Tackling the high price of medicine

US citizens pay about six times what Europeans do for insulin, the cost of which has almost tripled over a decade in that country, according to the American Diabetes Association. Meanwhile, Humira, the most popular arthritis medicine in the US, costs patients in the region of $50,000 (R700,000) a year and pharmaceutical company AbbVie, has lodged an astounding 136 patents to keep competitors away. “A patient could fly first class to Paris, stay at the Ritz, dine at a top Michelin restaurant, buy a one-year supply of Humira at local prices in France, fly back home and finish with enough profit to hire a registered nurse to administer the injection every two weeks,” according to rheumatologist Dr Lonnie Hanauer in a recent letter to the New York Times. Anne-Marie O’Connor, also writing in the New York Times, says that her life-saving asthma inhaler cost $100 in the US, but only slightly more than $9 in London. Meanwhile, Doctors without Borders (MSF) reports that Tunisia and Morocco pay more for the pneumonia vaccine than France does.

Spotlight

Correvio International Sàrl

Correvio International is a privately held pharmaceutical company located in Geneva, Switzerland. Correvio LLC, our global supply chain operation, is located in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. Currently, we commercialise Aggrastat® (tirofiban HCl)* in more than 50 countries worldwide either directly (Europe) or via our distributor and partner network.

OTHER ARTICLES
Pharma Tech

How long will the world wait for the next pandemic of antimicrobial resistance before we act?

Article | July 15, 2022

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become an increasingly serious global health problem in recent years. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant infections, and the number is expected to increase in the coming years. How does antimicrobial resistance emerge? Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines. It makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of disease, severe illness, and death. When we use antibiotics, some bacteria die, but resistant bacteria can survive and even multiply. The overuse of antibiotics and substandard antibiotics make resistant bacteria more common. So, the more we use antibiotics, the more chances bacteria have to become resistant to them. The rise in AMR is caused by multiple factors including the misuse and overuse of antibiotics by humans as well as in livestock and agriculture. Although these are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens, the emergence of substandard and falsified antibiotics is another lesser-known, huge contributory factor. Even though AMR is a leading cause of death around the world, it is tracked most closely in clinical high-income settings and developed countries. Unfortunately, this is not the case in low and middle-income countries, where the highest burden is in low-resource settings and low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). These countries are disproportionately affected, in part due to the high burden of communicable diseases. Consequences to human health of AMR AMR poses significant risks to human health, resulting in prolonged and more severe infections, extended hospitalizations, and increased healthcare expenses. It can also lead to an increased risk of death, as an infection may become untreatable. Additionally, it can reduce the effectiveness of medicines and treatments, making it more difficult to manage existing medical conditions. It is even more concerning that it can lead to the emergence of new, more dangerous strains of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes. This would mean medical procedures, such as surgery, including caesarean sections or hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, and organ transplantation, will become riskier. Counterfeit medicines and antibiotics: Antibiotics are the most counterfeited medicines in the world, as they account for 28% of global counterfeit medicines. Substandard and falsified antibiotics are medicines that do not meet the quality standards set by regulatory authorities. Counterfeit antibiotics are estimated at 5% of the global antibiotic market. These medicines are often of inferior quality or contain incorrect ingredients or incorrect amounts of active ingredients. They may also contain toxic contaminants or be expired, posing serious consequences for patients. Sadly, counterfeit antibiotics are mostly found in LMICs due to a lack of regulation and enforcement, as well as a lack of access to quality healthcare. In many of these countries, the demand for antibiotics is higher than the supply, and counterfeit antibiotics are seen as a cheaper and more accessible alternative. Furthermore, there is a lack of awareness around the dangers of taking counterfeit antibiotics, and there is a lack of resources for health authorities to test for the authenticity of these medicines. Why are antibiotics so rife for counterfeit drugs? Counterfeiters of pharmaceuticals succeed in large part by exploiting weaknesses in supply chains, which are often fragmented with poor regulatory frameworks. Antibiotics are often counterfeited because they are in high demand and can be sold for a large profit. To combat the problem of substandard and falsified antibiotics, governments must take a multi-pronged approach. This should encompass enacting laws and regulations to ensure the quality and safety of medicines, conducting surveillance for detecting and removing substandard and falsified products from the market, as well as providing training and education to healthcare professionals and patients regarding the responsible use of antibiotics. In addition, governments must work to strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain. This includes increasing the transparency of the supply chain, improving the quality control systems, and introducing traceability systems to track the movement of medicines from the manufacturer to the patient. Medical investment in low and middle-income countries Another neglected aspect by international NGOs and governments is investment in building local laboratory capacity in LMICs to combat antimicrobial resistance. Localized laboratory facilities can help identify, track, and prevent the spread of antimicrobial-resistant infections, as well as provide early warnings of emerging drug-resistant strains. Localized microbiology, surveillance, and quality control laboratories can also play an important role in developing new treatments and interventions for combating antimicrobial resistance. In addition, having localized laboratory capacity can provide more accurate standardized data on the prevalence of drug-resistant infections, which can help inform policy decisions and public health interventions. Affordable medicines Finally, governments must work to increase access to high-quality, affordable medicines. This includes improving the availability of generic medicines, which are typically cheaper alternatives to brand-name drugs. They also need to increase access to newer, more effective antibiotics.

