May 22, 2012

Cancer Vaccine Therapies: Failures and Future Opportunities

FIGURE 1: FDA APPROVAL OF CANCER MABS FROM 1997-2010

(Note: the following text is an Executive Summary from our new 150-page report titled “Cancer Vaccine Therapies: Failures and Future Opportunities”) Since the early 1990s, cancer immunotherapy has provided hope to patients, physicians, and investors as a new treatment modality with limited side effects and superior efficacy.  Cancer immunotherapy broadly includes passive immunization, active immunization, [...]

Biotech Deal Activity Declines…The Pause that Refreshes?

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* MD Becker Partners reporting live from the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference This week, nearly 6,500 registrants gathered in San Francisco, California for the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference to hear 25-minute presentations from 338 life science companies.  For industry executives and investors, the annual event serves as a good barometer for the rest of the [...]

2009: Biotech’s Stealth Small Cap Rally

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On the heels of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) logging its worst annual performance since 1931 and the NASDAQ Composite (COMP) having its worst year since inception in 1971, it may have seemed counter intuitive to provide a bullish outlook for the biotechnology industry in 2009.  Nonetheless, at the start of the year we [...]

Innovative New Medicines are Key to Economic Growth

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The life sciences industry [herein includes pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostic and medical device companies] plays a critical role in the United States [US] economy.  Innovative new medicines developed by life sciences companies provide better patient outcomes, improved quality of care, increased life expectancy, and lead to economic gains. Currently, the strengths [e.g. innovation, quality of care] [...]

Bridging the Gap – Translating NIH Funding in a Post-Stimulus Economy

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On February 17, 2009, President Obama announced as part of the 2009 stimulus bill, an increase of approximately $10B dollars to the budget for the National Institute of Health (NIH). This is a much needed increase in funding as government sponsored biomedical research has remained relatively flat over the past several years (Figure 1). Whether [...]