Archive: Food for Thought

Food for Thought: Boehringer Ingelheim Puts Pradaxa Cards on the Table

When German pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim on November 12 said that 260 cases of fatal bleeding have been linked to its new stroke prevention pill Pradaxa, the figures were taken up by many media as evidence that Pradaxa dabigatran, which was launched in Europe in September this year, was a dangerous drug.

In a courageous move, Boehringer Ingelheim yesterday released detailed data from the drug safety database, data that are usually submitted to regulatory agencies only.

Now that the figures are out, several media have taken up the issue again to put it into perspective. Hartmut Wewetzer in Der Tagesspiegel writes that every drug inhibiting blood coagulation poses the risk of bleeding. Wewetzer cites Christoph Bode, a heart specialist from University Clinic Freiburg, as saying that Pradaxa is lowering the risk of fatal bleeding in the brain to 25%, which is a superior value compared to vitamin K antagonists such as Marcumar and Warfarin, the therapeutic standard of previous decades.

Wewetzer also features Boehringer’s calculation that – based on current data – Pradaxa each year can prevent 3,490 of 4,500 stroke cases among 100,000 patients with atrial fibrillation, but may cause 230 cases of fatal bleeding. In comparison, Warfarin is causing 330 deaths. Based on the sum total treatment duration of Pradaxa, which amounts to 410,000 patient years since market authorization, Pradaxa is causing 63 fatal cases among 100,000 patients and year, much less than the figures to be expected from the clinical study data.

Martina Lenzen-Schulte in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) states that the figures reported do not constitute a scandal: “For one, it is in the nature of things that application of blood thinners can cause severe and sometimes fatal bleedings. And the bigger the number of patients treated, the more such complications are to be seen. … Second, it has to be asked whether the incidence of fatal bleedings following dabigatran administration is within the expected limits and – more importantly – whether conventional anticoagulants would have performed better.”

In her article “Deadly Speculations” Lenzen-Schulte also makes clear that competitors are often keen to scandalize side effects of novel drugs and mentions Bayer’s cholesterol-lowering drug cerivastatin as an example. Cerivastatin was withdrawn from the market by Bayer in 2001 following reports of fatal rhabdomyolysis. These cases mostly were due to combination with fibrate drugs – despite warnings on the label.

“It amounts to incapacitation, if one believes that patients always have to be dictated what it best for them”, she writes. “It would be better to put one’s cards on the table and let the patient decide what he wants and what not.”

Boehringer Ingelheim certainly has been quick to do just this, so that patients now can make an informed decision.

Food for Thought: Weekly Wrap-Up

Solar cells can become cheap bulk ware, even for developing countries, writes Manfred Lindinger in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). He introduces a technology for printing a sheet of zinc oxide, a polymer containing fullerenes and an electrode made from polymers on paper. The technology developed at Technical University Chemnitz can use ordinary printing machines and paper, and the resulting solar paper can be bended and folded. However, the efficiency is still very poor (1.3% at 5 V compared to 10 or more with conventional ones). Life span will amount to a few months. For other approaches to make cheaper solar cells, see this post.

Martina Lenzen-Schulte, also in FAZ, explains how measle viruses leave cells to enter the airway. Today it is known that they do not proliferate in the outer epithelium cells but in lymph nodes. The way back is facilitated by the membrane protein nectin-4, which acts as a transporter carrying the virus through epithelial cells. Lenzen-Schulte also reports that the effect may explain why cancer cells, which often overexpress nectin-4, are vulnerable to measle and other viruses. This might pave a way to develop new oncolytic viruses.

Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the nestor of the German biotechnology industry, makes the case for green biotechnology in the weekly Die Zeit. Winnacker criticizes the concept of coexistence that tries to avoid a blending of genetically modified and conventionally bred plants by defining a minimum distance between cultivated areas. In Germany, a farmer cultivating GMOs is liable for every case of cross-breeding, a provision that effectively prohibits GMO cultivation as there is a zero threshold for “contamination”. Winnacker also criticizes the strategy of patenting genetically modified plants instead of protecting them with the traditional plant variety rights that allow for exemptions for the further use of GMOs by breeders and farmers. Green biotechnology, he writes, has – at least in Europe – become the scapegoat for everything that is wrong with modern agriculture, from monoculture to declining biodiversity to the death of bees, although Europe is almost free from GM plants. As 25 years of research into the risk of green biotechnology have not been able to reveal any real danger, Winnacker proposes to amend the German law on genetic engineering and to simply omit the measures restricting the cultivation of GMOs.

Diabetics may soon be able to measure blood sugar without pricking, reports Der Spiegel. A new technology developed by researchers of John’s Hopkins University enables measuring of blood sugar in tear fluid.

