BioPharmaLife

Quintiles looks to India beyond cost cutting

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Clinical research major Quintiles' increased focus on India is not merely driven by the cost factor alone, with disease prevalence and availability of qualified investigators also playing a key role, a top company official has said.

“Fundamentally, our interest and that of our customers in doing research in India is not driven by a mere cost advantage, but rather by a need to ensure we include a country and population that has one of the highest burden of diseases in the world,” Mr Amar Kureishi, Vice-President, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Strategic Drug Development, Quintiles Asia Pacific told Business Line.

“The company also looks at diseases that are endemic to the region and one that is seeing the emergence of various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, cancer and obesity,” he added.

Quintiles conducts clinical trials on behalf of its bio-pharma customers in over 60 countries with the specific country chosen through close collaboration with its customers.
Read More

15 Jobs That Pay More Now Than They Did During The Recession

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Not surprisingly, a recession has a big impact on employment. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at the most recent recession's bottom in June of 2009, the unemployment rate spiked at 4.5% higher than at the start of the recession, peaking at 9.5%. But not every industry suffered; in fact, many careers have taken off during this same time period. According to PayScale.com, these careers have actually seen a spike in average salary since 2006.

1. Physician Assistant - $87,900
It isn't too surprising to learn that the fastest growing annual salary careers are in the healthcare sector. Physician assistants provide an extension of the services a doctor provides. They are supervised by a physician, but work independently. The degree of independency depends on the agreement. This field has experienced an 8.9% increase in the median annual salary.

2. Physical Therapist - $71,000
Physical therapists, or PTs, work with a wide variety of patients who are experiencing pain or a loss of mobility. They also help prevent injury and work to strengthen particular areas of muscular weakness. This kind of rehabilitation is very common after an injury such as a broken limb or after a car accident, and those who practice it have also seen an increase in their median annual salary of 8.9%.

3. Registered Nurse - $58,000
According to the BLS, registered nurses (RNs) make up the largest healthcare profession with over 2.6 million jobs in the United States. The majority of RN jobs are in hospitals treating patients. RNs generally hold a four-year degree and specialize in a particular area of medicine, such as surgery. This profession has also seen an 8.9% increase in median salary since 2006.

4. Marriage and Family Therapist - $48,900
Maybe it's an increase in financial stress, or the fact that the divorce rate is at 50% in the U.S., but this profession is doing quite well, experiencing an 8.1% salary increase since 2006. Marriage and family therapists assess clients and help them set and achieve goals for their lives.

5. Medical Case Manager - $45,700
Medical case managers, sometimes called case managers or nurse case managers, are healthcare professionals who oversee the treatment and care of patients. These professionals often come from a nursing background, and help to advocate for the patient as well as educate them. This career has seen an 8.1% increase in annual salary in the past six years.
Read More

Novartis' Glivec extends European GIST licence

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:44:00 +0000

Novartis’ cancer therapy Glivec (imatinib) can now be used in Europe to treat certain patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) up to three years after surgery.

The European Commission (EC) has approved an update to the labelling for the drug, which is the current standard of care for stomach cancer, authorising 36 months of adjuvant therapy for adults with KIT (CD117)-positive GIST whose estimated risk of GIST disease recurrence is more than 50 per cent.

Previously, Glivec had only been available in Europe to treat adults with GIST that could not be removed with surgery or had spread to other parts of the body, as well as adults who were at risk of GIST coming back after surgical removal.

The latest approval was based on a trial of 397 patients that compared a 36-month regimen to a 12-month regimen of Glivec to treat KIT+ GIST after surgery. Results of the study showed that at five years, 66 per cent of patients taking Glivec for three years after surgery were free of cancer recurrence compared to 48 per cent who had received Glivec for only one year after surgery.

Almost all patients in the trial experienced side effects while taking Glivec and 26 per cent of patients in the 36-month group discontinued their treatment for reasons other than GIST recurrence, compared to 13% in the 12-month group.Overall survival was also improved after five years in patients taking the extended treatment, with 92 per cent of patients using Glivec for three years after surgery alive compared to 82 per cent who had received Glivec for only one year after surgery.
Read More

Patient Recruitment Helping Indian Clinical Trials Market Thrive

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:10:00 +0000

India has become one of the largest destinations for clinical research outsourcing in the last few years. According to a RNCOS latest research report, the number of patients per site for clinic trials is higher in India as compared to the US and European countries. Medical needs of a number of patients in the country remain unsatisfied. By getting themselves enrolled in clinical trials, these patients are able to access free medical care, tests and drugs, which they cannot afford otherwise. The patient recruitment for clinical trials in India is over three times faster, with companies saving 68% of the time as compared to the US. With this, the clinical trials market in India is expected to further grow stupendously.

In the research report, “Booming Clinical Trials Market in India”, it was observed that both government and private players have been proactively establishing a favorable environment for conducting clinical trials in India. In 2010, the clinical research in India contributed about 2.4% of the global clinical research outsourcing industry. The sector is likely to witness the entry of several small-sized domestic clinical research organizations into the market, which has a huge growth potential.
Read More

Pharma research not always more positive on drugs

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:07:00 +0000

Drugmaker-funded science isn't always more likely to favor new medicines than studies paid for by non-profits, according to a new report on past research in rheumatoid arthritis.

