Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is characterized by obstruction to airflow that interferes with normal breathing, continues to challenge health care systems globally due to its high incidence of morbidity and mortality, imposing an enormous economic burden. This progressive disease, obstructing both large and small airways, results in a considerably impaired pulmonary function, poor quality of life and risk to exacerbate. People with moderate and severe COPD are particularly prone to exacerbations and the frequency of those exacerbations increases with the severity of the disease.
The summer is over and industry executives and investors alike will be getting back to work in earnest for the final four months push until the end of the year. Both groups will be hoping for a much better period going forward. By all metrics the sector has struggled to build any sustained momentum that provides any confidence that it will close its books on 2016 in positive territory. What can we expect – more of the same, or a sudden resurgence in fortunes for the sector?
The mission of biopharma companies to bring effective new therapies to patients to solve unmet medical needs has become much harder these days. Not only has the cost to accomplish those goals jumped significantly, but the prices being set – in large part to recover the R&D investments – are being questioned by politicos, regulators and patients alike who view some of the price points as unjustifiable.
The summer is over and industry executives and investors alike will be getting back to work in earnest for the final four months push until the end of the year. Both groups will be hoping for a much better period going forward. By all metrics the sector has struggled to build any sustained momentum that provides any confidence that it will close its books on 2016 in positive territory. What can we expect – more of the same, or a sudden resurgence in fortunes for the sector?
Pittsburgh-based Thar Pharmaceuticals Inc. is hoping to follow a similar public trajectory as one of its competitors in the complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) space, Axsome Therapeutics Inc., which went public late last year raising about $51 million.
After a 12 percent jump in value in July, the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical Index is tracking about 1.5 percent lower in August, probably a function of investors taking a summer break concentrating more on the Rio Olympics than the developments in the biopharma space. The Biopharmaceutical Index is currently lagging the general markets, with the Nasdaq Composite index up 1.5 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial average up about 1 percent in the same period.
Histone deacetylases (HDACs), the cellular enzymes whose functions include turning gene expression off and on, are promising targets in current drug development for cancer therapy. While treatment with HDAC inhibitors as monotherapies has demonstrated clinical benefit for patients with various hematological and solid tumor malignancies, there is excitement surrounding early results of their use together with other cancer therapeutics. That has spurred an increase in the research and development of treatment combinations with therapeutics such as checkpoint inhibitors.
Histone deacetylases (HDACs), the cellular enzymes whose functions include turning gene expression off and on, are promising targets in current drug development for cancer therapy. While treatment with HDAC inhibitors as monotherapies has demonstrated clinical benefit for patients with various hematological and solid tumor malignancies, there is excitement surrounding early results of their use together with other cancer therapeutics. That has spurred an increase in the research and development of treatment combinations with therapeutics such as checkpoint inhibitors.
Building a successful biotechnology company requires that its executives make decisions to help navigate a smooth path around barriers that could easily hinder progress. There is no doubt that running a biopharma company involves plenty of risks in an ever-changing financial and regulatory landscape.
