Due to the combination of personal compatibility with pharmaceutical effectiveness, it will be increasingly possible to harmonise the particular therapy with the patient's genetic makeup for drug metabolism, absorption, transport, and elimination, leading to a predictive medicine.
Nanoparticles will play one of the most important roles in future drug based therapy, due to their unique biological, chemical and physical properties.
The magnetic/ thermal behaviour of certain types of nanoparticles combined with other specific properties opens a wider spectrum of therapeutical methods such as nanoparticles based thermotherapy.
The deepened and more distinctive knowledge about the very specific acting agent, its predictable interaction with the target, its kinetic and predictable metabolism within the body in the forefront of any drug internalisation will lead to shortened experimentally validated approvals.
Against the background of an expected annual growth rate of the medical devices market by 5 -- 6% and medical imaging systems representing about 8 % of the total devices market7, this is a surprising result because the segments imaging tools and imaging agents, including contrast media and radiopharmaceuticals, can certainly benefit from an advanced technology, based on a deeper understanding of materials and cellular activities.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Key Points - Gen IV Nuclear Energy Systems Roadmap
There are currently 438 nuclear power plants in operation around the world, producing 16% of the world's electricity---the largest share provided by any nongreenhouse-gas-emitting source.
The organization and execution of the roadmap became the responsibility of a Roadmap Integration Team that is advised by the Subcommittee on Generation IV Technology Planning of the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee (NERAC).
As preparations for the Generation IV Technology Roadmap began, it was necessary to establish goals for these nuclear energy systems.
In addition to overall summaries regarding fuel cycles and overall sustainability, the section describes missions and economic outlook, approach to safety and reliability, and path forward on proliferation resistance and physical protection.
As a reference case, the FCCG determined waste generation and resource use for the once-through cycle.
The traditional mission for civilian nuclear systems has been generation of electricity, and several evolutionary systems with improved economics and safety are likely in the near future to continue fulfilling this mission.
Eight candidate reactor designs were evaluated with respect to six commercialization and regulatory readiness criteria, including advanced boiling water reactors, pressurized water reactors, and gas-cooled reactors.
Crosscutting R&D for evaluation methods is found in the Crosscutting R&D sections on fuel cycles, risk and safety, economics, and proliferation resistance and physical protection.
The organization and execution of the roadmap became the responsibility of a Roadmap Integration Team that is advised by the Subcommittee on Generation IV Technology Planning of the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee (NERAC).
As preparations for the Generation IV Technology Roadmap began, it was necessary to establish goals for these nuclear energy systems.
In addition to overall summaries regarding fuel cycles and overall sustainability, the section describes missions and economic outlook, approach to safety and reliability, and path forward on proliferation resistance and physical protection.
As a reference case, the FCCG determined waste generation and resource use for the once-through cycle.
The traditional mission for civilian nuclear systems has been generation of electricity, and several evolutionary systems with improved economics and safety are likely in the near future to continue fulfilling this mission.
Eight candidate reactor designs were evaluated with respect to six commercialization and regulatory readiness criteria, including advanced boiling water reactors, pressurized water reactors, and gas-cooled reactors.
Crosscutting R&D for evaluation methods is found in the Crosscutting R&D sections on fuel cycles, risk and safety, economics, and proliferation resistance and physical protection.
Key Points - Biopharmaceutical Industry Roadmap
The proposals are aimed at strengthening early-stage companies so that they can advance further along the development chain: from proof-of-principle to Phase I, II and III clinical trials and finally to full regulatory approval of their therapies.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death exceeded only by heart disease, is poorly served by traditional chemotherapies and a major opportunity area for drug development.
Research to find connections between diseases, molecular targets such as an enzyme or receptor protein implicated in the disease process (biology phase), and drug molecules (chemistry phase) capable of modulating the biological activity of the target.
Drug discovery is often perceived as a process that proceeds linearly from gene discovery to gene function (target identification) followed by target validation, combinatorial chemistry, high-through-put screening, hit selection, and lead optimization.
Cancer, the second leading cause of death exceeded only by heart disease, is poorly served by traditional chemotherapies and a major opportunity area for drug development.
Research to find connections between diseases, molecular targets such as an enzyme or receptor protein implicated in the disease process (biology phase), and drug molecules (chemistry phase) capable of modulating the biological activity of the target.