The finding flies in the face of a large body of evidence showing industry studies tend to promote new drugs and downplay potential side effects.

That potential bias has fueled concerns that medical care could be guided by warped science, not least because more and more research is being done or paid for by companies with money riding on the results.

The new report, published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, shows 37 of 49 drug trials funded exclusively by manufacturers had positive results. When non-profits such as the government or a foundation picked up the tab, 11 of 16 trials found the studied drug to be effective.

That difference -- seven percent -- is too small to be statistically reliable, meaning that a trial's outcome didn't depend on who sponsored it.

Still, Dr. Nasim Khan, who led the new work, was quick to add a caveat.

"A single study limited to (clinical trials in a single disease) is insufficient to completely dispel worries about potential for bias when financial conflicts of interest exist," Khan, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, told Reuters Health by email.

Other experts were intrigued by the new data.

"It's an interesting finding, there is no question," said David J. Rothman, who heads the Center for the Study of Society and Medicine at Columbia University in New York and has studied conflicts of interest in medicine.

"It would be nice if industry studies were not biased as the literature suggests," he told Reuters Health. "Nobody wants to demonize the industry."
Read More

Infinata's BioPharm Clinical™ Incorporates Massive New Data Sets to Enhance Trial Analytics Throughout EMEA

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:02:00 +0000

The industry's most comprehensive solution for global study feasibility and site selection support just got better. Infinata's BioPharm Clinical™ has integrated massive data sets from EudraCT to complement existing sources (including ten international regulatory institutions) to provide subscribers with full access to all 16,500 trials throughout EMEA.

This significant influx of data will further enable subscribers to:

•Search an enormous pool of EMEA trials by phase, endpoints, inclusion/exclusion criteria, sites and more
• Generate custom reports to capture a complete picture of clinical activity in EMEA by indication and country

"We are excited to increase our European clinical coverage for our valued clients," said Ruth McHenry, Managing Director of Infinata. "The most important benefits will be realized in our thorough analytics section with expanded analysis of European registered trials."

Read More

Do Health IT Hires Need A Clinical Background?

noreply@blogger.com (Mann) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:04:00 +0000

If you've kept up with the news in recent months, you're aware of the shortage of qualified IT professionals to fill positions in hospitals and medical practices. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that jobs in health informatics will jump by 18% by 2016 and expects there will be shortage of about 50,000 health IT workers over the next five years.

Few people challenge those statistics, but what's upsetting job candidates is that many health IT managers only want people with a clinical background.

Essentially, the debate revolves around this issue: Is it easier to teach an IT generalist the clinical principles needed to work in a hospital or practice, or teach a clinician the general IT principles?

Juliet Daniel, MD, senior director of medical informatics for Community Health Systems, which is responsible for more than 130 hospitals in 29 states, thinks the latter. During a phone interview, Daniel said it's important for someone working in health IT to "understand what it's like to use an EHR" from an end user's perspective. "Healthcare and clinical workflow are just so important, and if you're an IT person and don't understand it, it's hard for you to be influential."At the managerial level, a clinical background certainly has advantages, especially if you're in a liaison position, as Daniel is. She spends part of her time translating the IT department's capabilities and limitations to clinicians who want to tweak the IT tools so they improve patient care. A comparable position at a company in another industry might be business analyst.

BioPharmaLife

Quintiles looks to India beyond cost cutting

15 Jobs That Pay More Now Than They Did During The Recession

Novartis' Glivec extends European GIST licence

Patient Recruitment Helping Indian Clinical Trials Market Thrive

Pharma research not always more positive on drugs

Infinata's BioPharm Clinical™ Incorporates Massive New Data Sets to Enhance Trial Analytics Throughout EMEA

Do Health IT Hires Need A Clinical Background?

Drug trials: A father moves DCGI

Dr G N Singh appointed as new DCGI

Where the Jobs Are: Hiring Spree is Underway for Health Information Specialists Finds PwC US Survey

Inside dope on one of biopharma's hottest job markets

Profitability of CRO industry may not be impacted: GVK Bio

Infinata's BioPharm Clinical™ Incorporates Massive New Data Sets to Enhance Trial Analytics Throughout EMEA

Paper Electronic​s is Successful​: Where Next?

The Risk For Bristol

Trading FDA, Clinical Trial Binary Events: New Features at mikehavRx.com

Research consent forms -- pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable

Human Experimentation at the Heart of Bush Administration's Torture Program

Global biotech firms seek partnerships in India for bigger gains

Spanish Biotech Company Buys Talecris for $4 Billion

Specialists hail cancer treatment results

Policy & Regulations ICMR to hold 'public debate' series on Knowledge Management policy for Health

Indian doctor leads breakthrough in breast cancer research

Glaxo Plc, under fire for large-scale global clinical trials of a diabetes drug that is said to spawn heart risks, is looking to shift the trials to c

Recession prompts rethink at Institute for Clinical Research

Paper Electronics is Successful: Where Next?