Prescription Drugs Online

Presents findings from a survey conducted in May and June 2004. Looks at issues of convenience and trust in purchasing prescriptions online, drug-related spam, and future implications

Docking-based virtual screening of known drugs against murE of Mycobacterium tuberculosis towards repurposing for TB.

Repurposing has gained momentum globally and become an alternative avenue for drug discovery because of its better success rate, and reduced cost, time and issues related to safety than the conventional drug discovery process. Several drugs have already been successfully repurposed for other clinical conditions including drug resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). Though TB can be cured completely with the use of currently available anti-tubercular drugs, emergence of drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the huge death toll globally, together necessitate urgently newer and effective drugs for TB. Therefore, we performed virtual screening of 1554 FDA approved drugs against murE, which is essential for peptidoglycan biosynthesis of M. tuberculosis. We used Glide and AutoDock Vina for virtual screening and applied rigid docking algorithm followed by induced fit docking algorithm in order to enhance the quality of the docking prediction and to prioritize drugs for repurposing. We found 17 drugs binding strongly with murE and three of them, namely, lymecycline, acarbose and desmopressin were consistently present within top 10 ranks by both Glide and AutoDock Vina in the induced fit docking algorithm, which strongly indicates that these three drugs are potential candidates for further studies towards repurposing for TB

The implications of WTO accession on the pharmaceutical industry in China

Given the limited capabilities of R&D and global distribution channels, and the virtual non-existence of patented drugs, the Chinese pharmaceutical industry has little chance to enter the global market of Western prescription drugs and compete with the established global giants head-on. The reality is that they are chasing a moving target and their competitors are becoming bigger and stronger day by day. The substantial reduction of import tariffs and the granting of comprehensive trading and distribution rights to foreign-financed firms following WTO accession, effectively tilted the level-playing field against the Chinese pharmaceutical industry. Given the short-term competitive advantages of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry on Chinese drugs, three development strategies are suggested: (1) consolidate the local market of herbal and generic drugs; (2) market Chinese drugs via the Internet; and (3) outsource R&D and collaborative marketing

Taking Drugs to Help Others

Every day the news shows us provoking stories about what's going on in the world, about events which raise moral questions and problems. In Philosophers Take On the World a team of philosophers get to grips with a variety of these controversial issues, from the amusing to the shocking, in short, engaging, often controversial pieces. This chapter covers drug use, making you think again about the judgements we make on a daily basis and the ways in which we choose to conduct our lives

The Future of Generic Biologics: Should the United States “Follow-On” the European Pathway?

The United States is embarking on a biotechnology drug revolution. In the last few decades, biotech drugs have saved millions of lives, and the market for these miracle cures continues to grow at an astronomical rate. Unfortunately, as the market for biotech drugs is skyrocketing, drug prices are following suit. As Congress strives to make these new drugs more affordable, it must not ignore significant safety concerns unique to these revolutionary therapies. Congress should follow the lead of the European Union to create an accessible pathway for generic forms of biotech drugs that includes strict regulatory measures to ensure drug safety and efficacy

Entry in the ADHD drugs market: Welfare impact of generics and me-toos

Recent decades have seen a growth in treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) including many branded and generic drugs. In the early 2000's, new drug entry dramatically altered market shares. We estimate a demand system for ADHD drugs and assess the welfare impact of new drugs. We find that entry induced large welfare gains by reducing prices of substitute drugs, and by providing alternative delivery mechanisms for existing molecules. Our results suggest that the success of follow-on patented drugs may come from unanticipated innovations like delivery mechanisms, a factor ignored by proposals to retard new follow-on drug approvals

Drosophila modifier screens to identify novel neuropsychiatric drugs including aminergic agents for the possible treatment of Parkinson's disease and depression.

Small molecules that increase the presynaptic function of aminergic cells may provide neuroprotection in Parkinson's disease (PD) as well as treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression. Model genetic organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster may enhance the detection of new drugs via modifier or 'enhancer/suppressor' screens, but this technique has not been applied to processes relevant to psychiatry. To identify new aminergic drugs in vivo, we used a mutation in the Drosophila vesicular monoamine transporter (dVMAT) as a sensitized genetic background and performed a suppressor screen. We fed dVMAT mutant larvae ∼ 1000 known drugs and quantitated rescue (suppression) of an amine-dependent locomotor deficit in the larva. To determine which drugs might specifically potentiate neurotransmitter release, we performed an additional secondary screen for drugs that require presynaptic amine storage to rescue larval locomotion. Using additional larval locomotion and adult fertility assays, we validated that at least one compound previously used clinically as an antineoplastic agent potentiates the presynaptic function of aminergic circuits. We suggest that structurally similar agents might be used to development treatments for PD, depression and ADHD, and that modifier screens in Drosophila provide a new strategy to screen for neuropsychiatric drugs. More generally, our findings demonstrate the power of physiologically based screens for identifying bioactive agents for select neurotransmitter systems