Drug discovery is often perceived as a process that proceeds linearly from gene discovery to gene function (target identification) followed by target validation, combinatorial chemistry, high-through-put screening, hit selection, and lead optimization.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Review - Biopharmaceutical Industry Roadmap
This post is a review of the Canadian Biopharmaceutical Industry Technology Roadmap.
The roadmap document presents a detailed analysis of the challenges facing the Canadian biopharmaceutical industry today. It concludes with a set of recommendations to overcome these challenges.
Pros:
- The roadmap document provides an excellent overview of the industry so that the casual reader can understand the background and context of the discussion.
- The roadmap document describes not only the challenges facing the industry, but provides insight into why those challenges exist.
- The roadmap document abstracts the challenges facing the industry into two qualitatively different areas: scientific challenges and commercialization challenges; a useful abstraction for other technology roadmaps as well.
- The roadmap document contains an excellent (recurring) graphic which presents challenges along dimensions which represent the lifecycle of both drug development and company development (click on image to enlarge).
Cons:
- The bulk of the roadmap document discusses the challenges facing the biopharmaceutical industry, representing only the top layer of the canonical roadmap (i.e. "why"). The middle layer (i.e. "what") is addressed only to the extent of providing a list of recommendations addressing the scientific and commercialization challenges. The bottom layer (i.e. "how") is not addressed.
- There is no real timeline, either explicit or implicit within the document, hence the term "roadmap" is not descriptive of the document.
Summary:
In summary, the Biopharmaceutical Industry Roadmap is an excellent reference for anyone who would like to understand the state of the industry today and the challenges that it faces. It provides a vehicle for follow-on work to paint a) the goals and objectives of the Canadian industry partners over a strategic timeframe (i.e. what the industry is going to do) and b) the R&D efforts that will support those initiatives (how the industry is going to do it).
Z
The roadmap document presents a detailed analysis of the challenges facing the Canadian biopharmaceutical industry today. It concludes with a set of recommendations to overcome these challenges.
Pros:
- The roadmap document provides an excellent overview of the industry so that the casual reader can understand the background and context of the discussion.
- The roadmap document describes not only the challenges facing the industry, but provides insight into why those challenges exist.
- The roadmap document abstracts the challenges facing the industry into two qualitatively different areas: scientific challenges and commercialization challenges; a useful abstraction for other technology roadmaps as well.
- The roadmap document contains an excellent (recurring) graphic which presents challenges along dimensions which represent the lifecycle of both drug development and company development (click on image to enlarge).
Cons:
- The bulk of the roadmap document discusses the challenges facing the biopharmaceutical industry, representing only the top layer of the canonical roadmap (i.e. "why"). The middle layer (i.e. "what") is addressed only to the extent of providing a list of recommendations addressing the scientific and commercialization challenges. The bottom layer (i.e. "how") is not addressed.
- There is no real timeline, either explicit or implicit within the document, hence the term "roadmap" is not descriptive of the document.
Summary:
In summary, the Biopharmaceutical Industry Roadmap is an excellent reference for anyone who would like to understand the state of the industry today and the challenges that it faces. It provides a vehicle for follow-on work to paint a) the goals and objectives of the Canadian industry partners over a strategic timeframe (i.e. what the industry is going to do) and b) the R&D efforts that will support those initiatives (how the industry is going to do it).
Z
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Review - Gen IV Nuclear Energy Systems Roadmap
This article is a brief review of the Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Roadmap.
The roadmap represents a joint effort among participating countries who are hoping to develop the next generation of nuclear reactors by the year 2030.
Overall, the roadmap document is of excellent quality, addressing all elements of the canonical roadmap (why, what, how and when).
The roadmap develops a series of timelines representing the activities and decision points within each of the most promising research areas associated with nuclear reactor technology (click on image to enlarge):
Of particular note is the identification of outstanding issues that need to be addressed/resolved in order for each of the selected technology alternatives to (ultimately) pan out.
Another important contribution of the roadmap is the identification of research activities that cut across and therefore have the potential to support multiple technology alternatives.
If there is a deficiency with this document, I can't find it.
Your comments are welcome.
Z
The roadmap represents a joint effort among participating countries who are hoping to develop the next generation of nuclear reactors by the year 2030.
Overall, the roadmap document is of excellent quality, addressing all elements of the canonical roadmap (why, what, how and when).