Read More
Pharma Tech

Tips for Managing Chronic Pain Beyond Prescription Painkillers

Article | July 20, 2022

Painkillers like Oxycontin, Percocet, and Vicodin, have been prescribed by primary physicians, surgeons, dentists, and other healthcare providers to patients suffering from varying levels of pain. Though these medications have proven to be an effective source of pain relief, they have also proven to be highly addictive. In fact, it has even been reported that there are more cases of a drug overdose and deaths from prescription painkillers than heroin or cocaine. While there are a number of factors that play into this opioid epidemic, educating doctors and patients on alternative solutions to managing chronic pain is a great place to start combatting this nationwide crisis.

Read More
Pharma Tech

What are the advantages of PCD Pharma Company?

Article | July 12, 2022

PCD Pharma stands for propaganda distribution. A PCD company gives brand name and support to its franchises. They also provide distribution rights and monopoly rights within a particular region. If a person wants to establish their business, it is a must for them to know the pros and cons of the business to make a sound decision. Needless to mention that PCD company has a lot to contribute in the medical filed. Worldwide in a medical field, A PCD Pharma Company is playing an essential and crucial role in the rapid growth. The pharma industry is progressing t a fast pace. The company uses the latest technologies for each brand which ensures the safety of products and accepts the responsibility of human health & life by providing better outcomes. To have a drug license number and company registration, the cost to establish the company is quite cost-effective that is15000-20000rs. So this gives people a brilliant opportunity to have their unit without digging a big hole in their bank balance. Indian produces exquisite quality products, which make pharma companies a considerable success.

Read More

WALGREEN’S IN HOT WATER OVER PHONY PHARMACIST

Article | February 11, 2020

The drugstore chain agreed to pay $7.5 million in fines after an unlicensed pharmacist at several San Francisco Bay locations illegally filled more than 700,000 prescriptions over a ten-year period. According to California prosecutors, Kim Thien Le stole license numbers from other pharmacists to fill prescriptions for Fentanyl, morphine, and other painkillers. Le pleaded guilty to multiple felony impersonation counts. Walgreen’s agreed to the settlement to avoid being charged with consumer fraud in Alameda and Santa Anna Counties. Prosecutors alleged that Walgreen’s failed to verify Le’s license and did not conduct a thorough background check. The company insisted it has taken remedial measures.

Read More

Spotlight

Correvio International Sàrl

Correvio International is a privately held pharmaceutical company located in Geneva, Switzerland. Correvio LLC, our global supply chain operation, is located in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. Currently, we commercialise Aggrastat® (tirofiban HCl)* in more than 50 countries worldwide either directly (Europe) or via our distributor and partner network.

