PharmQD

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues finds that, through 2019, an expanding aging population and increases in diagnosis and drug treatment will fuel steady 4.6 percent annual growth in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drug market.

The Pharmacor 2010 findings from the topic entitled Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease reveal that the COPD drug market, which totaled nearly $8.4 billion in 2009, will reach more than $13 billion in 2019 in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and Japan. The findings also reveal that the drug-treated COPD population will increase by nearly 6 million patients over the next decade. Although two maintenance therapies currently dominate the COPD market--GlaxoSmithKline's Advair/Seretide/Adoair and Boehringer Ingelheim/Pfizer's Spiriva--the near-term market will become fractured owing to the launch of new agents and generic erosion of key brands.More »

A new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) epidemiologists has found that women who took over-the-counter decongestants during their pregnancies are less likely to give birth prematurely.

Preterm birth -- deliveries at less than 37 weeks' gestation­ -- is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in developed countries, but its causes remain largely unknown, said Rohini Hernandez, the study's lead author and a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at BUSPH. In the United States, the rate of preterm delivery has increased from 9.5 percent in 1981 to 12.3 percent in 2008.More »