BIOtechNow

CBS This Morning recently aired a segment on the Consumer Reports’ study on GMOs in packaged food. During the segment, a number of questions about GMOs were raised, including questions about their history, safety, and regulation. In this post, we addressed some of the inaccuracies in the video segment, but we wanted to take the opportunity to provide answers to a few questions that were left unanswered. Ruth MacDonald, professor and chair of food science and Read More 

As part of the debate around the Oregon ballot initiative to require the labeling of any foods containing genetically modified ingredients (called GMOs), an Oregon paper ran an unfortunate article that misleads readers about the safety of infant formula. A noted opponent of biotechnology, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) tested formulas and found that some brands contained soy that was grown using biotechnology. Noted scientific expert Kevin Folta on the Illumination Blog says the Read More 

Today, the Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR 340B) released a new report, showing that a substantial portion of hospitals enrolled in the 340B drug discount program provide only the barest amount of charity care, and as such they are not fulfilling Congress’ expectations about the program. Congress created the program in 1992 to help uninsured indigent patients gain better access to prescription medicines. The original intention of the program was to provide Read More 

A recent review article published by Samsel and Seneff, argued for a possible link between the incidence of celiac disease in the United States and the use of the herbicide glyphosate. There was a great piece on our GMO Answers page which notably refutes these findings and examines the flaws in the study as it was carried out. Visit here to read “Steve Savage Addresses Samsel and Seneff study, ‘Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac Read More 

It is a big week for college basketball fans. The NCAA selection committee has made its picks. The play-in round (and much of the second round) of the NCAA has been set – and it is time to finalize those brackets. While I do not encourage anyone to take time away from planning their trip to San Diego for the 2014 BIO International Convention – if you need help in finishing your bracket – I Read More 

Millions of farmers around the world continue to choose to plant and replant genetically modified (GM) crop varieties because of their environmental and socio-economic benefits and the important role they play in maintaining food security, according to a new study. The report, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2013, released annually by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), says a record 18 million farmers in 27 countries are growing biotech crops on Read More 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released immunization coverage estimates from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for six vaccines routinely recommended for adults including pneumococcal, tetanus and Tdap, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, herpes zoster (shingles), and Human papillomavirus (HPV). These data indicate little overall improvement in vaccination coverage among adults from 2011 to 2012. Compared with 2011, modest increases occurred in three vaccines: Tdap, herpes zoster and HPV. However, vaccination Read More 

The 16th BIO CEO & Investor Conference is off to a great start. This event has truly grown into a must attend for emerging companies and investors. This year, we have more than 1,300 participants, including more than 850 investors. In addition, we have helped to set up more than 1,700 partnering meetings for participants over the course of the conference. Our world-class partnering system, and the opportunity to hear from key industry leaders, is Read More 

In the United States, more than one million people are infected with HIV, with an estimated 50,000 newly diagnosed each year. While African Americans make up only 12-14 percent of the U.S. population they account for nearly half (44 percent) of all the new HIV infections in the U.S. (CDC). Today, as the United States observes National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, we’d like to take a look at some of the scientific advancements made in Read More 

There is clear link between a country’s rate of economic development and the strength of its intellectual property laws. This is particularly true in knowledge-intensive sectors such as biopharmaceuticals. The good news is that some mature and emerging economies are making growing use of patent systems to facilitate biotechnology research and commercialization. The bad news is that a number of countries, including India, China, Brazil and Canada, have established bureaucratic and burdensome hurdles to patentability. Read More 

Last September, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA, requesting the FDA to “implement its INN naming policy equally to all biologics” and to require “all biologics approved under the Section 351(k) pathway…share the same INN [International Nonproprietary Name] as the RPP [reference protein product]” (the GPhA Petition). Today, BIO submitted our response. Contrary to the GPhA Petition, BIO believes that the legal, regulatory, and scientific principles related to biologics and biosimilarity Read More 

The BIO CEO & Investor Conference is now just a week away, and buzz for the event has never been greater. Tomorrow, Inside BIO is hosting its first ever twitter chat to discuss the annual buyside survey, which has been getting great responses from the investor community. Presentation spots are still sold out as well, and we’re continuing to highlight those companies slated to present. One such company is Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, who went public this Read More 

The public comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2014 proposal on the Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) closed Tuesday January 28, 2014, with the agency receiving 16,575 comments.  On behalf of its members, BIO submitted over fifty pages of comments, stressing that the proposed changes to the RFS would be detrimental to the cellulosic and advanced biofuels industry. In a recent press release, Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, stated Read More 

Me neither, so here is what I am reading for updates about the 32nd Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Before arriving, hopefully you read the survival guide put forth by the InVivo blog team. In it, Chris Morrison and team outlined a few helpful talking points to help you when running in to industry colleagues. Likewise, Luke Timmerman, from Xconomy, has all the industry news you need to know heading in to the event, perhaps most importantly; who he thinks should Read More 

Ndp Analytics recently published a study on the economic benefits of intellectual property rights (IP) in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. They find that 2/3’s of the “economic benefits for the U.S. economy and the 11 partner countries would come from IP-intensive manufacturing industries.” They conclude that “the stronger the protection of IP rights under the TPP, the greater the value of trade leading to greater economic growth, additional jobs created, higher incomes, and development across countries.” Here Read More