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PrintPOLL RESULTS
A three-member panel that advises President George W. Bush on cancer-related issues urged increased funding for research in a new report. What would be the primary reason we haven't made greater progress against cancer? Is it:
Inadequate funding : 25%
Cancer is more complex than originally thought : 50%
Emphasis has been placed in the wrong areas : 0%
Only now do we have the genetic understanding to make real progress : 25%
Of the immediate appointments the next President will make when he takes office, which are you most concerned about?
FDA : 40%
NIH : 0%
SEC : 0%
Treasury : 20%
Other : 40%
Where will the Dow Jones Industrial Average bottom out?
We're there : 10%
7500 or higher : 40%
6500 or higher : 40%
5500 or higher : 0%
Anybody's guess : 10%
The $700 billion bailout has people singing. What song tells it like it is for financing a biotech company right now?
(Don't Fear) The Reaper : 25%
You can't always get what you want : 0%
Not Fade Away : 25%
Dream On : 25%
I Believe I Can Fly : 25%
Prospects for the rest of this year are dim, but how many biotech IPOs do you think will be completed in 2009?
More than 30 : 0%
20-29 : 0%
10-19 : 42%
1-9 : 42%
None : 14%
The U.S. Food And Drug Adminstration has released guidelines governing genetic engeineering of animals for food, drugs, and medical devices. This will
Provide needed regulation and oversight : 80%
Stimulate investment in this area : 0%
Set off a public panic : 0%
All of the above : 20%
Election Revisited: What issue will decide the 2008 presidential election?
Economy : 71%
Healthcare : 7%
Iraq : 7%
Energy : 7%
Lipstick : 7%
The controversy over vaccinating children
Is understandable : 0%
Shows some parents don't understand science : 16%
Shows some parents don't trust science : 16%
Shows some parents don't trust the pharmaceutical industry : 66%
Is the United States at risk of losing its competitive advantage in science, technology and innovation?
Already has : 16%
Great Risk : 50%
Moderate Risk : 25%
No Risk at all : 8%
The National Institutes of Health is facing its sixth year of flat funding. Which Presidential candidate do you think will most aggressively boost investment in biomedical reserach?
McCain : 28%
Obama : 71%
Neither : 0%
Genentech has rejected Roche's $89 a share bid for the company. What price will it take for Roche to close the deal?
More than $95 a share : 0%
More than $105 a share : 60%
More than $115 a share : 20%
More than $120 a share : 0%
More than $125 a share : 20%
Gene doping - the use of gene therapy to enhance the performance of elite athletes - is already banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Do you think gene doping threatens the integrity of the Olympics?
This is not a threat. : 0%
It's important to stay ahead of the cheaters : 25%
This is already a problem. : 25%
I want to see someone run a three-minute mile. : 50%
Researchers have found a drug that mimics the effects of exercise in mice. If it works in humans, would you
use it rather instead of going to the gym? : 60%
workout out the old fashioned way? : 40%
The director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute warned his faculty and staff to limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer. How a big a health threat would you need to limit use of your cell phone.
An authoratative study : 42%
A government warning : 14%
Having friends or family who develop cancer irrefutably as a result of cell phone use : 28%
When you pry it from my cold, dead hands : 14%
How do you think the biotechnology stocks will perform in the second half of 2008?
Significantly outperform the general market : 44%
Modestly outperform the general market : 55%
Modestly underperform the general market : 0%
Significantly outperform the general market : 0%
The pharmaceutical industry has revised its code for interactions with healthcare professionals. What do you think it takes to have undue influence with the typical physician today?
Pad of logo-emblazoned Post-It notes : 10%
Lunch : 20%
Dinner with wine : 10%
Gas money : 40%
Honorarium of $500 or more : 20%
Other : 0%
Earlier this month, British regulators gave approval to researchers at Warwick University to create a human-pig embryo to study heart disease. Would you call the creation of such human-animal chimeras
Back to the Future : 25%
Much Ado About Nothing : 25%
Weird Science : 37%
The Island of Dr. Moreau : 12%
The state of California recently issued cease and desist letters to consumer genetic tests makers saying that only doctors can order such tests. Should consumers be allowed to order tests on their own?
