Drugs deliver the profits - new ways to deliver the drugs ?
The FDA approved 81 new medicines in 2005 compared with 113 in 2004. An estimated 18 new molecular entities were amongst them , compared with 36 in 2004. 2 new drugs Nexavar and Levemir are seen by the pharma industry see as "Blockbusters" - US$1Bn sales a year.
Nexavar® a Bayer / Onyx drug is the first FDA-approved drug for renal cell carcinoma in more than a decade. The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products approved it for use in Switzerland this week and it is expected to roll out over Europe this year as Bayer have filed for regulatory approval with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). Trials are currently underway trial studying Nexavar® (sorafenib) tablets administered in combination with the chemotherapeutic agents carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Levemir by Novo Nordisk Inc.was approved June 16 for treating adults with diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2 and is currently approved in 50 countries worldwide. On October 20th , FDA approved Levemir for use in children. Levemir is a novel, long-acting form of insulin that provides up to a 24-hour duration of action and has been observed in studies with adults to cause little weight change. The company was awarded the prestigious James D. Watson Helix Award for their work on this drug.
Increasingly the pharma industry is assessing new methods of drug delivery as the novel products line diminishes. At the BIO 2006 conference in Chicago, on April 9-12, 2006, Do-Coop Technologies introduced Neowater (TM) - introduced Nano Neowater a product which is described as a Solubilization Enhancer that enables or increases the solubility of hydrophobic, insoluble molecules and drugs.
Neowater is based on the novel techniques of water-based nanotechnology. Unlike dry nanotechnology, which is directed to manufacturing a nanoparticle end product, Neowater builds upon the unique properties of nanoparticles to modify the physical properties of water molecules around them.
Each nanoparticle within Neowater, with its huge surface, creates a "surface effect," and in turn organizes the water molecules surrounding it. It is claimed this resembles the surface effect of organelles within living cells. Both the organelles and the nanoparticles use this mechanism to create "intracellular" water. While the former is within cells and organs and cannot be harnessed nor used in a lab bench, the latter type, which is branded as Neowater, can.
Based in Israel, the company produces a water based product whose physical properties mimic that of intracellular water using inorganic, insoluble crystals introduced in water in a patented process. Neowater, with its stable system of largely hydrated nano-particles, like non-ionic detergent derived micelles, reduces the entropy of aqueous solutions. In addition, by design, it exhibits both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties.
About Neowater(TM) - Solubilization Enhancer
Eran Gabbai, is the founder, President and CTO of Do-Coop Technologies, and the inventor and patentee of Neowater technology, he points out that Biotech and Pharma companies have libraries or portfolios of what are considered to be significant compounds which have been proven effective in vitro, yet they are very insoluble and thus (currently) unusable. Neowater technology he claims could dramatically enhance the solubility of those compounds that are difficult-to-solvate, or that are used with common solvents but exhibit poor pharmacokinetics.
Biotech and Pharma companies using these products can solubilize such compounds, which may enhance both their stability and bio-availability, extending and protecting their intellectual property. (They may not of course)
Neowater replaces polar solvents such as detergents and surfactants, alcohols such as ethanol and other broadly used ( but widely criticised) solvents like Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)
However before you get too excited read more about it here
or go to the history of Polywater here
