overview of biotech (lect 1) Flashcards
What drug is Pfizer known for and what does it do?
Lipitor (atorvastatin).
It is an anti-hypercholesterolemic drug for lowering LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride.
State a side effect of Lipitor
hepatotoxicity
What type of drug is Lipitor
Statin, an enzyme inhibitor
Name a drug produced by Abbot/Abbvie and state its function
Humira (adalimumab) is a monoclonal antibody used to treat inflammatory diseases e.g. rheumatoid arthritis.
It is a maintenance (long term) medication
State 2 mab drugs form BMS that are used to treat cancer.
Yervoy which is anti-CTLA4.
Opdivo which is anti-PD1
CTLA4 and PD1 are protein receptors down regulating immune system. They are called immune checkpoint proteins.
State an upcoming cancer drug (mab)
Mercks’ Keytruda, which is used to treat head and neck squamous cell cancer
What is the best selling insulin in the market right now?
Lantus (it is a biobetter)
What enzyme does Lipitor inhibit?
HMG CoA reductase
What happens when a patent expires?
the intellectual property will be
part of the public domain; Others will be free to use and market the invention; the
patent inventor may stop receiving patent-related royalties.
What is ‘patent cliff’?
-expiration of patents for leading branded products
-competitors to introduce generic versions at lower prices.
-decline in revenue for drugmakers
-cost relief for patients seeking more affordable alternatives.
What is combinatorial chemistry?
Combinatorial chemistry is a synthesis strategy that enables the simultaneous
production of large numbers of related compounds. These sets are referred to as
libraries and they can be used in any discovery project associated with high-throughput analysis capabilities.
Combinatorial chemistry involves the generation of a large array of structurally
diverse compounds, called a chemical library, through systematic, repetitive and
covalent linkage of various “building blocks”. Once prepared, the compounds in the chemical library can be screened, concurrently, for individual interactions with biological targets of interest. Positive compounds can then be identified.
State the purpose of Provenge?
PROVENGE vaccine for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic
metastatic castration-resistant (i.e. hormone refractory) prostate cancer.
State some anti-VEGF (mab) drugs
Avastin, Lucentis, Eylea and SYFOVRE
What is the name of the hormone that is used to increase erythrocyte production?
Erythropoietin
