The Life Sciences in New York State

Generic epo about to hit the market in Europe

Novartis wins the race to bet a generic version of epo approved in Europe. Truly a watershed day in biotech, in my view. Will we ever see generic epo in the US? That's the question...

Bloomberg.com: Germany

Novartis is first in a race among generic companies including Germany's Stada Arzneimittel AG to enter the $7 billion market dominated by Johnson & Johnson and Amgen Inc's branded versions of the drug. Sandoz sued U.S. regulators last year to win approval to copy the human growth hormone.

On Oil, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia

I digress from my usual life science-related banter to post a few words on oil.

There’s an interesting article in today’s Falls Church News Press on how the Saudi’s can react to a US pull out of Iraq. The article discusses an earlier Op-Ed piece in last week’s Washington Post.

Take a look at the Washington Post piece, then the Falls Church News Press piece. Of interest is the claim that the Saudi’s could devastate Iran by flooding the market with oil, driving prices downward and devastating the Iranian economy. Quote:

If Saudi Arabia boosted production and cut the price of oil in half, the kingdom could still finance its current spending. But it would be devastating to Iran, which is facing economic difficulties even with today's high prices. The result would be to limit Tehran's ability to continue funneling hundreds of millions each year to Shiite militias in Iraq and elsewhere.

Anyone who follows these issues closely knows that this is rubbish. The Saudi's cannot increase production far beyond their 9 million barrels per day. If anything, cutting production would help give Ghawar and their other major fields some much needed rest. Cutting production, of course, would hurt the US and other oil importers, but it would remind the World that Saudi Arabia can still speak softly and carry an enormous stick. Quote:

Could a major cutback in Saudi oil production bring down America? Maybe not, but it sure could do a lot of harm. The most blatant action would be cut their oil production in half. Taking 4-5 million barrels a day off the world oil market would get everybody's attention very quickly. Oil prices would certainly go well over $100 per barrel. In short order, the US and world economies would suffer greatly.

 Thus:

• We are going to be in Iraq for a long long time. Our current situation will be the status quo.
• So long as we continue to drive our cars and trucks and refuse to invest in wind and solar, we will continue to be at the mercy of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, and other net oil exporters with unstable governments.

 What we also need to keep in mind is that conservation needs to be discussed in a geopolitical context. Too often, we hear about conservation as a way to conserve and protect the environment, i.e., the ozone layer, water pollution, etc. The reality is that we as a society have not responded to conservation in an environmental context. We still drive, we still pollute our air, and we still tolerate it. However, placing this discussion in a geopolitical context, where oil and gas prices visibly and quickly rise in response to events thousands of miles away, will, in my view, spur all of us to conserve much more than we have in the past.

 UPDATE: Extraordinarily interesting parallel drawn by Andrew Sullivan:

The major powers in the Middle East, in other words, are on the verge of behaving like the major powers in Europe centuries ago: they will act as expressions of national interest but also of sectarian theology...The difference between now and the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe is that this regional war within a divided monotheism will take place in a time of vastly greater technological capacity for destruction…So what took Europe two centuries may take the Middle East a decade.

 

 

Comments on Twilight in the Desert

I rarely post book reviews on my blog, but I have to make an exception for Twilight in the Desert.

Let me cut to the chase and say that this book is simply outstanding. Why?

1. Rarely does one see a topic so thoroughly researched by someone who is already an expert in the field. Simmons had already spent the bulk of his career in the energy business. He decided to conduct extensive, quality research to shape his hypotheses and conclusions. Any student of research methods would benefit from understanding how this book was crafted.

 

2. Having such a data-driven body of knowledge means that the discussions surrounding peak oil, environmentalism, conservation, and geopolitics (perhaps the term should be geopetroleopolitics?) can be based on some semblance of fact, not rhetoric. Saudi oil fields are declining. This is a fact. We don not have good data to project when these declines will become irreversible. This is also a fact. How we react to these facts as individuals, as a nation, and as a planet, is vitally important. Simmons has crafted the foundations upon which these discussions can be conducted.

 

I do have some minor quibbles about the book. The index could be a bit better. Some of the technical terminology could have been defined in the text a bit better with footnotes. Some terms are used early, but not defined until much later. Again, I think these are minor points.

I highly recommend this book.

What's Uncle Joe up to??

"Major" high-technology initiative to benefit RPI

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno planned to make an announcement his office termed "major" Wednesday at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Report from The Summit

I attended the Summit in Tech Valley today. A few quick comments:

1. The three finalists in the business plan competition were all excellent. BullEx won, but the consensus around our table at lunch was that Celery was the winner. It was a tough call.