Related News

Pharmacy Market

Titan Pharmaceuticals to Explore Strategic Alternatives

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | December 22, 2021

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has commenced a process to explore and evaluate strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. Titan has engaged Maxim Group LLC as its exclusive financial advisor to assist in this process. Potential strategic alternatives that may be explored or evaluated as part of this process include an acquisition, merger, reverse merger, other business combination, sales of assets, licensing or other strategic transactions involving the Company. There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any agreements or transactions, or that, if completed, any agreements or transactions will be successful or on attractive terms. Titan does not expect to disclose developments with respect to this process unless and until the evaluation of strategic alternatives has been completed or the board of directors has concluded that disclosure is appropriate or legally required. About Titan Pharmaceuticals Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. based in South San Francisco, CA, is a development stage company developing proprietary therapeutics with its ProNeura® long-term, continuous drug delivery technology. The ProNeura technology has the potential to be used in developing products for treating a number of chronic conditions, where maintaining consistent, around-the-clock blood levels of medication may benefit the patient and improve medical outcomes. Ultimate validation of the ProNeura® delivery system has been exemplified by approval of Probuphine in the US, EU and Canada. Key ongoing ProNeura implant programs include IND-enabling, non-clinical assessment of TP-2021, a potent peptide kappa opioid agonist for the long-term treatment of severe, chronic pruritis, and nalmefene, a mu opioid receptor blocker designed to decrease relapse and potential death from overdose in detoxed patients with Opiate Use Disorder.

Read More

Business Insights

TriMas Closes on Acquisition of Omega

TriMas | December 21, 2021

TriMasannounced that it has closed the acquisition of Omega Plastics (“Omega”), a manufacturer of custom components and tooling for medical, as well as industrial applications, adding to TriMas’ Packaging group. Omega leverages its core injection molding capabilities, ISO Class 8 clean room and advanced in-house tool making capabilities, to provide its customers a faster product development cycle, from prototype development, testing and validation, to short and medium run production and assembly. Omega’s medical components are currently used in drug delivery, including consumable intravenous applications, as well as diagnostic testing and orthopedic applications. As of September 30, 2021, TriMas’ Packaging group’s last twelve months sales were approximately $534 million, representing approximately 64% of TriMas’ total sales. TriMas plans to expand Omega’s production capacity, as required in order to benefit its customers’ longer-term needs, while also leveraging Omega’s advanced tool making capabilities to add to TriMas Packaging’s speed-to-market advantage on innovation and new product designs. Omega is expected to generate approximately $18 million in revenue in fiscal year 2021. “We welcome Omega to TriMas’ family of businesses and look forward to working with the Omega leadership team to unleash future growth opportunities. I’d like to thank all the teams from Omega, TriMas and our respective advisors that supported the work to complete this transaction.” Thomas Amato, TriMas President & CEO The addition of Omega further expands TriMas Packaging’s Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical product offering into supporting medical device contract development manufacturing customers.

Read More

Business Insights

Iktos and The University of Dundee, Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) Announce a Collaboration to Use AI for Drug Design and Retrosyntheis

Iktos | December 20, 2021

Iktos, a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence for new drug design, and The Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), School of Life Sciences, The University of Dundee, focused on the discovery of therapeutics for neglected diseases and the translation of novel biology through small molecule drug discovery, announced entering a collaboration to apply Iktos’s generative modelling artificial intelligence (AI) technology in one of DDU’s drug discovery programs. Under the agreement, Iktos will apply its de novo ligand and structure-based generative modelling technologies, its AI-based retrosynthesis analysis and planning tool Spaya™, and know-how complementing DDU’s drug discovery capabilities to expedite the identification of potential pre-clinical candidates and to identify additional novel chemical matter with suitable properties. The DDU was established in 2006 to respond to a lack of drug targets identified for neglected tropical diseases being translated into therapeutics for diseases impacting the poorest people in the world. The DDU translates basic science into lead compounds to validate putative drug targets, to use as tools to investigate disease pathways and, when appropriate, advance to pre-clinical drug candidates for multiple diseases, e.g. TB and cancer. Iktos’s AI technology, based on deep generative models, helps to bring new insights and directions into the drug discovery process based on a comprehensive data-driven chemical structure generation technology. This technology automatically designs virtual novel molecules with all of the characteristics of a successful drug molecule. This approach, validated through Iktos’s other collaborations, is a novel solution to one of the key challenges in drug design: rapid identification of molecules that simultaneously satisfy multiple parameters, such as potency, selectivity, safety, and project-specific properties. This approach uniquely enables the exploration of chemical space and produces innovative molecule designs with greater freedom to operate. Iktos has recently diversified its R&D efforts into the development of an AI technology for retrosynthesis. Identifying and selecting synthetic pathways is one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks in synthetic and medicinal chemistry. Iktos has developed AI based retrosynthesis analysis and planning tool Spaya™ by harnessing the power of data-driven retrosynthesis algorithm for systematic exploration and prioritisation of synthetic routes for a desired compound in minutes. “We are thrilled to be working with Iktos to drive our projects towards drug candidates. Iktos AI platform combined with our own in-house computational and medicinal chemistry design teams provide a powerful combination for innovative new drug design.” Professor Paul Wyatt, Head of the DDU “We are thrilled and proud to join forces with DDU with the aim to help in the discovery of therapeutics for neglected diseases and the translation of novel biology through small molecule drug discovery,” commented Yann Gaston-Mathé, President and CEO of Iktos. “Pleased to have earned DDU’s trust, we are confident that together with DDU and their established R&D partners, we will be able to identify promising novel chemical matter and solve complex multiparametric optimisation problems. The feedback from DDU’s research team will be highly valuable as we improve our product offerings. Our strategy has always been to tackle challenging problems alongside our collaborators where we can demonstrate value generation for new and on-going drug discovery projects.” About DDU The Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) (est. 2006) within the School of Life Sciences at The University of Dundee is a fully integrated, Biotech-style, drug discovery centre working across multiple disease areas. The DDU collaborates with partners to translate world-class biology research into novel drug targets and candidate drugs to address unmet medical need. About Iktos Incorporated in October 2016, Iktos is a French start-up company specialized in the development of artificial intelligence solutions applied to chemical research, more specifically medicinal chemistry and new drug design. Iktos is developing a proprietary and innovative solution based on deep learning generative models, which enables, using existing data, to design molecules that are optimized in silico to meet all the success criteria of a small molecule discovery project. The use of Iktos technology enables major productivity gains in upstream pharmaceutical R&D. Iktos offers its technology both as professional services and as a SaaS software platform, Makya™. Iktos is also developing Spaya™, a synthesis planning software based upon Iktos’s proprietary AI technology for retrosynthesis.

