The Guardian reports on 3D printing drugs. The FDA (US Food & Drug Administration) has approved the printing of a pill containing a new drug, Spritam levetiracetam, (to control epileptic seizures). There are a number of universities across the world working on applying this technology to drugs, hoping to make it safer and more tailored to individual patients.
Full article […]
Not directly connect to ‘digital drugs’ but very relevant to the understanding of off label use.
A very clear report on recent patent dispute between Warner-Lambert (part of the Pfizer group) and Actavis (a generic manufacturer):
Carpmaels & Ransford LLP (2015) International report – English courts tackle Swiss-type claims and off-label use, in : Intellectual Asset Management (IAM […]
An article written by Geno Germano, Group President, Global Innovative Pharma Business, Pfizer
How Pfizer Is Using Big Data To Power Patient Care, Forbes, 2/17/2015 @ 10:18AM
http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2015/02/17/how-pfizer-is-using-big-data-to-power-patient-care/
In the current issue of Health Affairs :
February 2015; Volume 34, Issue 2 Biomedical Innovation
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/2.toc
Outterson, K., J. H. Powers, G. W. Daniel and M. B. McClellan (2015). “Repairing The Broken Market For Antibiotic Innovation.” Health Affairs 34(2): 277-285. http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/2/277.abstract
“…Good public health practices curb inappropriate antibiotic use, making return on investment challenging in payment systems based on sales volume. We […]
GSK switches to electronic medicine
http://gulfnews.com/business/retail/gsk-switches-to-electronic-medicine-1.1218127
“GlaxoSmithKline is betting on this new vision of medicine — curing patients through electronics instead of chemicals”
By Clive Cookson, Financial Times
Published: 15:57 August 8, 2013
“The ambition of Moncef Slaoui, GSK head of research and development, is “to have the first medicine that speaks the electrical language of our body ready for approval by the end […]
Hogarth, S. “Neoliberal technocracy: Explaining how and why the US Food and Drug Administration has championed pharmacogenomics.” Social Science & Medicine. Available online 15 January 2015 – In Press, Accepted Manuscript
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615000313
Abstract:
“By 2004 the FDA had emerged as a champion of pharmacogenomics as an exemplar for novel approaches to drug development. This was made clear in 2004 when […]
An article on the Financial Times, commenting on Google links with Novartis, to develop a “smart” contact lens designed to help diabetics track their blood sugar levels.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9738eec8-0c0e-11e4-9080-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3L2n2ppuU
It also mentions the “electroceuticals” – “implants that use electronic impulses to affect and modify the functions of the body”
Worrying about data
An article in the Independent newspaper highlights some worries about NHS data. It might seem a good idea to make summary care records available to pharmacists – but what if your pharmacist is also a large retailer like Boots or Tesco, whose business is increasingly dependant upon data collection and targeted sales?
What is also worrying is that, as the article details, insufficient research […]