Talk Drug

Today, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) launch a new database, the Gene Expression Atlas, which allows scientists to search and compare gene expression data at unprecedented detail and scope. Observing how gene expression varies in different cell types, tissues and under disease conditions can help researchers understand gene function and to develop new drugs and therapies.

Although most cells in an organism share the same genetic information, different cell types, for example skin and liver cells, have different properties and functions, largely because different genes are active in these cells. The Gene Expression Atlas is a new database that allows users to query gene expression under a range of biological conditions, including different cell types, developmental stages, physiological states, phenotypes and disease states. The key questions this new database can answer can be summarised as:

1. under which conditions is my particular gene of interest expressed?
2. which genes are expressed in a particular condition? For example, what genes are specifically active in kidney cells, or how does the expression of genes in leukemic blood differ compared to normal blood?

Both questions can also be combined to focus on particular genes and their role in a specific disease, such as identifying members of the Wnt signalling pathway that are expressed in cancer.

The Atlas collates data from over 1000 different independent studies, mainly microarray experiments, with more than 30,000 samples in total. The new database is the latest product of the EBI’s Microarray Informatics group and has its origins in the EBI’s ArrayExpress resource. After a phase of development, the Atlas is ready to begin its own life as an independent major resource. Misha Kapushesky, Atlas project leader at the EBI commented, “While the ArrayExpress Archive makes data from high throughput functional genomics assays available to experts, Gene Expression Atlas presents this information in a format accessible to any biologist. The Atlas takes data directly from the ArrayExpress Archive, which is then enriched by curation, re-annotation and statistical computations before the results are presented to the user in an easily accessible form.”

The Gene Expression Atlas has already found use in the pharmaceuticals industry as a valuable research platform. The resource can be accessed from http://www.ebi.ac.uk/gxa and the Microarray Informatics group have produced an e-learning tutorial to guide users on how to get the most from the Atlas. This tutorial is freely available from the EBI’s e-learning portal at http://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/elearningcentral/.

.

This year, the International Olympic Committee to take more stringent than in the past means to crack down on doping, but doping practices and types constant renovation. In September next year, Viagra may be on the prohibited list.

Recently, Viagra has been closely tracking by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They are investigating whether Viagra is potential doping. And WADA has pointed out that some endurance athletes enhanced athletic ability through Viagra in Beijing Olympic Games.

Next month, the International Olympic Committee will re-test the Beijing Olympic Games athletes’ urine by the new method. The sports involved mainly are track and field, swimming and other endurance.

Samples of all the Beijing Olympic Games will be saved for 8 years, once new detection methods, the sample will be re-opened bottle at any time.

It is reported that 109 British male be killed because of taking Viagra since Viagra has been on market.

UK Drugs and Health Products Authority said that among the 109 deaths, there are 44 people were killed by heart attack and 29 people are killed by sudden death. In addition, the report did not mention the reasons of the death of 36 individuals.

Be invited by the CEO of USPC (The United States Pharmacopoeia Commission), NICPBP (National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products) visited to the United States Pharmacopoeia Commission on March 3.

Sino-US made a deep discussion on specific matters related to cooperation and signed the second round memorandum of cooperation formally. The areas of cooperation include collaborative calibration standard materials, the research and development of the analytical methods and analytical techniques, counterfeit drug detection methods and techniques, quality control of biological products as well as technical personnel exchanges and so on.

The entourage includes drug experts from NICPBP and Drug laboratory personnels from Liaoning Province, Shaanxi Province, Wuhan City etc..

Wohua Pharmaceuticals today announced that China FDA recently issued to the “GMP pharmaceutical certificate”, that all 11 drug formulations through the GMP certification.

It is reported that the 11 formulations include tablets, oral liquid, hard capsules, granules, pills, wine agent, tincture, powder, syrup, mixture, etc..

Shandong Wohua Pharmaceuticals Technology Corporation (hereinafter to be referred as Wohua Pharma) is a Chinese patent medicine and health care products manufacture with more than a hundred years’ history which may be dated back to the Wanhetang Pharmacy in Emperor QianLong’s reign (1736-1796) during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The Wanhetang Pharmacy of that period was renowned throughout the center in Shandong Province. It had a drug store in front and a pharmaceutical factory at the back. After China’s liberation and the private property being transformed, the Chinese Medicine (CM) Processing Section of Wanhetang Pharmacy integrated with the Decoction Piece Group of Shandong Changwei Center Medicinal Material Company and Shandong Weifang Chinese Medicine Factory was established, realizing joint state-private ownership in January 1959. In February 2002, it was restructured as Weifang Wohua Pharmaceuticals Technology Co., Ltd. In March 2003, it changed as Shandong Wohua Pharmaceuticals Technology Corporation with the approval of Shandong People’s Government, among the key Chinese patent medicine manufacturers in Shandong and was listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange on January 24th, 2007, the first listed pharmaceutical enterprise in Weifang.

