Topic

FDA

3
Apr
2015

Sarepta’s Controversial CEO is Out, But Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy R&D is Rising

Sarepta Therapeutics is one of those rare biotech stories with Hollywood appeal. Its CEO was ousted this week, and it may never deliver the happy ending so many desperate parents are counting on for children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. But no matter what, the company has helped spark a renaissance of R&D for this crippling rare disease. To get a...
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12
Mar
2015

Antibiotic R&D Is Getting More Attention. Who’s Doing What?

Bacteria, when confronted with the same old antibiotics, find ways to survive and sometimes kill people. Drugmakers haven’t paid much attention in recent years. But now, after repeated warnings about the rise of drug-resistant bacteria and some new profit incentives, the industry is coming around to the fight against “superbugs.” Drugmakers have long seen bigger opportunities to make money elsewhere....
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2
Mar
2015

Margaret Hamburg: One of the Best Commissioners in FDA History

The one time I saw FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg speak was memorable only for its dullness. Firebrand liberal Elizabeth Warren, the U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, woke everybody up before Hamburg put everyone to sleep. Nothing Hamburg said was even close to newsworthy. That sums up the brilliance of a public servant who will go down as one of the best food...
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20
Feb
2015

Five Things to Watch at Next Week’s Big Genomics Show

This is the cold, dreary, snowy time of year when all the geeky kids in genomics flock to a remote island off the Florida Gulf Coast. The boys, and they are mostly boys, will hear a lot of marketing hype about the whiz-bang new tools being developed for biology. They’ll hear a few nitty-gritty technical talks from scientists doing exciting...
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2
Feb
2015

The Merck Exodus: Where Are the Talented People Going?

One of the great talent migrations in pharmaceutical R&D history is going on right now. Merck, the drugmaker with a proud scientific tradition, has seen a huge wave of departures from its senior R&D ranks the past two years. The exodus has turned into a recruiting bonanza for a range of biotech startups, venture firms, consultancies, and competitors. The exits flung open...
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