Patent cliff mitigation strategies: giving new life to blockbusters

Giving Life to Agent Interactions

Agent UML (AUML) is an extension of the standard objectoriented modelling language UML adapted for agent-based systems. In AUML sequence diagrams are extended to describe specific dynamic aspects of agents including dynamic role assignment, nondeterministic choice in agent decisions and concurrent communication. These diagrams are used to describe agent interaction protocols. We describe some o...

Are new drug combinations a solution to both the patent cliff and lack of new CNS products?

Until recently, the modern pharmaceutical industry has never stopped growing since the mid-1800s. Drugs such as morphine, quinine, amphetamine, antidepressants, barbiturates, insulin, anti-inflammatory drugs and many others have generated extensive revenues for the so-called Big Pharma [1]. Unfortunately, several significant changes have occurred a few years ago. The 2008 worldwide crisis has b...

Biosimilar medicines: creating sustainable competition in an era of a new patent cliff in biological medicines

For many years European governments have sought to ensure a high degree of competition in off-patent pharmaceutical markets in order to generate price competition and consequently benefits such as improved patient access or savings for payers after patent expiry. The pharmaceutical industry believes that access to valuable new treatments and post-exclusivity competition are essential for the su...

New Product Blockbusters: The Magic and Science of Prediction Markets

Giving new life to out-of-print books: when publishers' and libraries' interests meet

The Library of the Université Libre de Bruxelles and Editions de l’Université de Bruxelles (EUB), the University’s publishing imprint, have recently agreed to collaborate to provide free online access to recent outof-print books published by EUB. The e-books are available on the Digithèque website, a collection of digital copies of printed books created by the Library. This initiative is valuab...