Through collating some financial statements of inational pharmaceutical giants, I find that the pharmaceutical industry undertake less obvious impact by financial crisis.

The British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced in 2008 performance report showed that total sales growth of 3%.

French Sanofi – Aventis company performance in 2008 also exceeded expectations. The company’s full-year net sales is 27.568 billion euros, an increase of 3.7%, net profit of 7.186 billion euros, an increase of 3.2%.

Data show that in 2008 Novartis achieve net sales growth of 9 percent, reaching 41.5 billion U.S. dollars, operating income increased 32 percent, amounting to nine billion U.S. dollars, the annual profit of 8.2 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 25%.

According to the analysis, the financial turmoil leads to global economic slowdown and weak demand. It is lack of consumer confidence and purchasing power has declined, but consumption of medicine is a rigid demand, less affected, so pharmaceutical companies can market relative good performance .

From January to November in 2008, the total industrial output value of Zhongguancun biomedical industry is 23.5 billion, increased 46.57 percent.

It is reported that in the first 11 months of 2008, Zhongguancun biomedical industry achieved total revenue of 38.1 billion yuan, grew up 40.94 percent. Among them, the exports reached 561 million U.S. dollars, grew up 128%. And the industry employed 62,254 people, an increase of 15.54%.

During the first 11 months of 2008, Zhongguancun biomedical enterprises applicated 1989 patents, of which invention patent applications 893, accounted for 76.60%.

The report also shows that in the first 11 months of 2008, Zhongguancun vaccines business achieved total revenue of 568 million yuan over the same period last year increased by one-third of.

The industry of medical devices grew stablely and it is the maximum areas.

Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. noticed that in order to meet the company’s growing pharmaceutical distribution operations and medical needs of third-party logistics business, and further improve efficiency in the use of modern logistics, the company decided to invest 45 million yuan for a modern logistics center in Pudong District.

Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (known as Shaphar) is a leading publicly listed pharmaceutical company (Stock Code: 600849), with business covering manufacture, wholesale, retail, Imp.& Exp. and distributing logistics across healthcare. Shaphar is also the only one company who owns the membership of International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (IFPW) in China, with total assets of 6,737,000,000 Yuan and over 3200 employees working for human’s better life.

Shaphar has established 54 subordinate wholly-funded and holding companies, 6 joint or wholly-funded pharmaceutical factories, 1 overseas pharmaceutical factory and 2 offshore companies as well as over 1400 chain drug stores. Being important cooperator with world famous multinational pharmaceutical corporations, the company now manages over 6000 kinds of drugs and relevant products and maintains a close business relationship with more than 4000 domestic clients.

The International Opium Commission was a meeting convened in 1909 in Shanghai that represented one of the first steps toward international drug prohibition. Dr. Hamilton Wright and Episcopal Bishop Charles Henry Brent headed the U.S. delegation. According to Release, “The formal designation of the meeting as ‘commission’ reflects the fact that the United States had been unsuccessful in its attempts to convene a ‘conference’: this latter status would have conferred upon the meeting the power to draft regulations to which signatory states would be bound by international law. The Commission was only authorized to make recommendations.

The meeting united the attending nations behind the cause of opium prohibition, leading to the 1912 International Opium Convention.

China will commemorate the centenary of the first international meeting on drug prohibition in Shanghai, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu announced Thursday.

The government had prepared for the commemoration of the International Opium Commission, the first international anti-drug meeting convened in February 1909 in Shanghai, Jiang told a regular press conference.

The government would invite 16 government delegations and the United Nations office on drug and crime, as well as the representatives from International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), said Jiang.

The event’s secretariat would release more details at a later date.

On Thursday, German pharmaceutical company Bayer released a news that it would invest 100 million euros (129 million U.S. dollars) within five years to set up a research and development (R&D) center here.

Bayer Schering Pharma AG, a division of Bayer HealthCare, will build the center, making China the third country after Germany and the United States to host a global R&D center for the company, it said in a statement.

The center is expected to help boost Bayer’s capabilities in global drug development, particularly to benefit Asian patients, it said.

China is the third-largest market worldwide for the Bayer group, where the company reported 43 percent of growth rate in 2007.

Bayer AG is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen, Germany in 1863. Today it is headquartered in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is well-known for its original brand of aspirin. Bayer is the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world.