In Wirtschaftswoche, Matthias Hohensee introduces US-based 23andme company which offers genetic testing at a rate of $99 plus a flat fee of $9 per month for access to the data. The company, which was criticized for exaggerating the benefits of personal genetic testing, also changed its business model and is now offering its records comprising the data of 125,000 people for research purposes, e.g. to find out why certain hereditary diseases display incomplete penetrance in different carriers of the respective genes.

Theres Lüthi in Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reports on clinical studies by Roche and Novartis in people suffering from Down’s or fragile X syndrome in an attempt to improve cognitive abilities.

Alyson Krueger in Forbes reports on a talk on synthetic biology given by Andrew Hessel of Singularity University during the Technonomy 2011 conference. Hessel describes synthetic biology as computer-assisted genetic design that goes from an idea to printing DNA to ultimately booting DNA and forecasts it will render the task of engineering life as straightforward as programming software, or creating a vaccine as simple as Tweeting.

Alex Knapp, also in Forbes, describes a “cyborg yeast” designed by researchers from the University of California at San Francisco and ETH Zurich, Switzerland. In the yeast, the expression of a certain gene can be switched on and off by different shades of red light. The technique may lead to advances in the production of proteins by yeast cultures.

The Economist reports on the first computational pathologist which can can distinguish between grades of breast-cancer cells to provide a more accurate prognosis than a human pathologist can manage.

And finally, scientists found a single gene which can make you appear kinder, reports Catherine de Lange in New Scientist. In experiments conducted at the University of Toronto, people with the so-called GG version of the oxytocin receptor gene were judged to be kinder than those with GA or AA versions. Those with GG variations used significantly more non-verbal empathetic gestures in their storytelling such as smiling and nodding which made them appear kinder.

 

Food for Thought: Weekly Wrap-Up

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS) this week in a special section (not online yet) deals with prion diseases such as Kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, BSE and scrapie and the history of the discovery that some CNS disorders are caused not by pathogens, such as bacteria or viruses, but by infectious proteins. In one of the articles, Volker Stollorz deals with the implication of the discovery. It led to the notion that CNS diseases can be caused by misfolding of proteins, and meanwhile  about 2 dozen neurological disorders are classified as “proteopathies”, among them Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Stollorz features research that points to the possibility that proteopathies spread through the body by some sort of domino effect. In this case, it cannot be ruled out that they are contagious – which would have enormous consequences for medicine. To rule out the possibility that modern medicine contributes to the spread of neurodegenerative diseases, some researchers already call for sterilizing medical instruments with procedures that also deactivate proteins.

Ralph Diemann in Süddeutsche Zeitung this week introduces photovoltaic company Konarka, which is using the site and machinery of Polaroid company to manufacture sheets producing electric current. Using the old Polaroid instant film technology, the company is printing conductive molecules on extremely thin, light and flexible films that can be applied to common goods – sunshades, car bodies, window panes or even clothes. First products – daypacks and bags producing current to charge mobile phones, already have reached the market. Other companies – BASF, Thyssen-Krupp and Bischoff Glastechnik – will follow suit, Diemann writes. Disadvantages at present are a very low efficiency, a durability of a few years only and a high price.

The Economist this week reports on experiments of various research groups, which have turned mind-reading into reality. The results are still crude, but already, recording brain activity has proven to be an inroad into this area.

Belle Dumé in The New Scientist makes the case for green tea and red laser to treat Alzheimer’s disease. While epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an ingredient of green tea can reduce beta amyloid plaques in the brain, red laser light which penetrates tissue and even bone can facilitate uptake of EGCG by the brain and by brain cells. The results come from animal experiments.

Last not least, Robert McMillan in Wired reports about the symbiotic relationship between IT and manure. IT company Hewlett-Packard (HP) seriously is thinking about using cow dung to power future data centers. These centers produce a lot of heat which can be used to heat cow dung for the production of methane, which in turn can power the data center.

Food for Thought: Why Do Private Companies Need IR, Too?

With an increasing number of emerging private equity trading platforms worldwide, it has become obvious that professional investor relations is not just for publicly listed companies. Even though transparency requirements for private companies are still much lower than those for listed companies, there are challenges ahead. While previously targeting a relatively small group of specialized private equity investors, private companies are now facing a very heterogenous audience of private (and, often times, anonymous) investors with very little knowledge about specific industy sectors and business models. Germany´s latest private equity market place, fianc, was launched earlier this week and follows the route of established players in the U.S. like SecondMarket and SharesPost.

It remains to be seen whether the new private equity trading platforms will eventually trigger more stricter regulatory and communication requirements – which, in turn, could mean that being a private company loses its charm. On the other hand, it is an excellent opportunity for private companies to broaden their shareholder base and attract additional capital. According to IR Magazine´s newsletter Inside Investor Relations, some analysts have started to focus entirely on this new market segment. That said, it is obvious that private companies need to re-think and adapt their communication strategies and resources if they want to position themselves successfully on the new trading platforms. Feel free to contact us if you need advice on trading your company´s shares on the private market.

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