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ACTIP
Bulletin 33 |
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Next meeting Please note that the next ACTIP meeting will take place in Toulouse, France on April 24-25, 2003 Central topics of this
meeting are: Please contact the actip@wirehub.nl ACTIP Secretariat if you would like to receive an invitation and accompanying documentation In this issue 2002
European Innovation Scoreboard
2002 European Innovation ScoreboardLast year we reported on the results in Europe regarding key factors determining Europe's innovation scores. Here are the main findings for the year 2002. As in 2001, smaller Member
States are in the top slots for many factors: The full report (2002
European Innovation Scoreboard SEC 2002 1349 of Dec
9 2002) can be requested from innovation@cec.eu.int
or downloaded from www.cordis.lu/focus/en/src/supplements.htm
. There is also a dedicated website:
http://trendchart.cordis.lu/Scoreboard2002/index.html
The chipping forecastIn December 2002, Nature Genetics published 'The Chipping Forecast II'. Part I was published in January 1999 and focused on the 'nuts and bolts' of micro-array technology. However, 3 years later, the biggest concern is no longer how to make and use arrays, but how to design experiments, weed out noise, analyze data and validate results. Therefore, part II, published in December 2002, contains a number of articles focusing on just these issues. Here an example of some of the reviews:
.......stormy weather aheadThe 10th Annual BioPartnering Europe Conference 2002 was attended by over 1,500 delegates. There were several BioPartnering Leadership sessions, among which a 'Forecaster of the Future'. The latter featured a keynote address by Dr. Stuart Henderson, partner at Deloitte & Touche, who quoted from that firm's Life & Health Sciences Report. His 10 predictions for the future of the Life Sciences session are the following, and they do not make easy reading:
Other panel members cited Europe's problems of 'ack of depth' and 'lack of quality in senior management teams'. Furthermore, there was consensus to plan sensibly, refocus businesses and build what is needed within existing companies. Quote: "it is our opportunity to do the right thing that will deliver the value in the industry in the next 3-4 years". Source: European Biopharmaceutical Review, winter 2002, pp 35. See also www.techvision.com/bpe Higher biology teaching standardsThe European Commission is funding a two-year initiative to create an ongoing training programme for biology teachers and scientists, and to develop, archive and distribute the best available teaching resources throughout Europe. The project is entitled 'Continuing Education for European Biology Teachers', and will be coordinated by the European molecular biology organization (EMBO), working in collaboration with the European molecular biology laboratory and the European Federation of Biotechnology. The initiative will receive 710,000 euros under the quality of life and management of living resources section of the Fifth Framework Programme. A key feature of the project is the organization of one international and eight national teacher workshops - aimed at increasing European cooperation and exchange - during which training materials and teaching resources will be developed and disseminated. The national workshops will take place in Hamburg, Copenhagen, Madrid, Prague, Hinxton, Warsaw, Szeged and Jerusalem, with the international event being held in Heidelberg. The aim of the collaboration is to create a training programme that will bring teachers into laboratories for hands-on activities with qualified students in order to develop new assets for biology teaching. A dedicated facility will be established at the EMBL in Heidelberg for this purpose. The project will also result in an online resource centre and archive that offers practical classroom materials to teachers and students. In addition, the resource centre will address current ethical and social issues connected with the impact on society of advances in science, and suggest how best to introduce these topics into a classroom setting. Source: EMBO at http://www.embo.org . Innovative medicines used erraticallyAccording to a recent study, the development and improved application of innovative medicine is essential to attempts to improve health care systems throughout Europe. The study, carried out by Professor Schoffski on behalf of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), also revealed a current lack of recognition and erratic use of innovative medicines among Member States' health care systems. The findings of the study showed that while there are innovative medicines available for the 20 diseases studied, patients are in many cases receiving medicines that are proving less effective or having severe side effects. In some cases, patients were not given any treatment at all. Such findings not only suggest worrying trends in current health systems in Europe, but also imply a lack of understanding and interest in the value of innovative medicines, which could, in turn, have repercussions on the further funding of research and development in the area of innovative pharmaceuticals. The study suggests that by developing and implementing innovative medicines, health care systems can become more cost effective, with higher investment compensated by improved life expectancy of patients. Professor Schoffski believes that to stimulate the application of such medicines, patients and health professionals should be made more aware of all the treatments available, and that the pharmaceutical industry has to address the price differences between new medicines and older treatments which inevitably lead to the use of older therapeutic principles for a longer time. Source: EFPIA at http://www.efpia.org .
