PhRMA reports on 633 biotech drugs in pipeline

A new report on the biotechnology drug pipeline has been issued by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which finds that 633 new products are under development by its members. The document was launched in Michigan, which happens to be a closely-contested state in next month's US presidential elections, although the reason given by the trade group was "the growing prominence of the state's biotech sector in developing and testing cutting-edge medicines."

The life sciences industry in the northern US state is one of the country's fastest growing regions, with 112 biotechnology companies formed there since 2000. By contrast, the total number of such firms in France is 117, according to the French drug industry group, LEEM, (Marketletter October 15, 2007).

Ken Johnson, the PhRMA's senior vice president, said: "the biotechnology revolution is helping create medicines that use unprecedented technologies, such as nano-sized particles that seek out and kill viruses, ways to actually regenerate healthy muscle to replace damaged heart tissue, and gene therapy."