More than 900 Biotech Drugs in the Pipeline

America's biopharmaceutical research companies are developing 901 biotechnology medicines and vaccines to address cancer, arthritis, diabetes, and other debilitating and life-threatening diseases, reports the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). These include 353 for cancer and related conditions, 187 for infectious diseases, 69 for autoimmune diseases, and 59 for cardiovascular diseases, PhRMA announced in a press release.

“Biotechnology can offer patients and their doctors better healthcare choices that save and improve life. New therapies are changing how some human diseases are prevented and others are treated,” said PhRMA President and CEO John J. Castellani in the release.

Approved biotechnology medicines already treat or help prevent heart attacks, stroke, multiple sclerosis, leukemia, hepatitis, congestive heart failure, lymphoma, kidney cancer, cystic fibrosis, and other diseases, PhRMA reports. According to the report, there are 300 monoclonal antibodies, a laboratory-made version of the naturally occurring immune system protein that binds to and neutralizes foreign invaders; 298 vaccines, a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease; 23 antisense drugs, medicines that interfere with the communication process that tells a cell to produce an unwanted protein; and 20 interferons, proteins that interfere with the ability of a cell to reproduce.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $49.4 billion in 2010 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $67.4 billion in 2010.

For more details visit http://www.phrma.org.