Tag Archives: pharma

Why the boom in cancer nanotechnology?

By Lily | Published: October 28, 2009
In the last decade, a ton of work has been done in cancer nanotechnology, with over 2500 articles published since the 80s, entire conferences devoted to the topic, and products already launched, such as the nanoparticle paclitaxel drug Abraxane. Of the 74 nanoparticle clinical trials currently on record in the US, 65 of them are [...]
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Recent clinical trials on microneedle drug delivery

By Lily | Published: August 17, 2009
Microneedles have been in development since the late 80s, but only recently have they begun appearing in clinical trials. Microneedles are micron-scaled needles that are so small, they are able to painlessly penetrate the skin. Current microneedle designs look like miniaturized beds of nails, fabricated from stainless steel, titanium, and even plastic. Although recent clinical [...]
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Risk-taking in pharma vs. venture capital

By Lily | Published: July 2, 2009
I’ve been thinking lately about risk-taking in scientific research, focusing on academia. Yesterday Seth Godin wrote about the nonlinear relationship between risk and reward: small increases in risk can yield large rewards, but only large risks yield the largest rewards. This got me wondering about where pharma is on the risk-taking spectrum, and whether pharma should [...]
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Recent software ads target pharma

By Lily | Published: June 30, 2009
Yesterday I was at O’Hare Airport in Chicago and noticed a huge ad by Oracle targeting pharma. The ad was a one-line statment that roughly said, “Top 20 pharma companies use Oracle” and echoed the information in this brochure from the Oracle website: Oracle customers include • 20 of the top 20 communication service providers • 20 of [...]
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Josh Boger’s advice to pharma: stick to the plan

By Lily | Published: April 13, 2009
Last week I attended a talk by Josh Boger, CEO and founder of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Boger will be retiring from Vertex this May and spoke on “Lessons From a Lifetime in Biotech”.  One of his key ideas was that more biopharma companies should stick with their original business plan, even when things start getting [...]
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