News

Food for Thought: Re-thinking Operations for a Two-speed World

How to sustain in both high and slow growth markets at the same time? The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) have teamed up to analyze the most recent trend for global businesses: meeting the requirements for two different rates of growth, fast and slow, simultaneously. While regions like Europe, North America and Japan have turned to slow growth rates, emerging economies like China, India and Brazil are characterized by fast growth. To succeed in this so-called “two-speed world”, companies must develop different strategies, new products, and innovative, low-cost operating models.

According to BCG, big pharma expects about 70% of future business to flow from developing countries. To stay in the game, companies will have to develop a sound corporate strategy to cope with both speeds. Key strategic differentiators include profit vs. growth, best price vs. best value, differentiated product design, and new (interal) reward systems for meeting market expansion goals. Smaller biopharmaceutical companies will need to adapt to these changes, too, if they want to sustain in this two-speed world.

The full report called “Rethinking Operations for a Two-speed World”, which was published in early Febuary, can be downloaded here

Company News: Jomaa Pharma and Medicines for Malaria Venture to Co-develop Novel Malaria Treatment Based on Fosmidomycin

– New treatment options for drug-resistant malaria types –

Jomaa Pharma GmbH, a German biopharmaceutical company engaged in malaria chemotherapy, and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a not-for-profit research foundation, announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint development of fosmidomycin, as a component of non-artemisinin based combination therapy (NACT), for acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Fosmidomycin is a molecule that possesses antimalarial and antibacterial activity. The stimulus for this co-development project follows reports of the emergence of artemisinin resistance on the Thai-Cambodian border.

The prospect of overcoming this drug-resistance through fosmidomycin when combined with piperaquine is considered to be very promising and constitutes the basis of the partnership between Jomaa Pharma and MMV.

Company News: Scil Technology Appoints Christian Nafe to Chief Executive Officer

Scil Technology GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company having its core expertise in protein drug development, formulation and analytics, today announced that Christian Nafe, currently Chief Financial Officer of the company, has been appointed to CEO. He succeeds Dr. Weishui Weiser, who retires after 5 years as Managing Director of Scil Technology. For further information, please click here.

Company News: biocrea Announces Novel Treatment Opportunities for CNS Diseases

– Company has filed US patent on novel, brain-penetrating PDE2 and PDE10 inhibitors –

CNS company biocrea today announced it has filed a patent application covering its brain-penetrating inhibitors of phosphodiesterases. These compounds constitute a new generation of promising drug candidates to address several CNS disorders that are currently lacking effective treatment options. biocrea has submitted a patent application to the U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) covering compounds and uses of its proprietary PDE2 and PDE10 inhibitors.

While the inhibitors of PDE10 show excellent potential for the treatment of schizophrenia, Huntington’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome, the PDE2 inhibitors cover a whole spectrum of new biological activities and treatment opportunities. Moreover, biocrea’s brain-penetrating PDE2 inhibitors show promise for the treatment of drug-induced movement disorders.

biocrea’s patent application also comprises dual inhibitors of PDE2 and PDE10 as the combination of both modes of action in one molecule results in synergistic biological effects.

So far, validating the benefit of brain PDE inhibitors in CNS diseases has been difficult because access to brain PDEs is limited by the so-called “blood brain barrier” (BBB). The team of biocrea has overcome these limitations and developed brain-penetrating, highly specific PDE inhibitors that constitute a new generation of promising drug candidates for the treatment of CNS disorders. The most advanced compound of biocrea’s novel family of PDE inhibitors, a brain-penetrating, selective PDE2 inhibitor, has been selected to enter pre-clinical development.

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