Within recent years, there’s been an explosion of pet-related products and vigorous marketing campaigns to promote them – gourmet foods, designer outerwear, luxurious accessories. Mainstream media has aggressively promoted pets as valued family members, and most of us know a dog or two who is pampered and protected on par with a newborn baby! The status gap between domestic animals and their owners is quickly diminishing. So, it’s no wonder that clinical research and pharmaceutical drug discovery is devoting increased resources to pet meds – drugs that address conditions we would normally associate with humans, but that afflict that increasingly.. READ MORE »
Available in several Toronto wellness clinics and featured on a recent episode of Dr. Oz, intravenous vitamin therapy is gaining traction as a natural way to combat everything from low energy to advanced cancer. But does it really work? Nobel prize-winning scientist Linus Pauling thought so, and his well respected clinical research on the benefits of vitamin C goes back as far as the 1970s. Since then, researchers have continued to test the effects of super-high doses of vitamin C on terminal cases of cancer. And the results have meant years of successful remission for numerous patients. These days, vitamin.. READ MORE »
Social media presence is an integral part of business marketing, an essential platform from which to draw the attention of and establish relationships with consumers. Brands are built online and reputations can also be destroyed based on social media chatter. Organizations big and small are aggressively pursuing strategies that will make them more visible and accessible online. But what about Big Pharma? Surprisingly, a recent report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics reveals that out of the 50 largest drugmakers in the world, only half engage with social media. And yet, more and more patients are turning to online.. READ MORE »
From Big Pharma to biotech, research scientists to practicing clinicians – the industry is intently focused on developing more highly effective drug delivery systems. In recent years, clinical research has revealed innovative solutions in the form of nanodiamonds, microneedles, gold particles, silk and protein clusters; all of which represent a step forward with regard to precision and patient safety. It’s all about effectively targeted techniques that offer professionals better ways to administer medicines, track their effectiveness, and minimize unwanted side-effects. And now scientists have discovered what may prove to be the most significant advance yet – electronically controlled drugs that.. READ MORE »
In recent years, there’s been quite a bit of buzz around Big Pharma’s expansion into BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. For industry superstars, emerging markets have proven fertile ground for clinical research, manufacturing, drug discovery, and numerous other outsourced operations. But as activity begins to slow in the BRIC, Pharma is already looking elsewhere for new profit and growth potential. According to the Wall Street Journal, there are several major developments slated to unveil next year in the Middle East. Amongst other treatable conditions, diabetes is of growing concern throughout the region – and has prompted companies.. READ MORE »
Every year, millions of Canadians and Americans look to internet pharmacies for discounts on their prescription. When prescriptions are not covered by health care, or local costs become prohibitive, many patients have no choice but to seek out alternatives. Unfortunately, many of those presumably legitimate online options turn out to be anything but – and patients end up endangering their lives with subpar products, or in some cases illegal substances. In North America, the most commonly counterfeited drugs are those intended for the treatment of cancer and depression; therapies that undergo years of pharmaceutical quality assurance in order to garner.. READ MORE »
To legalize, or not to legalize? When it comes to cannabis, it’s a question that has generated quite a buzz throughout North America over the last several years. Adding fuel to the fire is the recent legalization of marijuana south of the border where pot shops are now open for business across Colorado and Washington states. In Canada, the proven therapeutic benefits of marijuana, well documented by clinical research, have put pressure on law makers to regulate its sale, making the substance more widely available to prescription holders. And this month, the government has complied, developing new legislation that licenses.. READ MORE »
Big Pharma is becoming adept at identifying new uses for old drugs. Companies are re-examining established therapies – conducting refocused clinical research within the relatively new context of genome mapping. With increasing clarity, we are able to see how drugs impact cell behavior and operations, and this ability is yielding promising results in the treatment of various forms of cancer. Recent research out of Boston has revealed that a 50 year old antipsychotic medication called perphenazine may be called back into active duty – this time to battle acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a particularly aggressive form of cancer. The research.. READ MORE »
We often turn to antibiotics as a kind of silver bullet; a bacterium-eradicator with the power to relieve whatever ails us. A wide variety of conditions are routinely treated with antibiotics, from common infections to more serious illnesses like tuberculosis. However, in our zeal to wipe out bacteria we have given the invaders precisely what they need to mutate and adapt – resulting in ever-more resistant strains that have rendered many of our stand-by drugs quite powerless. Antibiotic over-use has made bacteria stronger, while our ability to formulate more effective alternatives continues to decline. This is why Sanofi, partnered with.. READ MORE »
Each year in Canada and the US, thousands of babies are born with unknown diseases and rare conditions – medical mysteries that often go unsolved. At least, until now. At Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, geneticist Stephen Kingsmore is using genome mapping to shed new light on infant illness – and providing early intervention to conditions that clinical research alone could take years to address. The technology is becoming increasingly accessible. Just over a decade ago, it cost more than $2 billion to map a human genome, while today it costs Kingsmore $12,000 to complete and analyze a.. READ MORE »
