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Each month LifeTrack newsletter brings you up-to-date news for the life sciences community.

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MedMira’s HIV Test Approved Under USAID Initiative

MedMira Inc., (Halifax), a global market leader in premium rapid diagnostic solutions, announced that its Reveal G3 Rapid HIV-1 Antibody Test has been approved for purchase by the U.S. Agency for International Development, resulting in the placement of Reveal G3 on USAID’s rapid HIV test procurement list. USAID’s office of HIV/AIDS is responsible for leading the Agency’s efforts within the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; a $15 billion multifaceted approach to combating HIV and AIDS in over 100 countries, with particular emphasis on fifteen focus countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. MedMira’s inclusion on this procurement list enables Reveal G3 to be purchased for USAID-funded projects, and permits countries receiving USAID funding to purchase Reveal G3 under the PEPFAR program. http://www.medmira.com/.Source: Life Science News Briefs Vol. 7 no.31, 2007

Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities Report $5.53 billion in Research Income for 2006

During the fiscal year 2006, Canada’s top 50 research universities reported $5.53 billion in sponsored research income, a 6.4% increase over fiscal 2005, which doubles last year’s growth of 3.2%, according to Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List 2007, by Research Infosource. Sponsored research income includes both government and non-government sources. The majority (69%) of sponsored research income at Canadian universities continued to come from government sources in 2006. Corporate sources made up 13%, while non-corporate sources contributed 14% of the total. Investments and endowments and other income made up the remainder.

The University of Toronto reported the most sponsored research income ($763.5 million) on Canada’s Top 50 Research Universities List 2007, increasing 7.7% over fiscal 2005. Université de Montréal had the second highest sponsored research income in 2006, with $447.2 million, up 4.2% over last year. University of British Columbia was third with $422 million, an increase of 17.4%. The University of Toronto, University of Guelph and Royal Military College of Canada were named “Research Universities of the Year” in their respective categories by Research Infosource. University of Toronto came first in the Medical/Doctoral category, the University of Guelph came first in the Comprehensive category, Royal Military College of Canada came first in the Undergraduate category.

The data for the study was obtained from Statistics Canada and the Research Infosource Canadian University R&D database.

Emergency Response Teams Tested at One of Largest Disaster Exercises in Canadian History

TORONTO - Emergency response teams took part in a live, simulated large-scale disaster exercise today at a Toronto-area hotel, involving a simulated bomb blast. The purpose of the exercise was to test the coordination and interoperability of these teams in a real emergency, and identify where improvements can be made. In total, close to 1,000 participants, observers, and evaluators were involved. Source: Public Health Agency of Canada

For more information, visit: Emergency Response

McCain Calls for Permitting the Importation of Prescription Drugs From Canada

Associated Press WorldStream

CANAAN, Vermont_Republican presidential contender John McCain in November said he wants to again allow the importation of prescription drugs from Canada as a way to bring health care costs under control. The Arizona senator, speaking to reporters about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Canadian border and just across the river from New Hampshire, said too much of health care costs are based on high drug prices.

“Drug companies and the lobbyists they pay in Washington want to keep your drug prices high. Obviously, I want them to be affordable,” McCain said, returning to his criticism of how Washington works.

Until drugs are cheaper, the cost of health care is going to skyrocket, helping to bankrupt Medicare and Medicaid, the government health insurance programs for the elderly and poor, McCain said.

“If we are going to control health care cost, we need to control the rising costs of pharmaceuticals,” McCain said, adding that drug prices are 16 percent to 60 percent cheaper in Canada and are to blame for rising insurance premiums.

“A person taking a standard blood-thinner, the savings could be over $200 (euro137) a year. If your problem is heartburn, it could be $750. (euro512) For treating depression, as much as $1,400 (euro956) a year,” he said.

McCain noted his rivals do not support drug reimportation programs.

“These are drugs being reimported. They go to Canada and then they can come back in. It’s a strawman to say that a country like Canada could not be responsible for safe drugs to be brought into our country. Many of them are manufactured in Canada, as you know,” he said.

McCain said he would be open to bringing in drugs from any country with the proper safeguards.

“I would reimport them from any country in the world as long as you have the proper process. In Canada, we already do. In Mexico, we do not,” he said.

© Pharmalive.com

Scientists Produce Cancer Vaccine from Tumour Cells

Scientists at the British Columbia Cancer Agency have found a way of producing a potent cancer vaccine which could be manufactured from a patient’s own cancer cells and used to treat their tumour.

The technique involves the use of ultra-violet light to trigger the vaccine in a process known as photo-dynamic therapy (PDT). Tests on mice have shown that the technique produced a personalised vaccine with the same power as one grown in the laboratory, but in much less time.

The research was carried out by scientists at the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, who were seeking new applications of PDT.

The technique uses ultraviolet light to trigger drugs when they reach their target, which means larger doses can be given without fear of toxic reactions in other parts of the body.

PDT has also been shown to stimulate an immune response against a tumour.

The new study involved taking samples of cancer tissue from mice with tumours and priming them with ultra-violet light. The cells were then grown overnight in the laboratory before being re-injected into the mice the following day.

The researchers found that priming the cells with ultra-violet light produced an increased immune response in the mouse when they were re-injected. Shining ultra-violet light on the cancer cells in effect created a potent cancer vaccine, though the mechanism behind this process is not understood.

The benefit of the technique is that it creates a personalised vaccine that can be injected straight back into the mouse with a minimum of delay, cutting out the time-consuming process of cultivating cells. The results of the study were published in November in the British Journal of Cancer.

