Recently in Innovation Category

That is the question:  At least when it comes to regularly screening men for prostate cancer, a disease that strikes one in six US men.  Some critics of screenings argue that too many men are being diagnosed with less than life-threatening cancers that are being treated as if they are a mortal threat; overtreatment, in turn, may unnecessarily lead to some serious side effects.           

But let's not lose sight in this debate that far too many men--some 27,000 in the US this year alone - will die from prostate cancer.  That's why we agree with the American Urological Association, which recommends education, risk assessment and detection of prostate cancer be offered to men 40 years of age or older.  It's true that not all medical bodies are this proactive when it comes to prostate cancer.  Where most do agree, however, is that men should talk to their doctors about the appropriateness of prostate-cancer screening and that they have access to such screening.

GSK has an ongoing focus on men's health concerns, and we're proud to support a new prostate-cancer education collaboration of five major advocacy organizations.   Because when it comes to cancer, the importance of continued research and education are beyond debate.

Seated from left: Salim Abdulla, Tanzanian PI; Joe Cohen (at microphone); Christian Loucq, PATH MVI; Regina Rabinovitch, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

I'm particularly excited because today we're launching ViiV Healthcare, a worldwide HIV specialist company resulting from a combined effort by GSK and Pfizer.  

In my various roles at GSK, I've had some very interesting windows through which I've been able to view our HIV business.   In the beginning--before I worked in HIV--I looked at the disease as so many people do.   I only knew what I read in newspapers and had a very third-person, far removed perspective. 

But that changed a year ago when I joined GSK's HIV communications team and learned about the real impact of this disease.  I became much more passionate about disease prevention, awareness, education, and treatment.  Soon I was attending HIV congresses and meetings, and learning more directly about how this disease affects people.

I could see the sense of urgency in their eyes when they talked about HIV treatments, and their hopes for ever-better treatments in the future.  Suddenly, HIV was a whole lot more real to me, and I was more passionate than ever about working in this arena. 

Now GSK and Pfizer are launching ViiV Healthcare, which seeks to address important issues such as the need for innovative research and improved access for patients. 

The central proposition behind ViiV Healthcare is extremely exciting:  a robust HIV company with a solid pipeline and deep expertise, but structured to be a smaller and more nimble organization that can respond faster to the changing needs of HIV patients. 

I wish everyone at ViiV Healthcare the very best in their new venture.  They're doing something that I believe will have a significant impact on how we deal with HIV across the globe.  And how can you not be excited by something like that?

Last week, GSK announced that we have joined the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in its motion to dismiss litigation over Final Regulations published in August 2007.  The litigation related to proposed changes to regulations that would have limited the number of patent applications and patent claims that could be filed on an invention in order to reduce a large backlog of work at the USPTO. Our position was that the proposed rules threatened to diminish our ability to patent our medical innovations and would ultimately have harmed patients by reducing protection for pharmaceutical investments.

Importantly, today's announcement marks a significant step forward in improving collaboration between industry and the USPTO and is evidence of the USPTO's renewed support for and responsiveness to patent applicants, led by the recently appointed head of the PTO, David Kappos.  We all agree that the U.S. patent system is of fundamental importance to the strength of the U.S. economy, which is based on leadership in innovation.  In fact, without the necessary protection, we are sure to witness a decrease in the development of innovative medicines for patients with unmet medical needs, as well as job loss across business sectors.

We believe that the patent system should be based on a consistent set of laws that will allow us to protect our investment and innovation over the long period of pharma R&D.  Once granted, patent protection should be predictable and secure.  Today it takes up to 10 years and nearly $1 billion to discover and develop a medicine.  To put this into context, at this time, GSK is in the process of defending patents that were filed in the early 1990s under the legal framework of today.  Who among us could have predicted how the patent laws would have changed in a period of almost 20 years?

We hope this is just the beginning of our collaboration with the new director of the US Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, and his administration.  In the coming months, we hope to work with them on changes that will encourage innovation and continued investment in research toward life-improving and life-saving medicines for patients.

Big news in HIV/AIDS today!

For the first time, an experimental HIV vaccine seems to cut the risk of infection, researchers say. The vaccine--which was a combination of two earlier experimental vaccines--was given to about 16,000 people in Thailand, in the largest vaccine trial of its type.

(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Our hometown Phillies happen to be on a major tear these days, hitting their stride right as we enter the critical run-up to October.  When things go well, they go very well indeed as with yesterday's amazing triple-play by second baseman Eric Bruntlett.

Leading the hated NY Mets 9-7 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Bruntlett made a triple play to end the game ...by...him...self.

This is only the second time a major leaguer has made this play unassisted.

Bruntlett's historic play provides us an opportunity to shamelessly plug another triple play, but one that can't be pulled off single-handedly.

This one is about healthcare (natch) and it is the triple play we believe must serve as the fundamental basis for any changes we make to the current health system in our county.

Our triple play--a triple solution, really--rests on healthcare reform that focuses on the PREVENTION of chronic diseases that come with such extraordinary costs; enhances and broadens ACCESS to treatments for the right patients at the right time; and ensures continued investment in INNOVATION so that our country continues to provide cutting edge treatment and care.

That is a gameplan where everyone will win.

A recent Harris Poll of 1000+ adults showed that scientists and doctors ranked alongside firefighters as the occupations most respected by the American public.  It seems to me this is good news that demonstrates our country has its head on right.  (Ironically, despite the 24-7 barrage of celebrity info - we'll, actually, maybe because of it -- the numbers were not as promising for actors with only 15% of respondents affixing prestige to that job.)

These results brought to mind a Health Care Blog post I'd seen sometime back.  The post, "Innovation + Economics: Keys To Successful Health Care Reform," by Dr. Albert Waxman, makes the point that increased investment in healthcare technology is essential to seizing an opportunity to create a "new healthcare economy."

Dr. Waxman, who in addition to running a venture capital fund also serves as New Mexico's Healthcare Commissioner, bemoans the lack of investment in healthcare innovation: