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)

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)

Pfizer Acquires Biotech Firm

Pfizer,a world-leading drug producer and marketer,is to acquire FoldRx,a privately held company that specializes in innovative oral medicines to treat diseases caused by protein misfolding.Protein misfolding is increasingly considered an underlying cause of many chronic degenerative conditions.FoldRx's main candidate,tafamidis,is registered as an oral therapy for TTR amyloid polyneuropathy,or ATTR-PN,a progressively fatal genetic neurological disorder.The biotech firm has filed a marketing application for tafamidis with the European Medicines Agency,and the drug has been fast-tracked by the FDA.
To this point,only liver transplants have been available to treat ATTR-PN.Liver transplants are not uniformly effective and are often fatal in their own right.At least 8,000 patients worldwide have ATTR-PN,most of them in the European Union.
TTR is a liver protein that,when defective,gets lodged in peripheral nerve tissue,causing neurological disorders such as ATTR-PN.
FoldRx's small molecule therapeutics,based on proprietary expertise,are also being applied to a discovery program in cystic fibrosis,Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.Pfizer sees the acquisition of FoldRx as a way to bolster its rare disease portfolio and assist the patients with its medical,administrative,manufacturing and marketing proficiencies.
Pfizer(PFE)