Pharmalot... Pharmalittle... Good Morning

Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are in a grand mood, having recovered from an interesting 24 hours in which we experienced a stomach bug, two tech outages and a staff meeting. Of course, this means there is much work to get done. We know you can relate. So to fortify ourselves, we are reaching for a mandatory cup of stimulation. And, as always, we invite you to join us. Meanwhile, we have assembled another batch of tibdits for you to peruse. Hope you conquer your to-do list, and stay in touch...

Pfizer Ready To Sell Minority Stake In Animal Health Unit (Bloomberg News)

Novartis Recalls Birth Control Pills Over Packaging Flaw (Reuters)

Lilly CEO Warns Against Short-Term Healthcare Policy (Pharma Times)

Free Vaccines For Kids May Have Been Improperly Stored (Reuters)

Pfizer Product Testing Group Moves To Singapore (The Day)

EU Ombudsman Raps EMA In Child Medicines Case (Pharma Times)

New Cancer Gene Test To Match Drugs To Patients (Wall Street Journal)

Teva Hopes To Expand In Brand-Name Rx Market (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Novartis Med Reduced Symptoms In Childhood Arthritis: Study (Reuters)

House Panel Reviews VA Pharma Contracting Reforms (Washington Post)

FDA Commish Renews Call To Get Tough With Counterfeits (Financial Times)

FDA Warns Eight Manufacturers For Not Registering Plants (InPharma-Technologist)

The Business Of HIV (The Economist)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Please check this post for updates during the day

3 Comments

This genotying assay by Foundation Medicine is interesting because the realization is that genotype does not equal phenotype. The particular sequence of DNA that an organism possess (genotype) does not determine what bodily or behaviorial form (phenotype) the organism will finally display.

Among other things, environmental influences can cause the suppression of some gene functions and the activation of others. The knowledge of genomic complexity tells us that genes and parts of genes interact with other genes, as do their protein products, and the whole system is constantly being affected by internal and external environmental factors.

The gene may not be central to the phenotype at all, or at least it shares the spotlight with other influences. Environmental tissue and cytoplasmic factors clearly dominate the phenotypic expression processes, which may in turn, be affected by a variety of unpredictable protein-interaction events.

This view is not shared by molecular biologists, who disagree about the precise roles of genes and other factors, but it signals many scientists discomfort with a strictly deterministic view of the role of genes in an organism’s functioning.

The Philadelphia Inquirer article highlighting Teva's desire to expand into the Brand (innovator) market fails to emphasize that the product noted is basically a generic product with a brand name. Too bad The Inquirer didn't ask the right questions to better understand the simple matter of branding a generic product.