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Venture Philanthropy on the Rise

U.S. Disease foundations will invest about $75 million this year in biopharmaceutical companies to fund discovery and development of new drugs and therapies for their corresponding diseases. This year's figure represents a 10-fold increase since 2000, and the figure should continue to rise. This new avenue of industry funding has been dubbed "venture philanthropy."

FDA's Guidance on Supervisory Responsibilities of Investigators

The FDA's new guidance document on investigators' supervisory responsibilities is useful for both experienced investigators and novices who want to understand FDA's latest thoughts about how they conduct clinical research.

EMEA's Bold Appointment Reflects Agency's New Broader Roles

Professor Hans-Georg Eichler, a clinical pharmacologist from the University of Vienna, took on the newly created post of senior medical officer at the European Medicines Evaluation Agency in February. In an exclusive interview with CenterWatch, he describes the agency's broadening scope and how this will affect the process of obtaining marketing authorizations for new drugs in Europe.

Eye On: Melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma is a malignancy of skin cells known as melanocytes that contain pigment and color the skin. Less frequently, melanoma may also develop within the eye (intraocular or ocular melanoma). According to the American Cancer Society, there were 62,000 cases of melanoma in the United States in 2006, which caused 8,000 deaths.

Also in this issue:

• Month in Review
• TrialWatch
• Opportunities Initiating