Stem Cell NewsCommercializing cell therapies The commercialization of cell
therapy has yet to take off. While some skin and
bone products are leading the way, only a fraction
of the potential of cell therapy has been realized.
A number of companies have started autologous cell
therapy services and are generating revenues.
However, as the barriers to enter these markets are
low, the investment return is unlikely to excite.
Products based on allogenic cell therapy are a much
better commercial proposition: they are scaleable
and can be patent protected, making them a more
desirable goal for companies. Key hurdles
associated with supply, function and control are
being addressed, with technologies like inducible
apoptosis likely to make a real impact. Real
advances are being made on the manufacturing aspect
of product delivery, for instance with the
generation of sophisticated serum-free media. Source: Will West, CellFactors, European Biopharmaceutical Review, Winter 2002, pp 56-60
The UK National Stem Cell Initiative The UK has adopted a
pragmatic approach combining public acceptance,
government recognition of potential scientific and
commercial value with a clear and open regulation
of stem cell research. This approach has resulted
in the UK National Stem Cell Initiative. Source: Dr. John Sinden, ReNeuron, European Biopharmaceutical Review, Winter 2002, pp 62-63
Sweden: New Stem Cell Institute Swedish stem cell researchers in Lund are building a new interdisciplinary 'Center for Stem Cell Biology and Cell Therapy' through the establishment of a Stem Cell Institute (SCI). Sweden is one of the few countries to allow stem cell research and the use of therapeutic cloning. For the next 6 years 10 million EURO is available to build up the centre. The centre will comprise 11 major research groups.
Stem Cell bank in China, Stem cell Institute in USA The Chinese government has
approved the establishment of a stem cell bank in
Tianjin, near Peking. The stem cell bank will be
coupled to a transplant centre, capable of treating
200 patients annually. Also in other life sciences
fields China is particularly active. Three years
ago, the Chinese Genome Centre was established, and
this played a key role in the elucidation of the
genome of rice. Furthermore, the Chinese are
pioneering human-animal cell hybrids for the
production of tissues.
Research NewsHuman therapeutic proteins from silkworms Recombinant protein
production remains a bottleneck in the
biotechnology industry. Significant progress has
been made with all available expression
technologies, but production yields are still
insufficient for a large number of proteins. For
example, 1,2 tons of human serum albumin are needed
annually in a country as small as Switzerland.
Other proteins needed in large quantities include
collagen, thrombin and antibodies or antibody-like
molecules. But a novel production system might be
in the pipeline. In January 2003, Japanese
researchers (Tomita et al) showed for the first
time that stable, long-term expression of a human
recombinant protein (procollagen) is possible in
the silk glands of the Bombyx mori larvae (the
ordinary silkworm).
Glycosylation in E.coli Researchers in Switzerland
and the UK recently reported a way of engineering
E.coli to carry out oligosaccharide modifications
similar to mammalian cells, providing a system that
is not only applicable to mammalian protein
expression, but also robust and relatively low
cost. The authors introduced a Campylobacter jejuni
gene (pgIB) with high sequence homology to a
protein essential in the process of N-linked
glycosylation into E.coli. That resulted in a
mutant able to glycosylate proteins in a way
similar to eukaryotic cells. However, at present
the protein-linked oligosaccharide structure in
E.coli differs significantly from the eukaryotic
modifications, but there is good hope that it will
be possible in the future to generate E.coli
strains that attach the specific desired glycan to
proteins.
Business NewsRapid HIV test obtains FDA approval OraSure Technologies (USA)
has received FDA approval to manufacture and
markets its OraQuick Rapid HIV-1 antibody test.
This is a point-of-care dipstick test to detect HIV
antibodies in whole blood samples within 20
minutes. The test has a sensiticity of 99.6% and
specificity of 100% on clinical studies performed
with blood specimens.
Rapid test for West Nile Virus Manufacturers are scrambling
to develop rapid and effective nucleic acid tests
to screen donated blood for West Nile Vitrus (WNV)
before the onset of the modsquito season this
summer. In 2003, the FDA will require WNV screening
of the entire blood supply. In 2002, the US
WNV-epidemic escalated to a total count of 3873
confirmed cases and 246 deaths. 80% of infected
people are asymptomatic. The WNV test development
process will serve as the example for rapid
response in the future. It is a test of flexibility
and agility for the blood industry, for the
diagnostics industry and for the FDA.
