/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ The field of neurotechnology, the focus of this blog, encompasses advances in brain science (neurons), information technology (bits) and bioengineering (genes). Up for discussion and analysis: the political, economic, ethical, and social forces that will shape the future of what will be one of the most important and fascinating stories of the coming decades. en-us zack@neuroinsights.com 2010-02-01T12:08:27-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2010/02/01/neuropharma_fda_approvals_down_in_2009.php As we report today in this month's edition of Neurotech Insights, five of the 26 new drugs and biologics approved by the FDA were neuropharmaceuticals: Vanda/Novartis’ Fanapt for schizophrenia, Lundbeck's Sabril for infantile spasms and add-on for refractory partial seizures,... 74255@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2010-02-01T12:08:27-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2008/07/29/collabrx_arming_you_to_race_for_your_cure.php Casey, Dan and I met with Marty Tenenbaum founder of CollabRx and Tony Ley its CEO last week to get up to speed on their strategy for providing tools to patient groups and virtual biotechs to accelerate the development of... 73475@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2008-07-29T12:39:36-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2008/06/10/cder_neurotech_drug_reviewers_up_15_to_91.php The Center for Drugs Evaluation and Research is about halfway through its planned hire of 663 employees this year, and a significant portion of the new employees are division-level medical reviewers in the Office of New Drugs. So far the... 73358@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2008-06-10T12:52:18-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2007/08/06/free_online_neuropsychopharmacology_textbook.php The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology has just put a massive 134 chapter textbook online covering everything from neurotransmitters to functional imaging in psychiatry, all with free access. (Pointer, Neuroethics and Law, MindHacks). Correction 8/7: Turns out that this book is... 72560@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2007-08-06T11:08:52-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2006/07/27/pretty_pearlescent_pills_colorful_drugs_approved_by_fda.php The FDA has OK'd the use of "pearlescent pigments" in any drugs that are swallowed. The pigments, which are commonly used in cosmetics, are intended to give drugs a special, colorful look that some believe could help make these products... 62613@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2006-07-27T13:33:04-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2006/06/12/hear_this_new_hearing_loss_drug_enters_clinical_testing_from_sound_pharmaceuticals.php After receiving additional funding from DARPA this past winter Sound Pharmaceuticals has initiated clinical testing of SPI-1005 for the prevention and treatment of noise induced hearing loss. According to OSHA and the CDC, 30-40 million Americans are exposed to hazardous... 59952@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2006-06-12T12:19:23-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/11/01/obesity_the_search_for_a_skinny_pill.php The latest data from the Center of Health Statistics show that 30% of U.S. adults over 21 are obese. The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. And among children and teens, 16% are... 37615@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-11-01T11:25:22-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/11/01/arenas_obesity_drug_scores_in_phase_ii_trial.php Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) is a mid-size San Diego biotech company focused on G-coupled protein receptors (GPCR's). GPCR's are a class of receptor molecules that mediate the majority of cell to cell communication in the human body. These receptors are also... 37613@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-11-01T11:17:06-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/09/08/using_brain_scans_to_figure_out_what_women_want.php What will they think of next? MIT's Technology Review reports on the following: "Drug companies make $2.5 billion a year selling Viagra, Cialis and Levitra to help men enjoy sex. Since more women suffer from sexual dysfunction than men, developing... 4500@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-09-08T19:02:13-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/08/22/eyetech_bought_by_osi_neuropharma_ma.php From the associated press: "Shares of Eyetech soared this morning after OSI Pharmaceuticals announced it would buy the drug developer for $935 million. Eyetech developed and co-markets Macugen for macular degeneration. OSI will pay $20 per share, a 43 percent... 4492@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-08-22T19:47:07-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/06/29/insomnia_science_discussed_at_nih.php From Psychscape: A recent consensus panel was convened at NIH to discusses the specific challenges facing insomnia research and recommended a variety of studies to help clarify the disorder's underlying mechanisms, natural history, the interaction between insomnia and other conditions,... 4464@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-06-29T18:50:55-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/04/05/molecules_for_the_mind_tapping_into_the_booming_neuropharma_market_april_19th.php What challenges do entrepreneurs face in order to turn a research concept into a successful company with viable treatments? Find out on April 19th at this month's MIT/Stanford Venture Lab, where Jeffrey Ostrove, CEO of Ceregene, discusses how they overcame... 4416@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-04-05T22:07:50-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/03/09/neuropharmaceutical_approval_process_the_fdas_slow_road.php Regulation of neuropharmaceuticals and neurodevices fall under two different centers within the FDA. Pharmaceuticals are overseen by the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), while devices are overseen by the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). The Current... 4404@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-03-09T22:46:34-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/02/28/multiple_sclerosis_drug_tysabri_pulled_off_market.php Biogen Idec and Elan announced Monday they have voluntarily withdrawn Tysabri, a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis, after one patient died and another developed a serious disease of the central nervous system after taking it in combination with Avonex... 4398@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-02-28T11:05:46-05:00 http://brainwaves.corante.com/archives/2005/02/05/the_chemical_architecture_of_the_human_mind_by_tom_ray.php Last year, in a six part series, interdisciplinary neuroecoscientist Tom Ray shared a simplified version of his work on using psychedelics to probe and map the receptor space of the human mind here on Brain Waves. The following is a... 4383@/home/corante/public_html/brainwaves/ Neuropharma 2005-02-05T15:02:12-05:00