The BioAlpine Convention was last held in 2008, but the constituent organizations and individuals continue to network and pursue the goals that made the BioAlpine Convention so necessary.

While the current owners of this website are not affiliated with either the BioAlpine Convention or any of the members’ current activities or organizations, we are happy to preserve as much of the original information as possible, while (if time allows) presenting updates of interest to the BioAlpine community network, and anyone who may have been directed to these pages while searching for biotech information.

Attention all golfing families! We’re currently raising funds via a sweepstakes aimed at the golfing community. AllKidsGolfClubs has offered to provide a generous prize of several sets of 5 childrens golf clubs along with a number of accessories that will inspire any child interested in getting started with the game. Conference attendance is NOT a requirement. Tickets are only $10. Contact Greg Martin at bioalpineconvention.com for details.

There is a full roster of biotech events scheduled for 2010, all across the globe. There’s no shortage of exciting new trends and developments in the various biotech (and related) industries, so we’ll be extremely busy keeping you up to date on the major meetings, conventions, consortia and conundrums in the biotechnology world. For instance, biotechnology is in the forefront designing, fabricating and fitting high quality prosthetic and orthotic devices for all sorts of patients’ needs. Each prosthesis or orthosis is custom designed for each patient with many factors in mind.

Interestingly, even wigs and other hair alternatives are part of the mix for meeting patients needs. Many people will initially get fitted for either synthetic or human hair wigs professionally at a land based store. But once a person is comfortable with selecting hair alternatives, they will often then go on to buy their wigs at online wig stores. For those of you who are not familiar with hair alternatives, human hair wigs offer for the ultimate in style, luxury, and for many people, most importantly realism. Since human hair wigs can be heated with flat or curling irons, the styling possibilities allow women and men to change their look according to their mood. Human hair wigs offer unprecedented longevity when compared to their synthetic wig counterparts. Consequently, many women are willing to pay the higher cost for a human hair wig. But the higher cost does prevent many from being able to afford them. That’s where the new technology comes in. Companies like Estetica wigs from ElegantWigs.com have perfected synthetic hair wigs that come with the look of human hair without the price. We live in amazing times where hair products – whether they are made from synthetic fibers or human hair are advancing in what seems like leaps and bounds with new advances in synthetic fibers and cap constructions.

As usual, the schedule is dominated by the unstoppable biopharma juggernaut, so we’ll have plenty for those of you who are interested in the relationships between drug companies, venture capital, and related parties looking for partnerships.

Consider all the advances being done in medicine. One of the areas affected by new research is in the treatment of alcoholism. Think of the number of people you know who have a drinking problem that is serious enough so they ended up in rehab or a trying to follow a 12 step, abstinence free problem AND have failed. Doctors in Europe have been prescribing baclofen as the primary treatment for people who drink excessively. Unlike 12 step programs in the US that require abstinence such as AA , doctors in Europe are trying a new approach. They say that alcoholism is not a disease, but a symptom of a larger psychological issue. On the other hand you read about how the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) as a “chronic relapsing brain disease”. Anyway, Baclofen removes or strongly suppresses cravings for alcohol in 92% of people. Initial clinical trials show that Baclofen has a 65% success rate for treatment-resistant alcoholics , allowing them to return to low- or medium-risk drinking. That’s right, this treatment doesn’t require abstinence although many people do stop all drinking. Suffice to say that programs that combine medication (baclofen) to remove cravings along with behavior changes via psychotherapy to rewire one’s habits are more successful than those old standard methods. Now some of you may object to this last example. After all Biotech drugs differ from pharmaceutical drugs in that they use biotechnology as a means for manufacturing, which involves the manipulation of microorganisms, such as bacteria, or biological substances, like enzymes, to perform a specific process. You are correct. Interestingly this drug to prevent alcoholism originally was developed to help relieve painful spasm, automatism, as well as clonus from a number of neurological diseases associated with spasm of the skeletal muscles. It is only relatively recently doctors are using it to treat excessive drinking.

In 2009 it turned into a flurry of activity (due to biotech NOT imploding, the venture money NOT drying up, and a number of high-profile drug patents nearing the end of their useful life) and 2010 reap as many if not more juicy results. Now jump ahead to 2019 and see what’s happening. Biologics have revolutionized the treatment of many serious and chronic illnesses and have nudged traditional small-molecule drugs out of the top sales slots. Rheumatoid arthritis, certain cancers, and diabetes have the greatest numbers of dedicated biologic treatments.

Biologics are changing the ways doctors treat common conditions that have plagued individuals for years. The 10 drugs on the list all have exceeded the monetary definition of a “blockbuster” which designates a drug as having generated more than $1 billion in annual sales. Figures are based on 2018 sales data reported by the respective manufacturers for revenues generated in 2017.
• Humira
• Rituxan
• Enbrel
• Herceptin
• Avastin
• Remicade
• Lantus
• Neulasta
• Avonex
• Lucentis