Swedish Biotechnology Industry Organization The first Swedish Biotech Industry Organization has been launched under the name SwedenBIO. It aims to campaign for a national investment programme as well as for more foreign investment in the sector. Chairman is Bjorn Nilsson, president of Karo Bio.
Dolly is dead On February 14, 2003, the Roslin Institute announced the death of Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep made from a mamma cell from an adult animal. While Dolly seemed healthy in the first few years of her life (she gave birth to 6 lambs), she became ill when only 5 years old. It started with arthritis, and last year a viral infection that resulted in a lung tumour. Both diseases are ageing diseases. A normal sheep lives 10-12 years. Also other cloned animals (goats, cows, pigs, mice, rabbits, cats) show a variety of diseases, such as defect of the immune system, miscarriages, obesity, pulmonary and circulatory problems, kidney and brain disorders, diabetes, malformations, early death due to lungproblems, cancer and liver diseases. Source: Bionieuws February 28, 2003
The promise of pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics Pharmacogenomics as applied
to medical practice offers the promise of reduction
in adverse drug events (ADEs), enhanced drug
efficacy and selection of patients able to respond
to specific agents. The estimated annual cost of
drug-induced illness in the US is 136 billion USD,
and ADEs were estimated to be the 4th to 6th
leading cause of death in the US. Pharmacogenomics
offers the promise of improving medical care
through selection of patients who will respond more
effectively to drug therapy, optimizing efficacy
and decreasing the frequency of ADEs. Many ADEs
have underlying identifiable genetic components.
Pharmacogenetics is now poised to move into the
clinic from a strong base of support built upon
research studies on polymorphic drug metabolism. To
successfully reduce the frequency of ADEs,
pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics must broaden
its focus to include not just a consideration of
polymorphic drug metabolizing enzymes, but also
additional pathways that contribute to polymorphic
drug disposition such as drug-transporter and
receptor polymorphisms and drug-drug interactions.
A new level of complexity involving management of
many bits of information is essential to move the
prediction of phenotype from genotypic analyses
into patient care.
On the webFree
medical publications Biotech
abbreviations Weekly summary R&D and innovation The European Commssion has launched a new electronic information service termed CORDIS Express digest. Every Friday the weekly electronic bulletin summarizes the latest European research and innovation developments. Visit: http://www.cordis.lu/express" Overview Italian Biotech A new public database now
offers a complete overview of Italy's biotechnology
industry sector. It provides instant access to over
150 companies and research organizations. Nanotechnology Are you interested in micro/nanotechnologies, information technology and neuro/biotechnologies? You then might want to check out the APTE Association, a knowledge and co-operation network particularly active in Europe. Please visit: http://apte.net" http://apte.net Human tissue and cell products & transplants If you are interested in
position papers on human tissue and cell products
& transplants, you might want to check out the
following documents and position papers: 3/12/02 &endash; EuropaBio's Human Cell and Tissue Working Group publishes position paper on DG Sanco proposed directive. The final version of EuropaBio position paper was addressed to Commission (DG Sanco, DG Entreprise) and MEP, Dr P Liese http://www.europabio.org/xtranet/wo_contents.asp?do_id=482 3/12/02 &endash; EuropaBio explanatory document re: proposals and queries on the Tissue Banks and Clinical Trials sections of DG Sanco Directive; The paper was sent to P Liese and D Bouis (DG Enterprise) http://www.europabio.org/xtranet/wo_contents.asp?do_id=500 Review of pharmaceutical legislation The Commission modified proposal on the Review of Pharmaceutical legislation is available at the following website: http://dg3.eudra.org/F2/pharmacos/docs.htm
PublicationsNew magazine: European Biotechnology Science & Industry News This new magazine will offer a multinational forum for opportunities and developments throughout Europe focused on the biotechnology sector. It features a new forum for current economic affairs, qualified political background information from Brussels and the latest highlights from science and technology. The magazine is published by BIOCOM AG (Berlin) in association with the European Federation of Biotechnology. G10 medicines group report This group was established in March 2001 to look at ways of encouraging innovation and competitiveness in the EUs pharmaceutical industry. The group presented its final report in April 2002. Conclusions:
Downloadable from: Apoptosis and programmed cell
death: molecular mechanisms and applications in
biotechnology and agriculture &endash;project
report
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