The Life Sciences in New York State

Failure is about to become an option in China

I find it quite interesting that Chinese legislators are now beginning to recognize the inherent value in failure. I've had more than one scientist tell me that there is no such thing as "failure" in the scientific method. Every experiment, whether successful or not, is an opportunity to learn something new.


Chinese scientists given freedom to fail

Research, especially within the pharmaceutical industry, is as dependent on failure as it is on success. Far more potential drugs fail than succeed and for each one that is left by the wayside, lessons can be learned to improve the chances of another molecule making it to market.

However, there is currently a great deal of pressure on Chinese scientists to only report successes and the science and technology minister, Wan Gang, is said to have told lawmakers that this is hampering innovation by preventing researchers taking risks.

"It's difficult to make achievements in independent innovation if the scientific research departments and scientists don't tolerate failure," Bai Chunli, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was quoted as saying.

There have also been several cases where scientists have falsified or stolen results - something academics blame on the highly pressurised research environment.

Diabetics overly focused on serum blood glucose

Great point. Once Type II diabetes is diagnosed, "simply" lowering glucose is insufficient to improve risk of cardiovascular events. Many doctors that I've spoken with in the past place their patients on statins even before their patients start insulin.

The flip side is that diabetics wind up with incredibly complex regimens: insulin, statins, anti-hypertensives...and on and on...

Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive With Diabetes

But in focusing entirely on blood sugar, Mr. Smith ended up neglecting the most important treatment for saving lives — lowering the cholesterol level. That protects against heart disease, which eventually kills nearly everyone with diabetes. He also was missing a second treatment that protects diabetes patients from heart attacks — controlling blood pressure. Mr. Smith assumed everything would be taken care of if he could just lower his blood sugar level.

Tough day for our neighbors in CT

I wonder if Pfizer is hiring?

Bayer to close Connecticut research operation as part of global reorganization

WEST HAVEN, Connecticut: Bayer HealthCare plans to close its research operation in West Haven by early 2008 as part of a larger worldwide reorganization and consolidation, the company said Thursday.

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.

Getting crowded in here...

Decent overview of the increasingly competitive nature of the cancer market. Interesting to see the Pfizers and GSKs of the world hopping in,

New Drugs for Cancer Could Soon Flood Market

Analysts at Merrill Lynch recently estimated that the market for cancer drugs would double to $50 billion a year in 2010, from $25 billion now. But because of increased competition, the sales potential for each drug would fall 21 percent to 32 percent by then. For many types of cancer, the analysts said, the number of drugs in the final phase of clinical trials exceeds the number already on the market.

TNFalpha blockade and cancer...more confusion...

For years, there has been speculation that TNF-alpha blockade, over time, can cause cancer, specifically, lymphoma. Centocor's Remicade has been front and center in this debate.

Now comes this study from the Mayo Clinic which tends to support this contention, but the study appears to be so full of holes that it's impossible to draw any definitive conclusions.

1. Why wasn't Enbrel included? Becuase it's not an antibody? True, but that's not a good enough reason. Is there not enough retrospective data? The author of this article does not say.

2. It's unclear which authors are getting paid by what companies. Is this study without bias? The Mayo Clinic is being asked to investigate the disclosures. I'm not sure.

Taking Humira or Remicade triples risk of getting cancer, study says

Enbrel was not included in the study because it differs at the molecular level, Matteson said. He said he is getting paid by Enbrel marketers Wyeth and Amgen to do an analysis on Enbrel. Matteson's ties to Centocor and his work on Enbrel were among several omissions and errors included in disclosure statements that accompanied the study in the journal. He said the omissions were an office mistake. But in an unusual move, journal editors posted a correction yesterday on its website disclosing that they have asked the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine to investigate.

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.

Merck buys GlycoFi...What did I tell you?

Way back in December, I mentioned GlycoFi. Well, they're Merck now. One of the interesting things about GlycoFi is that they are based in Lebanon, NH, which is not exactly what one would call a biotech hub. It supports my contention that a specific geographic location is NOT a prerequisite for good technology, good companies, and value creation.

GlycoFi has raised $35 million over 4 rounds of financing.

Merck to buy GlycoFi

Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Inc. said Tuesday it agreed to acquire GlycoFi Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, for $400 million in cash.

DexCom Gets FDA OK for Diabetes Monitor

Sounds great, in theory. But the implant has to be replaced every three days. Who is going to do that?

DexCom Gets FDA OK for Diabetes Monitor

The STS [Short Term Sensor] device monitors the blood sugar level of people with diabetes using a tiny sensor that is inserted underneath the skin and connected to a receiver the size of a cell phone. The device warns of high or low blood sugar levels, and patients can check their levels with the push of a button.

GlycoFi in the news

Some sweet news from NH-based GlycoFi...

BIO.COM

"By controlling the sugar structures on antibodies we have shown that the antibodies ability to kill cancer cells can be significantly improved and that therapeutic proteins can be optimized by controlling their sugar structures," says Dr. Huijuan Li, associate director of Analytical Development at GlycoFi, and the lead author of the study. She noted that while the current report focuses on antibodies, the approach taken by the GlycoFi team can be applied to any therapeutic glycoprotein.