Aug 27, 2003
The Company to keep and Eye on...
Novagen. Why? Have you seen the latest headlines:
"20-30% response in patients chemo resistant to everything else. No side effects. Probably earliest results from first cohorts on lower dogages, my opinion only. This response rate better than last few compounds approved by FDA!"
FDA Warns Cities, States About Buying Canadian Drugs
"Federal regulators are moving to stall a drive by some cash-strapped state and city governments to acquire cheaper Canadian pharmaceuticals for their employees, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday...more"
Biovail's news hurts Quintiles
"Shares of Biovail and Quintiles Transnational fell Monday after the disclosure that federal regulators have launched a preliminary inquiry into a marketing program managed by the two companies to promote sales of Biovail's heart medication...more"
Aug 18, 2003
Drug ads making big impact on health care
" With a waiting room full of anxious patients, Dr. Joseph Weiss of Livonia, Mich., has little time to argue with an arthritic patient who is convinced that a pill she saw advertised on television can help her skate like Olympic gold medalist Dorothy Hamill.
But increasingly, that is exactly what he is doing: battling patients who succumb to direct marketing...more"
Parkinson's Medication Linked To Gambling...Bad science?
"Excessive gambling could be an unfortunate yet rare side effect in Parkinson's patients who take certain dopamine agonists, according to a study in the August 12 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology."
"However, the article does mention that the 'normal' incidence of gambling problems varies from 0.3 to 1.3%. So it would seem that the incidence seen in this group of people is not significantly higher than the normal population. The difference between 1.3 and 1.5 is not great enough to pin on drug use. It all comes down to what the criteria are for diagnosing the gambling problem...More"
Aug 7, 2003
Those who know me, know that I am interested in artificial intelligence. Here's an artificial intelligence that wants to play a game of 20 question with you. You remember, I am thinking of something, ask me 20 question to guess what it is.
I first played and was thinking of a skunk. He guessed it in 15 question. Next I thought of a human. It took the computer 18 question, but it was right both times. Try 20Q.
Aug 6, 2003
How To Get The Most Out Of Conferences
"The surprising thing in my experience about most conferences is that the most interesting, informative and educational moments are not spent in the sessions themselves: it’s in all of the other interactions with peers from other companies and organizations. The lectures, talks and panels might provide some useful approaches or ideas, but for the most part, the slides and papers from those sessions can be obtained later. This is not true for all of the unique, personal, and insightful conversations you might have with other people...more"
Aug 04,2003
Big Pharma puts block on cheap drug imports
"...The arguments over access to drugs are simple. The world agreed in November 2001 that health should take priority over patents. But with millions dying, drug companies and Western governments seem to have muddied the waters...more "