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Specialty products continued to dominate new drug and biologic approvals in the US in a year in which the evolving regulatory environment also featured heavily.
A recent report from the European Commission highlights the increasing importance of payer considerations in demonstrating product value through clinical development programmes.
New studies have affirmed the complexity of genetic changes in solid tumours, but also revealed commonalities in the associated pathways, suggesting that a pathway-oriented perspective could aid cancer drug discovery and therapy.
A recent trial indicates that rasagiline might slow down Parkinson's disease progression, and also highlights challenges for the development of disease-modifying drugs.
High-profile programmes aiming to develop the first disease-modifying drug for Alzheimer's disease have suffered major setbacks recently, but there is still strong support for a range of efforts to transform disease treatment.
Pharma collaborations with academic institutions highlight close bilateral partnerships as an emerging trend in pharmaceutical discovery and translational science.