News Feature

The special protocol assessment introduced only six years ago by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to facilitate clinical trials is gaining popularity. Randy Osborne finds out why.

From yeast to mice, limiting food intake slows aging and extends lifespan. Activators of the sirtuins, enzymes famously linked to this process, promise a wealth of new drugs—but the sirtuin hypothesis is now coming under fire. Ken Garber reports.

With the genome of the grapevine in hand, how likely are enologists and wine growers to resort to genetic engineering to tackle the problems facing viticulture? Laura DeFrancesco reports.

Is NICE's approach to cost-effectiveness turning the UK into a biotech-free zone? Nuala Moran investigates.

Investor activism hits the biotech industry with mixed results. Karl Thiel investigates.

Follow-on biologics, changes to the patent system, new rules from the FDA and the prospect of a new party in the White House dominate the policy outlook for biotechs. Aaron Lorenzo reports.

A rash of failures for hepatitis C drugs, conflicting theories about the immune system's role and the looming issue of drug resistance make it impossible to predict when or how new therapies will make an impact. Ken Garber reports.

With the market for companion animals and veterinary products booming, will the animal biotech sector finally receive the financial resources it has so long needed? Jim Kling reports.

FDA inspections of tissue banks remain a work in progress, and no clear path yet exists for procuring human tissues for biomedicine or drug development. Emily Waltz investigates.

Money is flowing into universities from the major oil producers. What is their agenda? Cormac Sheridan investigates.

Years of tinkering with the mouse immune system genes has finally produced a winner, with the approval of the first fully human monoclonal antibody made in a mouse. A real breakthrough or an incremental improvement? Christopher Thomas Scott investigates.

Recombinant technology has not yet taken root in ornamental plant breeding, but if some early genetically modified products succeed in the marketplace, might this change?

Despite the high-profile failures of two more stroke drugs in late-stage trials, biotech firms are persevering with new approaches and treatments.

When Zheng Xiaoyu took the helm of the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) nine years ago, hopes were high for effective regulatory oversight of China's drug industry. Now those hopes have been dashed with tragic personal consequences for Zheng and allegations of widespread corruption by Chinese officials.

As more high-ticket biologic drugs reach the marketplace, the biotech industry may be increasingly beset by counterfeiters. Do regulators and law enforcement have the tools they need?

A small cadre of biotech companies are finding an easy entry into the consumer marketplace through the relatively unregulated field of cosmeceuticals.

Neurotechnology companies have promise, but lack funding and credibility. Monya Baker reports on this nascent area for startups.

Last year marked the first time that erythropoietins were not the top-selling biotech drugs. Stacy Lawrence looks at the biopharmaceuticals that have usurped them.

Patent disputes haven't materialized in the RNAi field yet, but once products near the market, it might be a different story. Charlie Schmidt investigates.