Yes : 75%
No : 25%
Are state governments doing enough to support the life science innovation either through direct investment or policies
Yes : 0%
States need to be more aggressive financially : 12%
States need to be more aggressive in the policy arena : 12%
States need to be doing a lot more in every way to remain competitive : 75%
If you are attending BIO 2008 this year, are you primarily going to
Learn about trends : 28%
Build contacts : 28%
Raise money : 0%
Make deals : 28%
The Journal of Life Sciences : 14%
New evidence suggests red wine can slow aging. If a pill with the anti-aging compound found in red wine were available, would you
take the pill : 40%
take the pill, but never with fish : 0%
take the pill, but wash it down with red wine : 30%
just be sure to drink plenty of red wine : 30%
Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, told Reuters new requirements meant to improve the safety of new drugs is delaying some new drug approvals. Is this a case of
Regulators finally giving safety the attention it deserves : 55%
A bow to political pressure at the expense of patient needs for new therapies : 44%
John McCain, a cancer survivor who could become the oldest man ever elected president, has released his health records to the media. Will his age and health be a factor in your decision at the polls?
Age and health are both factors : 44%
Age doesn't matter, but I'm concerned about his health : 22%
Health doesn't matter, but I'm concerned about his age : 11%
A candidates age and health are not an issue for me : 22%
Drug companies are arguing that U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval should preempt state liability suits. Should people be prevented from suing companies over problems caused by an FDA approved product?
It's an important legal protection for drug makers : 62%
It's bad public policy : 37%
World Health Organization officials recently warned that the threat of pandemic influenza has not diminished. Do you think the U.S. government is taking adequate steps to stop the spread of the virus between birds and prepare for a possible pandemic?
Yes : 11%
No : 88%
Congress has passed a bill to bar discrimination based on a person's genes. This will
Accelerate the field of personalized medicine : 27%
Provide important safeguards in a brave, new world : 27%
Make the lawyers happy : 0%
All of the above : 45%
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering a $1 million prize for the first person to devise a commercially viable means of producing in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012. Would you eat in vitro meat?
Yum, yum, get me some : 14%
I'll eat anything with ketchup : 7%
I only eat meat that's walked : 57%
In vitro or in vivo, I'm a vegetarian : 21%
Congressional Democrats want drug labels to identify a medication's active ingredient and where it was manufactured. Would you say this is best described as
An overdue protection : 38%
Harmful to industry : 15%
Election year politicking : 46%
An advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering what measures are needed to ensure safety in human clinical trials involving the therapeutic use of human embryonic stem cells. Do you think
The FDA will be too cautious in determining the risks, and slow the technology : 71%
The FDA will be too aggressive in advancing the technology without adequate safeguards : 14%
The FDA will hit a proper balance between safety concerns and patient benefits. : 14%
Should health insurance companies be allowed to charge someone more for coverage because of information obtained through a genetic test?
Yes : 21%
No : 78%
As the nation seeks ways to curb healthcare spending, the budget for the National Institutes of Health remains flat. Does this represent a legislative disconnect on the role innovation will play in cutting healthcare costs?
Yes, innovation will play a critical role in cutting healthcare spending : 87%
No, there's no relation between investment in research and healthcare costs : 12%
The death of a prominent right-to-die advocate in France has reignited a debate about euthanasia there. Do you think
Assisted suicide should be legalized : 83%
Assisted suicide should be illegal, but passive euthanasia allowed : 8%
Risk of abuse would be too great to allow : 8%
Life is too sacred to allow : 0%
A group of leading research institutes are warning that five years of flat budgets for the NIH is threatening the nation with the loss of a young generation of researchers to other countries and other careers. How big a threat is a flat NIH budget?
As big as they say : 72%
A problem, but no long-term damage : 27%
No threat at all : 0%
The American College of Physicians, the nation's second largest physician group, is calling for programs and funding for rigorous scientific research into the medicinal uses of marijuana. Would you say
The federal government should encourage and fund such research. : 100%
The federal government should maintain current policies. : 0%
Dude, I forgot the last option. : 0%
What is the biggest problem facing the FDA?
Safety : 22%
Speed : 11%
Funding : 22%
Management : 44%
If the film The Graduate were made today, instead of "plastics," the advice to Dustin Hoffman's character would be?
Stem cells : 25%
RNAi : 8%
Nanotechnology : 25%
Combination devices : 0%
Biofuels : 41%
How long will it take to make the $1,000 human genome a reality?