The roadmap develops a series of timelines representing the activities and decision points within each of the most promising research areas associated with nuclear reactor technology (click on image to enlarge):
Of particular note is the identification of outstanding issues that need to be addressed/resolved in order for each of the selected technology alternatives to (ultimately) pan out.
Another important contribution of the roadmap is the identification of research activities that cut across and therefore have the potential to support multiple technology alternatives.
If there is a deficiency with this document, I can't find it.
Your comments are welcome.
Z
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Review - Aluminium Transformation Roadmap
This is a high-level review of an excellent technology roadmapping example -- the Canadian Aluminium Transformation Technology Roadmap.
Pros:
- The roadmap document contains an informative and authoritative overview of the aluminium industry in Canada, effectively presenting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the industry today. In the canonical roadmap model, this overview represents the top-most layer, capturing the business drivers.
- The roadmap document contains an innovative and effective way to present the canonical middle roadmap layer, representing "what" the industry plans to do in response to the identified business drivers. While referred to as "opportunities" as opposed to "products and services", the idea is the same; each opportunity includes textual and graphical symbology which tells us the priority, timeframe, complexity and economic impact associated with it (click on image to enlarge):
Cons:
- The roadmap does not delve into the canonical bottom layer representing "how" we might execute on the opportunities identified previously, but instead presents a set of four overall recommendations. The net result is a lack of focus or insight into the potential solutions to specific challenges facing the aluminium industry.
Summary:
- The Canadian Aluminium Transformation Technology Roadmap is an excellent artifact, effectively capturing the "why" and "what" layers of the canaonical roadmap. The ground work has been laid for follow-on efforts to address the "how" layer.
Pros:
- The roadmap document contains an informative and authoritative overview of the aluminium industry in Canada, effectively presenting the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the industry today. In the canonical roadmap model, this overview represents the top-most layer, capturing the business drivers.
- The roadmap document contains an innovative and effective way to present the canonical middle roadmap layer, representing "what" the industry plans to do in response to the identified business drivers. While referred to as "opportunities" as opposed to "products and services", the idea is the same; each opportunity includes textual and graphical symbology which tells us the priority, timeframe, complexity and economic impact associated with it (click on image to enlarge):
Cons:
- The roadmap does not delve into the canonical bottom layer representing "how" we might execute on the opportunities identified previously, but instead presents a set of four overall recommendations. The net result is a lack of focus or insight into the potential solutions to specific challenges facing the aluminium industry.
Summary:
- The Canadian Aluminium Transformation Technology Roadmap is an excellent artifact, effectively capturing the "why" and "what" layers of the canaonical roadmap. The ground work has been laid for follow-on efforts to address the "how" layer.
Review - Quantum Computation Roadmap
A particularly good roadmapping example is the Quantum Computation Roadmap (QCR)
The purpose of the QCR is to coordinate research in quantum computing across a number of laboratories and institutions around the world.
Two semantic elements used to great effect in the roadmap are "status" (denoted by green, yellow and red bubbles) and "promise" (denoted by green, yellow and red triangles); each approach to overcoming obstacles in quantum computing is associated with subjectively-assigned status and promise values. Status tells us how far along a particular idea has come (ranging from "it's still an idea" all the way to "we are good to go"). Promise tells us the likelihood that a given idea, if implemented successfully, will actually address the problem it is supposed to solve (ranging from "this might possibly work, but who knows" to "if this idea works, we are gold").
The only thing that is really lacking in the roadmap is a graphical timeline view, which must be reverse-engineered from the documentation (click for larger image):
Nonetheless, this is a minor deficiency and the result is a living document that provides a vehicle for coordination and communication within the quantum computing community.
The purpose of the QCR is to coordinate research in quantum computing across a number of laboratories and institutions around the world.
Two semantic elements used to great effect in the roadmap are "status" (denoted by green, yellow and red bubbles) and "promise" (denoted by green, yellow and red triangles); each approach to overcoming obstacles in quantum computing is associated with subjectively-assigned status and promise values. Status tells us how far along a particular idea has come (ranging from "it's still an idea" all the way to "we are good to go"). Promise tells us the likelihood that a given idea, if implemented successfully, will actually address the problem it is supposed to solve (ranging from "this might possibly work, but who knows" to "if this idea works, we are gold").
The only thing that is really lacking in the roadmap is a graphical timeline view, which must be reverse-engineered from the documentation (click for larger image):
Nonetheless, this is a minor deficiency and the result is a living document that provides a vehicle for coordination and communication within the quantum computing community.
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