Read More

Pharmacy Market

Titan Pharmaceuticals to Explore Strategic Alternatives

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | December 22, 2021

Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has commenced a process to explore and evaluate strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. Titan has engaged Maxim Group LLC as its exclusive financial advisor to assist in this process. Potential strategic alternatives that may be explored or evaluated as part of this process include an acquisition, merger, reverse merger, other business combination, sales of assets, licensing or other strategic transactions involving the Company. There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any agreements or transactions, or that, if completed, any agreements or transactions will be successful or on attractive terms. Titan does not expect to disclose developments with respect to this process unless and until the evaluation of strategic alternatives has been completed or the board of directors has concluded that disclosure is appropriate or legally required. About Titan Pharmaceuticals Titan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. based in South San Francisco, CA, is a development stage company developing proprietary therapeutics with its ProNeura® long-term, continuous drug delivery technology. The ProNeura technology has the potential to be used in developing products for treating a number of chronic conditions, where maintaining consistent, around-the-clock blood levels of medication may benefit the patient and improve medical outcomes. Ultimate validation of the ProNeura® delivery system has been exemplified by approval of Probuphine in the US, EU and Canada. Key ongoing ProNeura implant programs include IND-enabling, non-clinical assessment of TP-2021, a potent peptide kappa opioid agonist for the long-term treatment of severe, chronic pruritis, and nalmefene, a mu opioid receptor blocker designed to decrease relapse and potential death from overdose in detoxed patients with Opiate Use Disorder.

Read More

Business Insights

TriMas Closes on Acquisition of Omega

TriMas | December 21, 2021

TriMasannounced that it has closed the acquisition of Omega Plastics (“Omega”), a manufacturer of custom components and tooling for medical, as well as industrial applications, adding to TriMas’ Packaging group. Omega leverages its core injection molding capabilities, ISO Class 8 clean room and advanced in-house tool making capabilities, to provide its customers a faster product development cycle, from prototype development, testing and validation, to short and medium run production and assembly. Omega’s medical components are currently used in drug delivery, including consumable intravenous applications, as well as diagnostic testing and orthopedic applications. As of September 30, 2021, TriMas’ Packaging group’s last twelve months sales were approximately $534 million, representing approximately 64% of TriMas’ total sales. TriMas plans to expand Omega’s production capacity, as required in order to benefit its customers’ longer-term needs, while also leveraging Omega’s advanced tool making capabilities to add to TriMas Packaging’s speed-to-market advantage on innovation and new product designs. Omega is expected to generate approximately $18 million in revenue in fiscal year 2021. “We welcome Omega to TriMas’ family of businesses and look forward to working with the Omega leadership team to unleash future growth opportunities. I’d like to thank all the teams from Omega, TriMas and our respective advisors that supported the work to complete this transaction.” Thomas Amato, TriMas President & CEO The addition of Omega further expands TriMas Packaging’s Pharmaceutical & Nutraceutical product offering into supporting medical device contract development manufacturing customers.

