France's LEEM issues 2006 drug overview

The French drug industry association (LEEM) has published its annual overview of the progress made by the sector in 2006. According to the LEEM, the treatment of 58 medical conditions has been noticeably improved in the past year in areas as diverse as oncology to neurology, from cardiovascular diseases to metabolic disorders.

Presenting the report at a press conference in Paris, France, Robert Dahan, chairman of the LEEM's scientific affairs commission, noted that "the annual average of about 50 significant innovations remains on course."

Dr Dahan added that the level of innovation was all the more satisfactory as the R&D process is mutating and regulatory bottle-necks are causing increasing problems. He singled out the explosion of knowledge brought about by genomics and proteomics as offering "immense territories for investigation, at the heart of the basic mechanisms of pathologies." The LEEM, however. also warned that "strategic choices" need to be taken at the European Union level "to increase the productivity of the discovery process by eliminating the bottle-necks that strangle" the drug industry's R&D efforts.