really tough environment that the sales force are currently facing. It is great for us at IMS to be able to provide the level of insights for the candidates to truly understand their business and really go after their maximum potential.          

“From our perspective, it is really important that we can help nurture these top performers and enable them to demonstrate success through our simulation exercise.”          

Various studies have proven the importance of business simulation as both an assessment and training and development tool. Edgar Dale’s ‘Cone of Learning’, developed in 1969, placed simulation as the ultimate learning experience, with a retention score of 90%, i.e. after two weeks, participants remember 90% of what was learned.

The use of simulation-based work is especially suited to sales and marketing roles, where technique and capability must be linked with a willingness to adopt new approaches. The use of simulation allows the Pf Awards to stay up to date with a market and industry that is constantly changing.

IMS Health is the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, with a variety of solutions to help clients understand the marketplace, improve marketing effectiveness and optimise sales productivity.

MedilinkUK.com, which has the backing of the Office for Life Sciences (OLS), has been updated with a host of new features, designed to make it the first place industry voices its concerns and raises issues.

The live webcast will bring together the ABPI’s Dr Alison Jeynes-Ellis, Peter Ellingworth of the Association of British Healthcare Industries (ABHI), Doris-Ann Williams of the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA), as well a representative from the BioIndustry Association, to debate the merits of the UK as a viable marketplace for our life science companies.

With a growing concern that many UK SMEs find it easier to sell overseas than to their home market, the panel will debate the true barriers and potential solutions for life sciences to play a leading role in building a stronger economic future for Britain. The panel will also debate how the industry’s profile can be raised in order to shape and influence Government policy.

Tony Davis, who will chair the webcast said: “MedilinkUK.com will allow us to reveal the real concerns that are holding the sector back and preventing it from rising to a pre-eminent position in UK plc to help the British economy back to a more healthy position.

“The conversations that are generated on this site will help shape future Government policy, influence new NHS policies and change the way the sector does business – one voice, but spoken with the authority that comes from consensus. Change will happen more quickly and with greater benefit for all, when the life sciences agenda is set for the policy makers, not by the policy makers.”

MedilinkUK.com features content and topics specifically tailored to the pharmaceuticals, medical biotechnology, medical technology and medical diagnostics markets, but will deliver a balanced overview of the sector’s issues.

The launch of the products is expected by the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011.

Silodosin was originally developed by Kissei Pharmaceutical in Japan and is already available in North America, Japan and other countries in Asia.

In studies in the US and Europe, patients treated with silodosin had a significant decrease in BPH symptoms, both irritative and obstructive. An improvement in the quality of life linked to urinary symptoms (measured by the International Prostate Symptom Score, IPSS) was also observed.

“The authorisation to market silodosin confirms the validity of this new treatment for the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia,” said Giovanni Recordati, Chairman and CEO. “During 2009 a number of licensing and co-marketing agreements were entered into with leading pharmaceutical companies for both European and non-European markets which will allow us to obtain wide coverage and the acceptance of the medical community for this modern treatment for a condition which increasingly affects the male population.”

BPH (enlargement of the prostate) is characterised by urination difficulties such as weak urine stream, increased frequency and urgency, and nocturia. BPH is frequently observed in men over fifty and its prevalence is increasing due to the progressive ageing of the male population.

Headquartered in Milan, Recordati is a European pharmaceutical group dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals in a number of therapeutic areas.

The money has been donated to explore and apply a set of formulation technologies to allow a live attenuated malaria vaccine candidate to be manufactured, transported and stored more easily and cost-effectively than is currently possible.

It is also expected that the project will have beneficial implications for live vaccine research and development as a whole.

This recent grant follows a commitment by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to donate $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.

“We must make this the decade of vaccines,” said Bill Gates. “Vaccines already save and improve millions of lives in developing countries. Innovation will make it possible to save more children than ever before.”

The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting. Melinda Gates added: “Vaccines are a miracle – with just a few doses, they can prevent deadly diseases for a lifetime. We’ve made vaccines our number one priority at the Gates Foundation because we’ve seen first-hand their incredible impact on children’s lives.”

MEND is a not-for-profit organisation devoted to the successful development and manufacture of affordable and effective vaccines and drugs for diseases of poverty.

Included in the acquisition are 18 prescription products across a range of therapeutic areas. These include ImmuCyst, an immunotherapy for superficial bladder cancer; gelclair, an oral gel for the management of oral mucositis caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy; and procarbazine, a treatment of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma as part of chemotherapy treatment.

Alliance expects the deal to significantly increase its earnings for this financial year.

Cambridge Laboratory’s oncology products represent approximately 40% of the portfolio by sales in 2009 and have seen an increase in sales of around 18% per annum over the past three years. Alliance intends to keep in place the specialist sales force that is currently promoting these products.

Under the terms of the acquisition, the Cambridge Laboratory offices in Dublin and Newcastle will transfer to Alliance, together with around 30 staff. 

Alliance currently proposes to merge the support functions with those in its existing offices in Chippenham, Wiltshire, resulting in approximately 25 positions at risk of redundancy. The company will be entering into a period of consultation with the affected employees in connection with the potential cuts.

The appraisal committee decided that, although the drug is clinically effective, more evidence is needed to judge whether it is a reasonable use of NHS resources.

Novartis offered a Patient Access Scheme in which the first treatment pack of everolimus is free to the NHS and following treatment packs are charged at a 5% discount. However, the appraisal committee judged that the cost of the drug still fell too far beyond the current QALY threshold.

The draft guidance is now available for public consultation until 2 March 2010 and any comments received will be fully considered by the Appraisal Committee.

Professor Peter Littlejohns, NICE Clinical and Public Health Director, said: “We are disappointed not to be able to recommend everolimus, but NHS resources are limited and NICE has to decide which treatments represent best value to the patient as well as the NHS.

“Although evidence implies that this treatment is clinically effective, there is limited data about how long it can extend life. Everolimus is an expensive drug and we have to be sure the evidence on its effectiveness is robust before we recommend it. We do not want to divert NHS funds to a treatment that costs more but doesn’t help people live longer.”