Over the last 3 years, the pharmaceutical industry has taken on quite a beating. Sales of brand name drugs have declined while generic versions have dominated the market. Still, some experts warn that the constant flow of new medicines may mask troubling signs about the health of the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, the past year brought many noteworthy developments to the pharmaceutical sector. One of them was the merger of two companies that had previously merged to form Genentech.
In a carefully handled event, the merged company, Genentech, and its related pharmaceutical arm, Jansa, were able to retain their dominant position. This came as a boon to the struggling pharmaceutical industry, which is badly in need of new medicines. The new companies had injected a great amount of capital into the company and this enabled them to put more resources into research and development of effective drugs. It is hoped that these new medicines would stimulate sales of the company’s existing products, while at the same time reducing its dependence on imports of highly priced drugs from overseas.
The clinical trials have been one of the reasons for the new medicines being successful. The number of clinical trials that have been conducted since the new medicines were released is steadily increasing. The number of new medicines that are currently in clinical trials is many times greater than the number of those being tested. It is hoped that in due course all these medicines will be approved for sale.
Another significant development in the field of medicine was the introduction of bio-implants that hold essential implants for delivering drugs directly to the bone. Previously, the implants were made of silicone that caused major side effects in the patients. Biomimicry is the term used to describe the introduction of genetically engineered cells into the body so that the drugs can be directly passed into the bloodstream without affecting the normal cells.
Another field that has been gaining interest from the scientific community is that of developing new medicines that can cure certain diseases. The pharmaceutical companies have been spending considerable amounts of money in this area. A large number of new medicines are being developed that can cure all types of common as well as crucial diseases. However, for such medicines to be developed, it is necessary for a larger number of clinical trials to be held and for adequate number of volunteers.
There is still a long way to go in the development of new medicines. Scientists are trying hard to develop medicines that can treat all types of diseases. One of the biggest challenges in the field of developing new medicines lies in developing them quickly. Other important factors that have to be taken into consideration are the budget and the feasibility of the new medicine. It is estimated that the cost of developing a new medicine will be about one hundred billion dollars in coming years.