Patients who take a close look at medical science in search of treatments are often appalled by what they discover. On the one hand, there's academic research, a self-contained and self-absorbed universe of its own where data may be internally consistent (on a good day) and robustly reproducible, yet often has little relevance to real-world clinical conditions.

Drug makers aren't chasing blockbusters like Lipitor anymore, or uncovering compounds the same way.

Without profound changes in the scientific and regulatory environment, things will remain very tough for the agile disruptor -- relatively good news for established giants, presumably less good news for patients and for progress.

Marketing-driven clinical pharmaceutical trial intend to increase sales and profits but also yield enormous benefits for patients.

Why are so many investors boors?

I’m not talking about a couple of bad eggs here or there.  As far as I can tell, there’s a distinctive phenotype that may not describe all investors, but certainly seems to capture far more than chance alone would dictate.

Boors, you ask? ...

While controversy has raged over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) handling of drug safety, a lower-profile but equally important debate has centered on the FDA’s role in the development and commercialization of the most innovative kinds of new drug treatments for cancer and other conditions that have long defied...

While controversy has raged over the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) handling of drug safety, a lower-profile but equally important debate has centered on the FDA's role in the development and commercialization of the most innovative kinds of new drug treatments for cancer and other conditions that have long defied...