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Biotech in the Blogosphere

This week, IP Watchdog sets the story straight by writing a post, “Fact vs. Fiction: The Truth on Biologics and Biosimilars raising some important points,

 

“Did you know that on average, it takes an investment of more than $1 billion over 10 years to develop a biotech medicine. There are typically multiple companies making this sort of investment and ultimately bringing to market products to treat the same or similar conditions, which then compete with one another. All of these competing innovator products go through similar lengthy and costly processes to bring their products to market, which means making them available to patients like you and me. This marketplace competition among innovators has always existed. There is, however, another kind of competition that up to now has not been possible – competition from biosimilar manufacturers who seek a scientific and regulatory shortcut to bring their products to market. Unlike innovators who undertake their own costly research and development programs to independently prove the safety and efficacy of their medical biotechnology products to secure Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, biosimilar manufacturers seek product approval through an abbreviated process that allows them to rely on an innovator’s data to secure approval. Conceptually this is similar to how generic drug manufacturers seek to undercut brand name pharmaceuticals. We love generic drugs, but we also know that without an appropriate length of exclusivity to reward the tremendous risk undertaken we won’t get new drugs, and that is just unacceptable. So why should biotech medicines be any different?”

Stay tuned to our biosimilars page for the latest updates.

Pharma Asia News recently interviewed BIO’s president and CEO, Jim Greenwood, where it was picked up by, BioPharma Today. While in India Mr. Greenwood spoke to the BioInvest Conference. He noted that,

that up to $25 billion worth of innovator biologics will lose patent protection by 2016, and many companies are looking to partner with Indian firms to diversify into the biosimilar segment.

He also talked about BIO's creation of an international department,

“In the recent couple of years, we created an international department here at BIO. We've always had our department of federal government relations and state government relations, and we recently created the international effort. We are doing that already. One of the ways we do that is we partner with all of our sister associations around the globe so that when we want to weigh in on the WTO or WHO or some other international organization we try to do it literally with a letter signed by as many of these other organizations as possible to demonstrate that this is not just a U.S. point of view but that it's a widely held point of view globally.

When we do these partnering events, and of course we do them in the U.S. and have for a long time, we do two a year in Europe, one in Japan, and now we will begin to do one annually in India in September and we will begin to do one in China. Eventually we do want them to become opportunities for advocacy.

By bringing together this international biotech community, you tend to attract the policymakers that either want to be there to learn about the industry and partnering opportunities or to be seen themselves politically, to do some networking themselves. And that gives us an opportunity for us to expose them to some of the issue controversies that the industry faces, and gives us the opportunity to try to enlist their support and maximize the policy environment in a place like India to benefit its own domestic industry as well as the international industry.”

To get a first-hand account of Mr. Greenwood's trip to India visit Jim's corner to read his most recent blog post. New Mexico is ready to develop a biofuels plan according to KRQE.com and the Associated Press,

They write,

“New Mexico's elected officials want to develop a strategic plan to make the state a leader in the biofuels industry.

Gov. Bill Richardson said New Mexico is in a good position when it comes to biofuels, given its combination of economic policies, business infrastructure, natural resources and scientific expertise.

State leaders and the Southwestern Biofuels Association are planning a series of meetings over the next three months that will bring together dozens of experts from industry, science, education, agriculture and government to begin developing a roadmap for growing the state's biofuels industry.

Officials expect to have a proposal completed by mid-April. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the plan.”

We look forward to seeing that proposal and will keep you posted.

Automotive.com takes on the topic of algae

in, “Algae-based Biofuels faster to produce than Conventional Ethanol, E85, Biodiesel”

Algae is fast becoming a new area in industrial and environmental technology, with wide ranging possibilities. Stay tuned to our site for updates in the area.