2. The entire program was quite interesting. All the speakers were very good. It's rare to attend a conference where every single speaker is interesting, but that was the case here.

3. I thought Walt Robb was going to cry during his acceptance speech.

4. I think the Summit has 2 flaws:

a. The term "tech" conjures up images of the internet, computers, etc. I saw very little on nanotech, and nothing on biotech. Their own copy says "Our economy is strong and thriving and our momentum in high tech fields – such as nanotechnology, semiconductor and biotech – is pushing it even further." The most interesting technologies being developed in Tech Valley, in my view, are in nanotech and biotech. I think the organizers need to think more broadly, and organize their summit accordingly.

b. "Tech Valley" is supposed to encompass 18 counties from Rockland County all the way up to the Canadian border. Yet there is a definite Albany-centric focus at the Summit. I think the Summit should rotate to different locations every year. Yes, the Desmond is a nice hotel, and the attendance may be lower if this were held in Poughkeepsie, for instance. Regardless, there has to be more outreach, in my view. Maybe the organizers can have mini-conferences throughout the region.

Overall, I think it was a good conference. I'm glad I went.

Biocon at it again...Nobex being the target now...

I posted recently on the deal India-based Biocon signed with Bentley Pharmaceuticals for the development of an intranasal insulin formulation.

Now we learn that not only is Nobex auctioning off their remaining assets, but Biocon is involved in the auction process.

The company has already attracted a stalking-horse bid of $3.5 million from Biocon Ltd., a Bangalore, India, biopharmaceutical firm that partnered with Nobex to make an insulin pill and a pill for cardiovascular disease.

Biocon is making a substantial leap into the insulin market, combining their low-cost insulin manufacturing capabilities with drug delivery systems. This potentially gives them the ability to offer parenteral (developed internally), inhaled (via Bentley), AND oral (via Nobex) forms of insulin. The low-cost supply is especially important for the oral formulation. In my view, the oral form has to be priced at a minimal premium to the parenteral formulation in order for insurance companies to want to pay for it.

Biotech grant program in NY

More money...more companies...more venture capital. It's all good...

Newsday.com: Pataki announces biotechnology grant program

Gov. George Pataki and the Republican-led state Senate are backing a program that aims to generate $800 million in new investment in biotechnology and medical research at institutions across the state.

The program, announced by Pataki and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, would create a $200 million grant initiative they hope will generate another $600 million in federal, not-for-profit and private sector matching funds.

The initiative, first announced earlier this month in the governor's State of the State address, will fund research at universities and hospitals around New York.

Biogeneric making progress in Europe

Very interesting development. How will the FDA respond now?

Sandoz Welcomes CHMP Positive Opinion on Omnitrope

"With Omnitrope's positive status in Europe, we now hope the FDA will finally move in granting a marketing authorization for the US, acknowledging the sound science that supports this product," said Rummelt. "We are determined to make high-quality and cost-effective biosimilar products like Omnitrope available for patients and healthcare providers worldwide."

NEJM Editorials on Stem Cell Research

The first, by Snyder and Loring, review the events from South Korea, and places the entire situation in its proper context. With my emphasis

SCNT [somatic cell nuclear transfer], in other words, plays only a minor role in the wider discipline of stem-cell biology — a branch of developmental biology that has no lack of other challenges to occupy its practitioners' time. The focus of most investigators will continue to be developing an understanding of important core issues concerning the molecular basis of stem-cell growth and differentiation, how a cell acquires its mature identity, and the therapeutic needs of potential target diseases. Indeed, it was to acquire expertise in these more basic, critical, and enabling areas that Hwang sought to collaborate with Western scientists who had made relevant advances. SCNT will continue to be one of the avenues we pursue — though in its proper context, and along with other techniques.

The second, by Steinbrook, looks at the many complex issues surrounding oocyte donations.

Donating eggs is time-consuming, uncomfortable, and potentially risky, but without willing donors, there will be less research on human embryonic stem cells. There is concern that some potential donors are not fully informed about what they are getting into — and fewer might volunteer if they understood the downside. Some observers consider it wrong to pay donors; others consider it the only fair thing to do.

The Knick

To me, the arena will always be known as "The Knick."

County seeks deal on arena name

The county-owned civic center, located on South Pearl Street, opened in January 1990 as the Knickerbocker Arena.