Pharma Titan Pfizer Shuts Down Neuroscience Division

Pfizer,the world's largest pharmaceutical company,has decided to close its neuroscience-discovery and early development programmes,the company announced Saturday.That means it is halting research in nine projects,including some for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases,resulting in the loss of around 300 jobs in Massachusetts and Connecticut.*
To be candid,an internal review concluded the results just weren't materialising as had been hoped.The company said:
This was an exercise to re-allocate spend across those areas where our pipeline,and our expertise,is strongest.*
The move is a blow to those suffering from these devastating illnesses and their caregivers.At the same time,however,Pfizer,which is headquartered in New York,says it will soon invest in a new venture capital fund to stimulate research in such neurological conditions,and will continue to seek treatments for rare illnesses.*
Pfizer,Inc (PFE)

Biogen IDEC Changes Name,But Gets Downgrade Anyway

Biogen has dropped the IDEC from its name as of today,Monday 23 March,and is getting a new logo as well.It added IDEC when it merged with IDEC Pharmaceuticals 12 years ago.*
Today we are a new company,distinct from either parent,and we hope to not only carry on our heritage of excellence,but to forge new ground,said CEO Dr.George Scangos.0ur name is intended to acknowledge our heritage,but also to create a new image to reflect our new reality.*
The Cambridge,Massachusetts-based firm has a market cap of around 112 billion dollars and a staff of 7550.Last week the company announced a successful early stage trial for a drug that slows the progression of early stage Alzheimer's disease.A third of the patients with a gene that makes them susceptible to developing Alzheimer's had to discontinue the treatment because of brain swelling,however.Still,Biogen is going directly to a late stage trial,aiming to have the drug on the market by 2020.It has been estimated the new drug,BIIB037,could bring in more than 10 billion dollars at peak revenue.
Biogen is already known for its effective multiple sclerosis therapies,but now aims to find a cure for the ailment,and even for ALS,or Lou Gehrig's disease.It sees itself as a neurodegenerative disease specialist.
Biogen is also working on a number of biofamiliar drugs,the equivalent of generics for off-patent biotech drugs.It is seeking European approval for biofamiliars it ha developed for Amgen's Enbrel and Johnson and Johnson's Remicade,both of which are rheumatoid arthritis treatments.
Biogen stock was downgraded by Stiefel Financial from buy to hold on concern that it is overvalued because definitive data for the Alzheimer's drug will not be in before 2018.Citi maintained its buy rating on the firm,and Barclays maintained its overweight on the company,although Biogen's price targets have already been exceeded.The expensive stock was going for 469.71 this morning,down 1.34%.*
Biogen (BIIB),iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB)

Study Discovers Alzheimer's Biomarkers

Someday in the not too distant future,a highly accurate blood test that predicts Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment may be widely available.A major advance toward such a test was recently made with a biomarker study led by Howard J Federoff,MD,PhD,Executive Vice President for Health Sciences and Executive Dean for the School of Medicine at Georgetown University in Washington,DC.Dr.Federoff is also a leading researcher in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The study,published in the March 9 issue of Nature Medicine,found that 10 phospholipids,or fats that make up cell membranes,were at consistently lower levels in the blood samples of those subjects who were 70+ years of age and went on to develop Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment within 2-3 years.This lipid panel distinguished with 90% accuracy between those who would progress to AD or MCI in two or three years,and those who remained normal in the near future.
The test offers the potential to identify people at risk for progressive cognitive decline and can change how patients,their families and treating physicians plan for and manage the disorder,according to Dr.Federoff.A much larger and more diverse study needs to be done to confirm the findings of the paper,which Dr.Federoff hopes to use for a clinical trial of a new drug to delay or prevent emergence of the disease.No such drugs are available today,perhaps because,until now,they have been tested at too late a stage of the disease,when it has become irreversible.

New Study Suggests Dementia-Oral Health Link

A new British study from the University of Lancashire School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests a link between poor oral health and dementia,including Alzheimer's disease.The study detected a specific bacterium,Porphyromonas gingivalis,in the brains of four out of ten dementia patients.Sim Singhrao,PhD,senior research fellow at the School,said that when the brain is repeatedly exposed to bacteria and/or material from our gums,subsequent immune responses may lead to nerve cell death and possibly memory loss.Seeing your dentist could be vital for brain health.The future of the research aims to discover if P.gingivalis can be a marker,via a simple blood test,to predict the development of Alzheimer's disease in at-risk patients,she noted.Further research is needed to confirm the theory,several other British scientists emphasised.A number of other studies have suggested a link between dementia and inflammation from bacterial infection.

The Heart of Biogen Idec

Just what is biotech titan Biogen Idec really about?We are a science-based business,according to CEO George Scangos,PhD.Making science-based decisions is the best thing we can do for our patients and shareholders.The company is a leading maker of multiple sclerosis therapies such as the established MS treatment Tysabri.Our new MS drug is oral;the first generation drug was injectable.Novartis also has an oral MS drug. There's a lot of innovation going on in the neurodegenerative field.There is a Phase III trial on an ALS drug-a drug for Lou Gehrig's disease.There are earlier programs on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.You need to find out what type of neurodegenerative disease they have in order to treat them,and more advanced imagery is helping that. Biogen has one of the most robust late stage pipelines.All of the research is associated with protein folding and plaques,understanding the pathology.There's huge potential.I'm very excited about the potential to treat these poor patients with better drugs in the next couple of years,Dr.Scangos said. Biogen Idec is based in Weston,Massachusetts. Biogen Idec(BIIB),Novartis(NVS)