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Read our latest stories on the people and scientific innovations making a difference in patients’ lives.
Science & Innovation
A New Road to Migraine Relief
Migraine, a debilitating neurological disorder,1 affects over a billion people globally.2,3 The cause of migraine remains an active area of research–experts believe genetics, the nervous system, and the brain's blood vessels are involved in the condition.4,5 The majority of people have episodic migraine, experiencing between 0-14 days of headache per month.6 On the other hand, those with chronic migraine experience 15 or more days of headaches a month, with at least 8 of those days caused by...
Science & Innovation
In Celebrating 175 Years, Pfizer Challenges Itself to ‘Outdo Yesterday’
Image caption: Site of the Pfizer World Headquarters Building as it Appeared in 1861It started with a breakthrough.The year was 1849, and people everywhere were getting sick to their stomachs. In the days before widespread refrigeration, a simple meal of meat and potatoes could cause intestinal worms. A drug called santonin could kill the parasites, but it tasted so bitter many people avoided it.Charles Pfizer and his cousin, Charles Erhart, had just immigrated to the U.S. from Germany and...
Science & Innovation
Mathematical Sandbox: How Quantitative Systems Pharmacology Steers Safer, Faster Drug Development
Fear and anxiety swirled when Dr. Cynthia J. Musante’s husband contracted COVID-19. He faced agreater risk of coming down with a severe case since he was already unwell.But all their worries vanished in just 24 hours.Dr. Musante recalls that her husband soon started to feel better after being prescribed an investigational oral treatment for those with COVID-19. “It felt like a miracle,” he said. “I had felt so horrible.”As relief settled in, Dr. Musante felt something else: pride.After all, from...
Science & Innovation
From Math to Medicine: What Are Mathematical Models and How Do They Predict Pharmacology?
It sounds strange, but predicting how medications impact diseases and the body is a lot like forecasting the weather.To understand why, imagine opening a weather app on your smartphone to check the forecast for the upcoming weekend. You see that it’ll be sunny, 72 degrees, with a slight breeze—perfect weather. But how did scientists predict those precise physical conditions so far in the future?The answer: mathematical models.Scientists across disciplines use mathematical models to make...
Science & Innovation
The Science Behind Migraine and Headaches
If you've never had a migraine attack, it’s hard to imagine how a headache can knock someone out of commission. Perhaps you've even referred to a headache as “having a migraine.” But if you're among the one billion people worldwide who lives with migraine, you fully understand how debilitating an attack can be.1 The pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound can make it impossible to work or care for your family. No wonder migraine is the second leading cause of disability.2 Understandin...
Science & Innovation
What Are Biosimilars and How Do They Expand Treatment Options for Patients?
If you’ve experienced sticker shock in the pharmacy and considered not filling a prescription because of the cost, you’re not alone. Recent data shows that almost 13 million Americans delayed filling a prescription or didn’t fill it at all because of the cost.1 In an era of rising drug prices, getting lower-cost medicines in the hands of more people who need them is critical not only for the pharmaceutical industry, but also, and most importantly, for patients. Biosimilars make cutting-edge...
Science & Innovation
Can You Inherit Rheumatoid Arthritis? Genetic vs Hereditary
Inflammation that leads to pain, swelling, stiffness, fatigue, and loss of joint function, are a fact of life for more than one million people in the United States who live with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).1 The chronic autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack the healthy tissues surrounding the joints; it mainly affects the wrists, hands and knees (and often attacks numerous joints at once).2Is rheumatoid arthritis genetic? In addition to risk factors such as age, sex, smoking and...
Science & Innovation
Biologics vs. Biosimilars: Understanding the Difference
Maybe you’ve heard of biologics and biosimilars. You might even be taking biological or biosimilar medicines to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, or other health conditions. Still, maybe you have questions about what the differences and similarities are or how these drugs are developed.Biologics revolutionized the prevention, treatment, and outlook of many serious diseases. Now, biosimilar advancements in these drugs are helping to provide expanded access to...
Science & Innovation
Cancer Biomarkers: Paving the Way for Better Lung Cancer Treatment
Receiving a lung cancer diagnosis may inspire a lot of questions: Will my cancer spread? What are the best treatment options for my type of lung cancer? How well do treatments work?There are no one-size-fits-all answers to questions about lung cancer—and that can be a good thing. Scientific advances have led to the practice of “precision medicine” or treatments tailored to patients based on the genes and proteins found in their tumor. In cancer treatment, it involves looking at changes in the...
Science & Innovation
What Makes an RNA Vaccine Different From a Conventional Vaccine?
Vaccines are one of the greatest health interventions ever developed. They’ve been cited as being as important to keeping communities healthy as having access to clean water and safe sanitation.1Through scientific investment and ingenuity, today we have multiple vaccine technology platforms that have helped us control and, in some cases, eradicate many healthcare challenges such as polio, river blindness, smallpox, and COVID-19, just to name a few.In 2020, messenger RNA, or mRNA for short, was...
Science & Innovation
How Access to Biosimilar Drugs Could Boost Healthcare Equity
Access. Affordability. Health Equity. These are more than just industry buzzwords; they have real world implications which have a tremendous impact on patients’ lives. For instance, in 2018, racial health disparities were linked to $93 billion in excess medical costs.1 More recently, in 2021 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services delivered a report which measured healthcare quality, access, and disparity. It concluded that “compared with white groups, the number of measures that were...
Science & Innovation
Green Chemistry: A More Sustainable Approach to Medicine Development
Credit: Getty Images In 1962, Rachel Carson galvanized public interest in the environmental effects of chemicals. Her book "Silent Spring" detailed how common pesticides were killing not only insects, but also birds, larger animals, and even humans.1 Chemicals are essential to so many products people rely on in their daily lives, from phones and cars to medications. But these items can be produced in ways that have fewer negative effects on the environment, human health, and society. Since the...
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