1. Anonymous on January 3, 2011 12:13 PM writes...

Fortunately, all that brilliant outsourcing that the US pharmas did not only improved the cashouts for the CEOs and execs, but is also destroying India's ecosystem as a bonus. All for just the mere cost of thousands of R&D scientists' jobs! USA! USA!

http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/89/i01/html/8901bus1.html

2. bbooooooya on January 3, 2011 12:31 PM writes...

The problem with blanket #s like this is that the quality of the drug/application is not taken into account. As has been pointed out, for a young biotech with nothing else late stage in its pipeline, there is no disincentive to not submitting an NDA, even if the company knows it's weak. What else will the CEO do, say to shareholders "well, the drug is not that good, so we'll hold off 5 more years until our preclinical stuff is ready". That works if you already have sales, but if this is a first product no way it will work. Long term is the same, but CEO and cronies get an extra year or so of salary and bonus.

3. organicchemist on January 3, 2011 4:19 PM writes...

Let's have a discussion on how to make money using organic chemistry.

4. gyges on January 4, 2011 5:32 AM writes...

A chap called David F Noble died over the Christmas period; as is usual at these times, his work has been re-examined.

Here is an interesting interview he did about peer review as censorship.

The article goes through the history of scientific review and discusses how scientists are forced to submit to the process.

Apologies for going off topic but it is very interesting stuff.

5. Petros on January 4, 2011 8:37 AM writes...

Well 2010 saw the FDA approve very few NCEs that I would rate as intersting from a medicinal chemists perspective

Fingolimod (Novartis) the first S1P1 receptor drug on the market

Dabigatran (BI), FXa inhibitor 2 years after European approval

Eribulin - Eisai's complex natural product

While denosumab (Amgen) is the pick of the BLAs

6. drug_hunter on January 4, 2011 8:43 AM writes...

Perhaps in 2011 -- our darkest hour? -- finally we will re-examine the lives and philosophies of the great drug hunters: Paul Janssen, Jim Black, Art Patchett, Paul Anderson, ... their teachings, and their inspiration, may offer us the only path out of the forest.

7. Anonymous on January 4, 2011 10:12 PM writes...

Dec. 21 2012......we are approaching the moment. By the way, why are all the fish dying and birds are dropping from the sky?? LOL We are seriously taxing the planet without knowing it. It will take a toll in the long run and we are just seeing the tip of the iceburg. Perhaps it's all the pharmaceutical metabolites (think about it...how many drugs are there and how many people take them) being excreted in the urine and feces of unsuspecting and innocent individuals. These entities find their way to our water and food supply. That stuff has to go somewhere!! Not in my backyard LOL.

Hey, just some thoughts...