Research & market strategy: how choice of drug discovery approach can affect market position

In principal, drug discovery approaches can be grouped into target- and function-based, with the respective aims of developing either a target-selective drug or a drug that produces a specific biological effect irrespective of its mode of action. Most analyses of drug discovery approaches focus on productivity, whereas the strategic implications of the choice of drug discovery approach on market position and ability to maintain market exclusivity are rarely considered. However, a comparison of approaches from the perspective of market position indicates that the functional approach is superior for the development of novel, innovative treatments.

Conflict-of-interest management: efforts and insights from the Association of American Medical Colleges

The Association of American Medical Colleges has issued three major reports to help academic medical centers manage financial conflicts of interest in clinical research. One report addresses individual conflicts, another addresses institutional conflicts, and the third is a survey-based assessment of institutions performance to date in conflict-of-interest management. While implementation of policies to manage individual conflicts has been significant and widespread, the extent to which institutional conflicts are being managed is unclear. Developing effective and accepted policies to manage potential conflicts involving the funding of education remains a major challenge.

Medical devices and conflict of interest: Unique issues and an industry code to address them

Development of medical devices requires interaction between physicians and industry that is considerably more intimate than that in pharmaceutical development. Progress in procedure-based medicine would be stalled if this collaboration were eliminated. This degree of interaction, however, creates conflicts of interest that must be managed to avoid compromising trust, credibility, and patient care. AdvaMed, a trade association for the medical device industry, has developed a code of ethics to manage many of these conflicts and to guide its members' interactions with health care professionals. This article reviews the rationale for the AdvaMed code and provides a brief in terms of c overview of the code itself.onflict-of-interest cons iderations, the world of medical devices is significantly dif-

Life support for life science innovation?

think tank and an investment bank have proposed solutions to address the lack of funding to carry biotech companies through the early stages of clinical development.

Promoting consumer empowerment through entrepreneurship: a proposal

In order to promote life control, this proposal suggests strategies to help people who use community mental health services to access small loans or "microcredit" for entrepreneurship in self-help groups.

Big pharma wants you

There's another kind of venture capitalist lurking in the corridors of capital.