Category Archives: BioTech/Pharma

Herbal/Vitamin Supplement Industry – Good or Bad?

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Humair

On some interesting news I read a few months ago, Pfizer’s (a major pharmaceutical company) patent on its impotence drug Viagra has been partially rejected after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) said it wasn’t different enough from a … Continue reading →

Posted in BioTech/Pharma, Business | Tagged Bayer, Cardioquin, Cephaelis, Cialis, Cinchona, Crystodigin, Digitalis, Dr. Christine Daniel, dysentery, Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly and Company, erectile dysfunction, FDA, Foxglove, heart conditions, horny goat weed, icariin, Ipecacuanha, Lanoxin, Levitra, malaria, Pfizer, pharmaceutical, Plasmodium falciparum, Quin-Release, Quinaglute Dura-tabs, Quinidex Extentabs, Quinine, United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, Viagra, yin yang huo | Leave a comment

Disease-causing agents – a potential source of medicine?

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Humair

We can learn a lot from the world of parasites, which in general also includes bacteria, viruses and fungi. The medical profession has long focused on bacteria and viruses more-so than parasitic protozoa partly due to the fact of how … Continue reading →

Posted in BioTech/Pharma, Business | Tagged Ancylostoma duodenale. Necator americanus, blood thinner, Corvas International, herpes virus, hookworm, HSV, inflammation, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, MediGene, Myxoma virus, oncolytic viruses, parasites, protozoa, storke, Viron Therapeutics, VT-111 | 8 Comments

Helping the poorest of the poor fight disease

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Humair

Imagine living day to day in a place plagued by constant poverty and unimaginable disease. AIDS, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease), malaria, nodding syndrome, and onchocerciasis (river blindness) are some of the most common diseases the people … Continue reading →

Posted in BioTech/Pharma, Business | Tagged African trypanosomiasis, AIDS, Ascaris lumbricoides, dracunculiasis, Ebola, Eflornithine, guinea worm disease, hookworm, malaria, Melarsoprol, nodding syndrome, onchocerciasis, parasites, Pentamidine, river blindness, roundworm, sleeping sickness, Sudan, Suramin, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Carter Center, Trypanosoma brucei, trypanosome, whipworm | 1 Comment

Pharmacogenetics – The future of “Personalized Medicine”

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Humair

European Americans are ten to forty times more likely than African Americans to get a very aggressive type of skin cancer called Melanoma. People of Asian descent are more likely to have the inability to process alcohol efficiently – exposing … Continue reading →

Posted in BioTech/Pharma, Business | Tagged BiDil, Biotech, NitroMed, Personalized Medicine, Pharma, Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacogenetics, Targeted Medicine | Leave a comment

Pharma Mega-Mergers: When you can’t innovate, merge

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Humair

In April of 2009, Pfizer agreed to buyout Wyeth for $68 billion; Pfizer’s market cap at that time was just around $100 billion. The following month Merck trumped the Pfizer deal with a $41 billion merger with Schering-Plough. What was … Continue reading →

Posted in BioTech/Pharma, Business | Tagged Biotech, Cozaar, Genentech, Lipitor, Mega-Mergers, Merck, Pfizer, Pharma, Pharmaceuticial, Roche, Schering-Plough, Singulair, Wall Street | Leave a comment