Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Study: Forget the 'Blockbusters'
A study whose results were reported December 8 asserts that the pharmaceutical industry's “blockbuster” approach to developing new drugs is no longer viable in today's marketplace. The study, conducted by Bain & Co., a business consulting firm with offices in 19 countries, found that the costs for discovering, developing and launching each new drug had risen to $1.7 billion, an increase of 55% over the average costs for the 5 years from 1995 to 2000. Driving costs upward, the study reports, are declining R&D productivity (one drug compound for every 13 discovered and placed in clinical trials now makes it to market, compared to one in eight between 1995 and 2000), rising costs of commercialization, increasing payor influence (including aggressive patent challenges) and shorter exclusivity periods. These rising costs are expected to drive down investment returns.
One of the co-authors of the study, Ashish Singh, director of Bain's Global Healthcare Practice, opines that large pharmaceutical concerns will need to abandon their present drug development models if they are to remain competitive, but they have thus far failed to do so because they are “prisoner[s] of past successes.” The study suggests that a better strategy for pharmaceutical product development would include increased use of partnerships to spread risk, a more customer-driven approach and development of a more decentralized organizational model based on discrete business units.
For more information, see the Bain Web site at www.Bain.com.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.