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Digital medicine is poised to transform biomedical research, clinical practice and the commercial sector. Here we introduce a monthly column from R&D/venture creation firm PureTech tracking digital medicine's emergence.
Analyzing structural similarities between compounds derived from traditional oriental medicine and human metabolites is a systems-based approach that can help identify mechanisms of action and suggest approaches to reduce toxicity.
Big pharma's storehouse of trouble has fostered consumer mistrust and a negative view of the industry. How does the industry go about restoring its flagging reputation?
The reliability of scientific research is under scrutiny. A recently convened working group proposes cultural adjustments to incentivize better research practices.
Gene therapy companies that pursue high, one-time payments for their products risk a backlash from payors. A better solution may lie in a pay-for-performance model.
Immunology is on the cusp of a 'big data'–driven breakthrough, but strategies for standardizing and sharing high-dimensional data from independent laboratories are needed to ensure that data support the formation of new and robust hypotheses.
The biotech sector's record in originating high-priority medicines exceeds that of the pharmaceutical industry, its costs are lower and its products have comparable revenues.
The creation of the Global Health Security Agenda is a key step in the goal of combatting outbreaks in an increasingly interconnected world. It is too bad that the initiative is so woefully underfunded.
Current clinical trial approaches in rare disease test one drug on one indication defined by a clinical phenotype. For targeted drugs, grouping patients by molecular etiology would make much more sense.
Metabolic reconstructions remain limited in their scope and content, and improvements in biochemical knowledge and collaborative research are required.
The spectacular performance of biopharma companies in the public markets last year has carried over into optimism for early 2014. Will the boom continue?
Regulatory fallout from a scandal surrounding the fabrication of data used to support a molecular test in a Duke University cancer trial is exacting an unjustifiable toll not only on health economics but also on patient lives.
New technology has transformed human genetics. It now provides perhaps the single best opportunity to innovate and improve clinical success rates in drug development.
Too few precompetitive consortia are being formed to mitigate lost opportunities and deliver on other potential mutual gains for public and private stakeholders in drug development.
Open collaboration on biomedical discoveries requires a fundamental shift in the traditional roles and rewards for both investigators and participants in research.