1 year : 15%
3 years : 46%
5 years : 23%
10 years : 7%
It will never happen : 7%
GSK CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier blasted the media as the company warned falling sales of its diabetes drug Avandia would take a bigger-than-expected toll on earnings. Would you say
Garnier is right that journalists need to be more sophisticated when they report scientific news? : 28%
reporters exacerbated the problems with Avandia? : 14%
he should worry less about the media and more about R&D? : 42%
all of the above? : 14%
Election update: Which candidate will be best for the biotech industry?
Hillary Clinton : 20%
Barack Obama : 26%
John McCain : 20%
Mitt Romney : 33%
In October, we asked readers what issue will dominate the 2008 presidential election. We're asking again. Is it
Iraq : 11%
Healthcare : 0%
The economy, stupid : 88%
The FDA says food from a cloned animal is safe. Would you eat meat from a cloned animal?
Yes : 58%
No : 16%
I'm a vegetarian : 25%
The low level of new drugs approved in 2007 was most attributable to
Weak research and development : 28%
Tough regulatory environment : 28%
High cost of drug development : 28%
It is difficult to find safe and effective compounds not already approved : 14%
The biotech sector raised $2 billion in 28 IPOs in 2007. This year we'll see
Fewer IPOs, and less money raised. : 22%
Fewer IPOs, but more money raised. : 44%
More IPOs, but less money raised. : 11%
More IPOs, and more money raised. : 22%
Which sector will be the best performer in 2008?
Pharmaceutical : 5%
Biotech : 33%
Medical Devices : 22%
Diagnostics : 38%
Which regulatory issue will be the biggest concern for the industry in 2008
Patent reform : 22%
Follow-on / generic biologics : 22%
post-market surveillance : 44%
Comparative effectiveness : 11%
The pharmaceutical industry will remember 2007 as a year defined by
acquisitions and licensing deals : 30%
medical breakthroughs : 0%
restructurings : 10%
safety concerns : 60%
The Human Genetics Commission in the UK wants genetic tests sold directly to the public to be independently reviewed before reaching the market. Should such tests be subjected to a pre-market review before they can be sold to consumers?
Yes : 77%
No : 22%
If scientists can transform skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells, then the political controversy will
End : 15%
Shift to federal research spending on regenerative medicine : 25%
Continue because embryonic stem cell research will still need to proceed : 60%
If a genetic test showed you had an elevated risk of heart disease would you
Begin a diet and exercise plan : 61%
Take that trip around the world you always wanted to take : 0%
Do nothing because what will be, will be : 16%
Buy new running shoes and wear them while watching sports on TV : 22%
The latest poll results show the public doesn't trust the pharmaceutical industry. Do people make a distinction between pharma and biotech?
The public views them as the same industry : 55%
The public draws distinctions between the two : 44%
Is healthcare a right?
Yes : 25%
No : 25%
No, but it should be : 50%
If you were a stock analyst would you say Amgen is a
Buy : 14%
Sell : 28%
Hold : 57%
Given the role of obesity in chronic disease, we should
Tax fattening foods. : 11%
Charge overweight people more for health insurance. : 16%
Do more to educate people about health and nutrition. : 50%
Encourage restaurants to provide healthier choices. : 5%
Let people eat what they want to eat. : 16%
What issue will dominate the 2008 presidential election?
Iraq : 58%
Healthcare Reform : 23%
The economy : 11%
Other : 5%
Which presidential candidate will be best for the biotech industry?
Hillary Clinton : 42%
John Edwards : 0%
Rudolph Giuliani : 14%
Barack Obama : 7%
Mitt Romney : 7%
Fred Thompson : 28%
What's the biggest barrier to making personalized medicine a reality?
Science : 15%
Investment : 0%
Business models : 15%
Reimbursement : 46%
Regulation : 23%
Will new powers for the FDA protect the public from unsafe drugs?
Yes : 71%
No : 0%
It will make no difference : 28%
- Thousands of cancer patients could be denied a new drug
The Telegraph - Pension plan sues to stop Lilly buyout of ImClone
Reuters - A Rise in Kidney Stones Is Seen in U.S. Children
The New York Times - US warns Bayer over aspirins containing supplements
Reuters - UCC debate to fuel calls for national stem cell policy
Irish Times - Total artificial heart to be ready by 2011: research team
AFP - Credit crunch threatens investment in medicines
The Times - Quickly Vetted, Treatment Is Offered to Patients
The New York Times - Businesses Wary of Details in Obama Health Plan
The New York Times - Sales of Test for Ovarian Cancer Halted
The New York Times