The Project Data Sphere Initiative

Billions of dollars are spent every year by pharma companies researching and testing new cancer treatments. Although there is a wealth of valuable, historical cancer clinical trial data, it’s not available. The Project Data Sphere initiative aims to change that because large pools of data can, and should, be put to use.

Project data sphere initiative

Pharma Company Success Depends on More Efficient R&D

According to a new report from Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (Tufts CSDD), although many pharmaceutical companies are increasing the pace of new products by improving the efficiency of clinical trial operations, their medium- and long-term success will increasingly depend on their ability to support more efficient research and development (R&D) models.

Worldwide total pharma R&D spending 2004-2018

Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform

Welcome to Grand Rounds: the Impact of Healthcare Reform.

There’s a revolution occurring on the Web: those “authoritative” articles written on traditional, static websites are being replaced with blogs, wikis and online social networks. In the sphere of health, medicine and information technology, this “real-time Web” consists of many who are professionals in the field; their posts are listed below. In the digital age, these are the characteristics of new media: recent, relevant, reachable and reliable.

For this edition of Grand Rounds, Vol. 7 No. 11, we’re focusing on the impact of healthcare reform: what are the changes to healthcare delivery, utilization, quality, costs (either as a provider or a patient) and outcomes. After all, these changes affect everyone, whether you’re a patient, a healthcare provider or a biomedical researcher.

Healthcare reform

Health 2.0 Highlights: November 1st, 2009

FDA Attempting to Regulate Dietary Supplements

A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) docket was published on the FDA website last month. The draft guidance, when finalized, will represent the FDA’s current thinking on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Docket No. 2006D-0480: Draft Guidance for Industry on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Products and Their Regulation by the Food and Drug Administration [1] discusses when a CAM product is subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) or the Public Health Service (PHS) Act.