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The article focuses on the objectives of Dr. Sunil Shaunak, founder of PolyTherics Ltd. in Great Britain, and Dr. Victoria Hale, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of OneWorld Health in the U.S., to create medicines for the world's poorest countries. Shaunak uses biomedical polymers to maximize biopharmaceuticals in the treatment of common diseases. While Hale states that they have developed new medicines through entrepreneurial and nonprofit model.

The article focuses on the basis of comparative clinical testing in the U.S. Pfizer Inc. has conducted a major multinational study involving some 20,000 patients to compare the safety of its COX-2 inhibitor Celebrex with the over-the-counter painkillers, ibuprofen, and naproxen. The National Cancer Institute also had head-to-head comparison of breast cancer therapies.

Focuses on the efforts of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect consumers from deceiving or misleading direct-to-customer (DTC) advertisements. Increase in the amount of DTC advertisements; Discovery made by the FDA that some DTC advertisements does not entirely convey a truthful message; Rules imposed by the FDA concerning truthful promotional and advertising messages for pharmaceutical products. INSETS: FDA'S MISSION: PROTECT AND ADVANCE;THE COLLEGIAL RELATIONSHIP: AN ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTE;COPING WITH THE BIOGENETIC REVOLUTION.

Presents a panel discussion concerning on medical advertising participated by the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame. Views about direct promotion to consumers; Speculations of the conditions in advertising professional media; Impact of the multi-people sales forces in the agency business. INSET: The Medical Advertising Hall of Fame: REMEMBERING THE PIONEERS.

Highlights the HealthExpo exhibit at the Texas State Fair. Appearance of celebrity chefs and athletes; List of sponsors; Promotion of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Interviews advertising agency founder and principal Tom Ferguson on changes and trends in medical advertising in the United States. Founding of Thomas Ferguson Associates; More complex market place; Demands of electronic communication; Personal relationship as key to success for the healthcare agency; Greater demands on the younger generation. INSET: Thomas Ferguson Associates--a profile..

Presents a roundtable discussion on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs in the United States. Impact of DTC on health care marketing; Relationship between the medical and consumer agencies; Effects of DTC on the market research discipline; Physicians' attitudes toward DTC campaigns. INSET: Squaring the round-table, by Michael J. Sinapi..

Presents a panel discussion examining the training needs of product managers in the pharmaceutical industry. Adequacy of current marketing and marketing communications training in the industry; Importance of product managers' training to effective marketing; Qualifications of product managers; Impact of the team concept on training.

Interviews president Dwayne Hann of Blunt Hann Healthcare Marketing Inc. Relationships of mergers and acquisitions of mid-size agencies; Selection of agencies; Involvement of consultants in the agency selection process. INSET: The BHS Group--a Profile.

The article focuses on the 2008 predictions for the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. According to Jami Rubin of Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc., the Democrats take over the White House and Dr. Steven Nissen, the Cleveland Clinic cardiologist an industry bogeyman, is appointed head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Rubin added that Merck & Co. Inc. will monopolize the new product story in 2008, and will continue to do so going forward.

The article focuses on the PharmaCorps workshops by PhRMA to provide the public with accurate information regarding the value of medicine in the U.S. According to Ed Belkin, PhRMA VP for communication and public affairs and Christian Clymer, senior director, there are half a million people who are potential spokespersons for the industry, while there are also people critical about the state of healthcare. Therefore he challenges his people to respond and present the facts.

The author reflects on the significance of motivation in medical care. He pointed out that routine courtesy in care giving and therapeutics gives encouragement to therapists to do good in their work and patients to be cooperative in the therapy. He implies that the historical perspective of routine courtesy helps survived and flourished spasm of industry problems.

The article reports on developments in the field of genomics as of February 2006. The National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute are jointly planning to spend $100 million over three years on a pilot project designed to sequence some 1,000 to 2,000 genes. DeCode has identified a genetic variation said to raise the risk of heart attack in African-Americans by more than 250%.

The article focuses on the developments related to the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. in 2005. There was rejection of two referendum propositions by voters in California. Two Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. executives were indicted for business frauds. Serono SA settled federal charges which said that the company submitted fraudulent test data for its AIDS drug Serostim. Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, said that the reason for high drug costs is consumer advertising. Andrew von Eschenbach was appointed as the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

The article informs that as the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services struggles with the regulations that will apply when the Medicare Part D drug benefit, replacing the stopgap discount cards, it proves once again how devilish details can be. Having supported passage of the Medicare Modernization Act, it turns out that the prescription drug industry could get badly hurt by its implementation. Billions of dollars are at stake. The new Medicare drug benefits will be managed by private health plans, and each plan will establish its own formulary. Right from the start, that provision split the free-market coalition, pitting the drug industry against pharmacy benefit management and insurance companies.

Profiles Bob Osborn, senior vice president of Dowden Health Media. Job responsibilities; Career history.