Dr Mladen Korbelik, senior author of the paper, said: “The prospect of using samples from a patient’s own tumour to treat them is really exciting. This technique could mean that treatment is delivered more quickly and, most importantly, is tailored to the individual’s cancer.

“Although our results showed this method produces powerful cancer vaccines, we’re confident that this technique can be advanced further to be even more potent and effective.”

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: “This is an interesting application of PDT. Using targeted treatments with better delivery and manipulating the body’s own immune system to fight the disease means patients would experience fewer side effects.”

By Jeremy Laurance Source: The Independent-UK

B.C. Implements Web-based Reporting Tool

VICTORIA - The government of British Columbia has invested $2.3 million towards the development of a province-wide patient safety learning system, based on the success of pilot-testing at two B.C. hospitals, announced Health Minister George Abbott.

Funding from the province will allow the B.C. Patient Safety Task Force to begin initial implementation of the patient safety learning system, which assists healthcare professionals and facility staff in reporting incidents. According to the province, it’s one of the first of its kind in Canada.

The web-based reporting and learning tool was piloted at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at BC Women’s Hospital, as well as at the Vascular and General Surgery Unit at Vancouver General Hospital. The project was evaluated by the Ministry of Health, the BC Patient Safety Task Force and provincial health authorities.

Adverse events are more easily captured now by more healthcare professionals and support staff, and with greater accuracy. Between May and July 2007, the patient safety learning system showed an increase in patient safety reports at B.C. Women’s Hospital. Reports submitted during a 10-week period between June and August 2007 at Vancouver General Hospital’s Vascular and General Surgery Unit also showed an increase in patient safety events recorded by healthcare professionals and support staff.

“By providing health professionals with a system to identify concerns or incidents, we can ensure that patients have the safest environment where they receive care,” said Dr. Doug Cochrane, chair of the BC Patient Safety Task Force.

Patients in British Columbia are encouraged to take responsibility for their health by being actively involved through discussions with their healthcare professional.

B.C.’s Patient Safety Task Force’s website is available at http://www.bcpatientsafety.ca/

Sanofi Aventis to Build $148 Million China Plant

BEIJING (Reuters) - Sanofi-Aventis said on November 26 it will begin producing flu vaccines including ones to combat pandemic strains for the Chinese market by 2012 in a new $148 million vaccines facility.

The investment would roughly double the French drug company’s previous spending in the mainland and help China produce vaccines to combat flu pandemic strains identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO), said company executives.

“In the case of a pandemic, this plant could be manufacturing hundreds of millions of doses,” Jacques Cholat, president of Sanofi Pasteur International, the firm’s vaccine arm, told reporters.

For a normal influenza season the first investment phase of production would be able to manufacture 25 million doses annually, while the facility could be expanded to double that in the future.

“In absolute terms this is not a major investment, but it is significant for us,” said Cholat.

Since 2001 Sanofi has invested almost 1 billion euros in the production of influenza.

The Sanofi Pasteur facility will begin construction next year and be built alongside an existing Sanofi plant producing other vaccines.

The agreement was signed during a state visit to China by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Rivals GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Novartis AG, AstraZeneca Plc and Eli Lilly & Co are all increasing their investment in China, underlining the desire of top drug firms to increase their presence in the country.

The country is set to become the world’s fifth-largest medicine pharmaceuticals market by 2010, with sales nearly doubling to $25 billion from $13 billion in 2005, Boston Consultancy, an independent consulting group, said last year. (US$1=7.40 yuan=0.6754 euro)

(Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by Ben Tan)

©Reuters Health

Pfizer Considers Outsourcing Up to 30 percent of Manufacturing, Much of it to Asia

HONG KONG_U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. is looking to outsource as much as 30 percent of its manufacturing, much of it to Asia, Martin MacKay, head of Pfizer’s global research and development, said Friday.

Pfizer, based in New York City, currently outsources about 15 percent of its manufacturing. The company aims to double that figure as part of cost-cutting measures, MacKay said at an investor presentation in Hong Kong.

The development follows Pfizer’s announcement at the beginning of the year that it would shut down manufacturing sites in Brooklyn, New York and Omaha, Nebraska, and sell a third manufacturing site in Feucht, Germany.

These cuts, along with the closings of several research sites, were part of the companywide plan to cut its worldwide work force by 10 percent, or 10,000 jobs, and save US$2 billion.

Pfizer isn’t the only pharmaceutical company to announce such a move. AstraZeneca said recently that it would start shifting manufacturing operations to Asia.

Like other pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer is facing tepid growth amid competition from generic drug makers and the lack of clear blockbusters in its drug pipeline.

Its top product, Lipitor, a drug that lowers cholesterol, had roughly US$13 billion (?8.8 billion) in sales last year, but is sales growth has slowed and partly due to the availability of generic versions of other cholesterol drugs. Lipitor will lose U.S. patent protection as early as 2010, exposing it to direct generic competition.

Pfizer also saw a big setback in its pipeline recently when it pulled Exubera, an inhaled-insulin product. Once viewed as a potential blockbuster, Exubera was approved in January but its launch was delayed because of manufacturing problems. Diabetes patients also found the inhaler difficult to use.

Pfizer’s decision to drop the product dragged on the company’s recent third-quarter results. Quarterly net profit plunged 77 percent to US$761 million (?516.4 million) because of a pretax charge of US$2.8 billion (?1.9 billion), or 31 cents a share, related to the company’s decision to drop Exubera. The charge included a write-off of assets associated with the product.

©Pharmalive.com