Biogenerics get an unlikely ally — the Bush administration

Biogenerics get an unlikely ally — the Bush administration

The push to create a regulatory framework for generic versions of biotech drugs fizzled last year in Congress, as legislators seemed to lose interest after failing to attach the measure to a major FDA reform bill. But now it’s back, and has gained some unlikely… Continue Reading

Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2007

Life sciences briefing: Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2007

TODAY’S HEADLINES:

Teva acquires protein-therapeutic maker CoGenesys for $400M (release)
ViewRay takes in $25M for MRI radiation-therapy guidance (release)
NovaMed, Chinese clinical-research outfit, receives $14M (release)
Progentix Ortho raises first funding round (release)
Medical imaging co. Point Biomedical recaps with $25M (VentureWire)
Lumidigm takes in $7M for optical-fingerprint ID systems (VW)
Medical-software… Continue Reading

Biogenerics: The bad arguments just won’t stop

Biogenerics: The bad arguments just won’t stop

It’s always fascinating to see just how entitled biotechnology investors feel about the outsized rewards the industry bestows whenever one of their long-shot companies finally strikes it rich — not to mention how thoroughly that sense of entitlement seems to muddle their thinking.

Case in… Continue Reading

Biotech’s double standard on biogenerics

Biotech’s double standard on biogenerics

(UPDATED: See below.)

Yesterday, the WSJ Health Blog cited a WSJ story as evidence that “biogenerics” — that is, generic versions of biotech drugs, which currently don’t exist — need to be treated with caution. Unfortunately, that post missed a much more important point about biogenerics: The… Continue Reading

Roundup: Biogenerics bill in limbo, clashing data on health IT benefits, the RNAi boom, and more

Roundup: Biogenerics bill in limbo, clashing data on health IT benefits, the RNAi boom, and more

House-Senate confrontation set over biogenerics – Late last month, a key group of senators reached agreement on legislative provisions that would authorize copycat versions of biotech drugs, which are typically complex proteins manufactured by genetically engineered cells (see details here and here). These provisions would finally… Continue Reading

“Generic” biologics: Another biotech battle begins

“Generic” biologics: Another biotech battle begins

(Note: This item has been copied over to the Life Sciences page from its original location on the VentureBeat main page. To view it in its original context, with comments, click here.)

A second legislative fight for the biotech industry is shaping up in Washington over… Continue Reading