Kevin Gopal

London-Government and industry have agreed there should be no weakening of patent protection in the effort to speed access to medicines in the developing world.

A new task force will examine European pharma}s competitiveness, innovation, and commitment to public health. The "G10" is not, as it may sound, an enlarged grouping of the world}s leading industrialized countries. It}s actually far more important than that.

Brussels-Two types of mutual recognition procedures are necessary to ensure that generics get to market as quickly as possible, according to the European Generics Medicines Association.

Pretoria, South Africa-Few people noticed that the ground had begun to crumble under Big Pharma when, after the failed World Trade Organization talks in Seattle, Washington, the Clinton administration indicated that it would take note of the effects of its trade policies on healthcare in developing countries. Multinational companies had hitherto been able to take the support of governments for granted when it came to policing intellectual property, but Clinton's move indicated a major shift in policy. Few noticed, because the rhetoric wasn't immediately matched by reality. In fact, the US government continued to pressure countries whose intellectual property protection seemed too weak. Then the new Bush administration, thought to be an unwavering ally of the pharmaceutical industry, indicated it would continue the Clinton policy.

Uniondale, New York, USA-Thirty-eight companies submitted proposals to develop OSI-774, OSI Pharmaceuticals' lead cancer candidate, making it the most sought-after compound of 2000. The statistic was revealed with some satisfaction by Myrtle Potter, chief operating officer of Genentech, the joint winner-along with Roche, its majority stockholder-at the Economist Conferences' annual pharmaceuticals conference.

London-The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has decided that Roche's Xenical (orlistat) should be available from the National Health Service for managing obesity and its related problems, but it should not be viewed as a slimming pill.

London, UK-Changes to the law on human embryo research could herald a new era for UK biotech research. The government feared its proposals to allow the cloning of embryos as sources for stem cells for research would be thrown out by the House of Lords-where a powerful body of opinion holds that they represent a slippery slope toward reproductive cloning-but the proposals passed by a surprisingly large majority.

Sodertalje, Sweden-After two consecutive years of robust postmerger growth, AstraZeneca is facing a tough 2001. The company recorded a 16 percent increase in pretax profits for 2000, but CEO Tom McKillop advises that this year}s growth will be in the 5}6 percent range when Losec/Prilosec (omeprazole)-the world}s best-selling medicine-goes off patent and the US launch of its successor Nexium (esomeprazole) is delayed.

Huntingdon, UK-Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract research organization under siege by animal rights activists, secured its short-term future through a refinancing package offered by overseas institutions.