Read More

Business Insights

Iktos and The University of Dundee, Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) Announce a Collaboration to Use AI for Drug Design and Retrosyntheis

Iktos | December 20, 2021

Iktos, a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence for new drug design, and The Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), School of Life Sciences, The University of Dundee, focused on the discovery of therapeutics for neglected diseases and the translation of novel biology through small molecule drug discovery, announced entering a collaboration to apply Iktos’s generative modelling artificial intelligence (AI) technology in one of DDU’s drug discovery programs. Under the agreement, Iktos will apply its de novo ligand and structure-based generative modelling technologies, its AI-based retrosynthesis analysis and planning tool Spaya™, and know-how complementing DDU’s drug discovery capabilities to expedite the identification of potential pre-clinical candidates and to identify additional novel chemical matter with suitable properties. The DDU was established in 2006 to respond to a lack of drug targets identified for neglected tropical diseases being translated into therapeutics for diseases impacting the poorest people in the world. The DDU translates basic science into lead compounds to validate putative drug targets, to use as tools to investigate disease pathways and, when appropriate, advance to pre-clinical drug candidates for multiple diseases, e.g. TB and cancer. Iktos’s AI technology, based on deep generative models, helps to bring new insights and directions into the drug discovery process based on a comprehensive data-driven chemical structure generation technology. This technology automatically designs virtual novel molecules with all of the characteristics of a successful drug molecule. This approach, validated through Iktos’s other collaborations, is a novel solution to one of the key challenges in drug design: rapid identification of molecules that simultaneously satisfy multiple parameters, such as potency, selectivity, safety, and project-specific properties. This approach uniquely enables the exploration of chemical space and produces innovative molecule designs with greater freedom to operate. Iktos has recently diversified its R&D efforts into the development of an AI technology for retrosynthesis. Identifying and selecting synthetic pathways is one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks in synthetic and medicinal chemistry. Iktos has developed AI based retrosynthesis analysis and planning tool Spaya™ by harnessing the power of data-driven retrosynthesis algorithm for systematic exploration and prioritisation of synthetic routes for a desired compound in minutes. “We are thrilled to be working with Iktos to drive our projects towards drug candidates. Iktos AI platform combined with our own in-house computational and medicinal chemistry design teams provide a powerful combination for innovative new drug design.” Professor Paul Wyatt, Head of the DDU “We are thrilled and proud to join forces with DDU with the aim to help in the discovery of therapeutics for neglected diseases and the translation of novel biology through small molecule drug discovery,” commented Yann Gaston-Mathé, President and CEO of Iktos. “Pleased to have earned DDU’s trust, we are confident that together with DDU and their established R&D partners, we will be able to identify promising novel chemical matter and solve complex multiparametric optimisation problems. The feedback from DDU’s research team will be highly valuable as we improve our product offerings. Our strategy has always been to tackle challenging problems alongside our collaborators where we can demonstrate value generation for new and on-going drug discovery projects.” About DDU The Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) (est. 2006) within the School of Life Sciences at The University of Dundee is a fully integrated, Biotech-style, drug discovery centre working across multiple disease areas. The DDU collaborates with partners to translate world-class biology research into novel drug targets and candidate drugs to address unmet medical need. About Iktos Incorporated in October 2016, Iktos is a French start-up company specialized in the development of artificial intelligence solutions applied to chemical research, more specifically medicinal chemistry and new drug design. Iktos is developing a proprietary and innovative solution based on deep learning generative models, which enables, using existing data, to design molecules that are optimized in silico to meet all the success criteria of a small molecule discovery project. The use of Iktos technology enables major productivity gains in upstream pharmaceutical R&D. Iktos offers its technology both as professional services and as a SaaS software platform, Makya™. Iktos is also developing Spaya™, a synthesis planning software based upon Iktos’s proprietary AI technology for retrosynthesis.

Read More

Events