Cancer therapeutics continues to be one of the most active segments, in terms of drug development efforts, within the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, in the past five years, USFDA has approved more than 70 drugs for the treatment of different types of cancer. However, there is still a pressing need to develop more specific and potent therapeutics to combat this complex, life threatening clinical condition. According to the National Institutes of Health, the economic burden of cancer care in th

Genetically modified therapies have emerged as a promising treatment option for various diseases (primarily ones that currently have no cure), including cancers, inherited disorders and certain viral infections. These therapies have demonstrated the potential to treat chronic indications, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis, as well. Gene therapies, and other therapies that require genetic modification, involve the introduction of therapeutic DNA

Spray Drying Market Overview The origins of spray drying can be traced back to 1872, when the first patent related to the technique was registered in the US. The first commercial use of this form of drying was reported in the 1920s when powdered milk was introduced into the market. Spray drying, which is already established in the food and chemical sector, is also considered to be a rapid, cost-effective, and scalable process for the production of dry powder formulations of pharmacological ma

  Cancer is known to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for 0.6 million deaths in 2017 in the US alone. The World Health Organization states that the number of new cancer cases globally is expected to rise by 70% in the coming 20 years. Although cancer therapeutics continue to be one of the most active areas in terms of drug development, there is still a significant unmet need in this domain. Conventional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, surgery and radia

The concept of gene transfer into mammalian cells can be traced back to the 1920s. However, the first gene therapy, Gendicine® , was only approved in 2003 in China; since then, the domain has evolved significantly. The year 2017 was particularly eventful; despite the withdrawal of Glybera from the European market in early 2017, the latter half of the year witnessed the approval of two gene therapies, namely Invossa™ and Luxturna™. In fact, Luxturna™ became the first gene th

According to the Forum of International Respiratory Societies, around 4 million individuals die each year due to chronic respiratory diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the global prevalence of two of the most common chronic respiratory diseases, namely asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to be around 335 million and 400 million patients respectively. Specifically, COPD is currently known to be the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. According to the

The digital revolution has transformed the way businesses operate across the globe. However, digitally stored information is prone to hacking and manipulation by cyber criminals. The concern is validated by the fact that more than 5.1 million records are compromised due to data breaches every day. In 2016, close to 1,800 incidents of data breaches were reported across all the industries; in total, almost 1.4 billion data records were lost or stolen. The year 2017 also witnessed several cyberatta

According to the World Health Organization, close to 250 million individuals, including 36 million blind people, presently suffer from some form of vision impairment. Further, a recent study published in September 2017 estimates that the number of blind people is likely to increase to 38.5 million, by 2020, and to 115 million, by 2050. Current projections also indicate that, in the US alone, the total economic burden related to vision loss is expected to reach approximately USD 715 billion by 20

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are known to be rare, immortal cells within a tumor that can both self-renew and differentiate into several cell types that form the tumor mass. Over time, the development of CSCs has been shown to be associated with several signaling pathways, which regulate the survival and proliferation of these cells. Presently, a number of initiatives are underway to explore specific targets that can be used to selectively eliminate cancer stem cells and, thereby, confer therapeutic

3D printing has garnered significant attention within the healthcare industry. The concept of 3D bioprinting was conceived in the late 1990s; since then, various industry stakeholders and academicians have undertaken several initiatives in order to further develop / improve this technology for a variety of applications. Organovo was the first company to enter the 3D bioprinting space by printing functional blood vessels in 2010. The company now offers 3D printed kidney and liver tissue models. T

Monoclonal antibodies have been in use for more than two decades. The first product candidate was launched in 1986; since then, they have been used for the treatment of a myriad of diseases, including cancer, inflammatory diseases and infectious diseases. However, despite their clinical and commercial successes, these therapies are known to have certain drawbacks that have had an impact on their overall efficacy, thereby, limiting their therapeutic potential. These drawbacks are related to their

Since the first approval of MYLOTARG™ in 2000 and its subsequent withdrawal in the year 2010, the ADC market has evolved considerably. In the last seven years, the market has witnessed an increasing interest from drug developers and healthcare investors alike. Post the commercialization of ADCETRIS® in 2011 and KADCYLA® in 2013, there was a temporary, but evident, decline in the popularity of ADCs. This was attributed to the fact that no new ADC candidates were approved after 2013

Cross contamination and cell line misidentification are some of the major concerns associated with the use of cell lines. According to published literature, cell lines used for scientific experiments are either misidentified or contaminated in approximately 15-25% cases. The use of such cell lines yields unreliable and irreproducible results, and leads to significant delays in research time lines and financial losses. The detrimental impact of using incorrect / misidentified cell lines poses a s

A number of monoclonal antibodies (more than 70) have already been approved for use in humans. These therapeutic products, which target a particular epitope on an antigen, have become a popular and robust treatment option for various diseases. However, despite the success of antibody therapeutics, there are several limitations associated with the use of mono-specific antibodies. It has been reported that certain patients treated using these therapeutic modalities have failed to respond, or have

First discovered in 1975, monoclonal antibodies are considered to be one of the fastest growing therapy segments in the biopharmaceutical industry. In the year 2016, Humira, a monoclonal antibody, generated revenues worth more than USD 16 billion to become the highest selling drug. With a strong development pipeline and high clinical success rate, the market continues to witness increasing adoption of antibody based therapies and products. The growing industry has faced / continues to face se

Microbiome therapeutics represent a new frontier in the field of medicine. The human microbiome is characterized by more than 100 trillion commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms that colonize the gut, mouth, skin and various other parts of the body. Majority of these microorganisms benefit humans by supplementing them with traits that they do not otherwise possess; these include the capability to metabolize complex carbohydrates and prevention of growth of pathogens. However, some of

The growing pipeline of biological drugs has resulted in a continuous increase in the demand for different types of cell lines. More than 650 biologics have been approved till date, and over 1,500 are under clinical development. Additionally, the loss of patent exclusivity of several biologics in the coming years is likely to be followed by the entry of numerous biosimilars as many companies compete to grab a share of already established drug markets. The importance of cell lines in other areas,

The early stages of research related to drug discovery, including the identification of a relevant target and a viable lead compound, play a crucial role in the overall success of a drug in preclinical and / or clinical studies. The process of drug discovery is extremely demanding, both in terms of capital expenses and time. Moreover, there is always a high risk of failure associated with R&D programs and, given the increasing regulatory stringency, the approval of new drugs has become signi

The rising demand of personalized medicines to provide targeted treatment options has encouraged pharmaceutical companies to shift their focus from small molecules to discovery and development of biologics, particularly antibody based therapeutics. Antibodies, because of several advantages such as high specificity and targeted approach, are increasingly becoming crucial for the treatment of a number of diseases. In fact, since 2015, more than 20 antibodies have been approved by the USFDA. The gr

It has been estimated that close to 131 million babies are born each year across the globe. Of these, approximately 7.9 million are born with birth defects. In fact, more than 7,000 genetic disorders have been identified so far and the number is rising.Genetic testing solutions that enable early detection of genetic abnormalities in fetuses and newborns are important to ensure that the person does not face complications later in life. With the emergence of innovative diagnostic and screening tec