Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the General category.
A Brief FDA History Lesson
Filed in Clinical Trials, General, Legal, Research, October 23, 2007, 11:29 pm by Mariano DiFabioJust before a presentation I gave on Monday concerning Virtual Reality and its use in medicine, the group that had assembled was discussing a variety of current topics in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. One of the attendees, Peter Castellano, caught my interest when he described an article he found in the October 2007 [...]
MIT: Building a Better Manufacturing Process for Novartis for $65m
Filed in General, Research, Technology, September 28, 2007, 3:16 pm by Mariano DiFabioIn a Boston Globe article posted today, pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced that it would be contributing $65 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) over the next 10 years to create a new research program with a goal of improving the current drug manufacturing process with better technology in order to save both time [...]
The Vaccination Debate
Filed in General, Pediatric Medicine, Research, September 21, 2007, 8:30 pm by Mariano DiFabioI was making myself a snack the other night when I noticed Jenny McCarthy on the TV program my wife happened to be watching. Having not seen her as much in recent years as I did when I was younger, I was curious as to whether she was on a talk show because she [...]
Killing the Cure
Filed in General, Personal Health, August 17, 2007, 12:00 pm by Mariano DiFabioJust before I went away on vacation, I got sick. I had a runny nose, was feverish, and was generally feeling difficulty convincing myself that it was worth moving any faster than a sloth. I was therefore pretty thankful to be getting away, thinking, of course, that the rest would do my body [...]
Death by Black Box
Filed in General, Legal, August 10, 2007, 12:01 am by Mariano DiFabioGlaxoSmithKline convinced an FDA panel on August 1st to keep its best selling diabetes drug, Avandia, on the market. If you weren’t aware, the drug was removed from the market recently because it was linked to cardiovascular disease in a small percentage of patients.Three cheers for Glaxo, right? Well, not quite. The [...]
Depressed? Take a Walk.
Filed in General, Personal Health, July 20, 2007, 12:56 pm by Mariano DiFabioA few weeks ago I wrote about Acomplia, a drug manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis that was being considered by the FDA for its weight loss benefits. It had been identified as a drug with serious potential side effects, including anxiety, insomnia and depression. Since I wrote the article, the FDA panel of independent experts [...]
Environmental Responsiblity
Filed in General, Technology, June 29, 2007, 7:45 pm by Mariano DiFabioIt is fast becoming obvious that fossil fuels are more and more of a burden on today’s society. As Americans, we are particularly guilty for exacerbating the problem, making up 5% of the world’s population but causing over 25% of its pollution. The problem comes in sharp focus to me when I [...]
Biomedical Research: Massachusetts Leading the Way?
Filed in General, Research, June 22, 2007, 9:58 pm by Mariano DiFabioOriginally from the Boston area, I make it a habit to check news in that region on a regular basis. Boston.com happens to be a favorite site that gives me good exposure to the goings-on of my hometown. I was pleasantly surprised recently when a story was run on Governor Deval Patrick and his [...]
Introduction
Filed in General, May 11, 2007, 10:28 am by Mariano DiFabioFirst, let me begin by answering the burning question on your mind as you start reading this post. Who is this guy? Well, my name is Mariano DiFabio, and I’m a partner at a custom software development and management consulting company called Avelient. I’ve got a storied history in my career ranging [...]
