POLL RESULTS


May 17, 2008
Drug companies are arguing that U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval should preempt state liability suits. Should people be prevented from suing companies over problems caused by an FDA approved product?

It's an important legal protection for drug makers : 0%

It's bad public policy : 0%



May 09, 2008
World Health Organization officials recently warned that the threat of pandemic influenza has not diminished. Do you think the U.S. government is taking adequate steps to stop the spread of the virus between birds and prepare for a possible pandemic?

Yes : 11%

No : 88%



May 02, 2008
Congress has passed a bill to bar discrimination based on a person's genes. This will

Accelerate the field of personalized medicine : 27%

Provide important safeguards in a brave, new world : 27%

Make the lawyers happy : 0%

All of the above : 45%



April 24, 2008
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering a $1 million prize for the first person to devise a commercially viable means of producing in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012. Would you eat in vitro meat?

Yum, yum, get me some : 14%

I'll eat anything with ketchup : 7%

I only eat meat that's walked : 57%

In vitro or in vivo, I'm a vegetarian : 21%



April 18, 2008
Congressional Democrats want drug labels to identify a medication's active ingredient and where it was manufactured. Would you say this is best described as

An overdue protection : 38%

Harmful to industry : 15%

Election year politicking : 46%



April 12, 2008
An advisory panel for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering what measures are needed to ensure safety in human clinical trials involving the therapeutic use of human embryonic stem cells. Do you think

The FDA will be too cautious in determining the risks, and slow the technology : 71%

The FDA will be too aggressive in advancing the technology without adequate safeguards : 14%

The FDA will hit a proper balance between safety concerns and patient benefits. : 14%



April 04, 2008
Should health insurance companies be allowed to charge someone more for coverage because of information obtained through a genetic test?

Yes : 21%

No : 78%



March 28, 2008
As the nation seeks ways to curb healthcare spending, the budget for the National Institutes of Health remains flat. Does this represent a legislative disconnect on the role innovation will play in cutting healthcare costs?

Yes, innovation will play a critical role in cutting healthcare spending : 87%

No, there's no relation between investment in research and healthcare costs : 12%



March 21, 2008
The death of a prominent right-to-die advocate in France has reignited a debate about euthanasia there. Do you think

Assisted suicide should be legalized : 83%

Assisted suicide should be illegal, but passive euthanasia allowed : 8%

Risk of abuse would be too great to allow : 8%

Life is too sacred to allow : 0%



March 13, 2008
A group of leading research institutes are warning that five years of flat budgets for the NIH is threatening the nation with the loss of a young generation of researchers to other countries and other careers. How big a threat is a flat NIH budget?

As big as they say : 72%

A problem, but no long-term damage : 27%

No threat at all : 0%



March 07, 2008
The American College of Physicians, the nation's second largest physician group, is calling for programs and funding for rigorous scientific research into the medicinal uses of marijuana. Would you say

The federal government should encourage and fund such research. : 100%

The federal government should maintain current policies. : 0%

Dude, I forgot the last option. : 0%



February 28, 2008
What is the biggest problem facing the FDA?

Safety : 22%

Speed : 11%

Funding : 22%

Management : 44%



February 22, 2008
If the film The Graduate were made today, instead of "plastics," the advice to Dustin Hoffman's character would be?

Stem cells : 25%

RNAi : 8%

Nanotechnology : 25%

Combination devices : 0%

Biofuels : 41%



February 15, 2008
How long will it take to make the $1,000 human genome a reality?

1 year : 15%

3 years : 46%

5 years : 23%

10 years : 7%

It will never happen : 7%



February 08, 2008
GSK CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier blasted the media as the company warned falling sales of its diabetes drug Avandia would take a bigger-than-expected toll on earnings. Would you say

Garnier is right that journalists need to be more sophisticated when they report scientific news? : 28%

reporters exacerbated the problems with Avandia? : 14%

he should worry less about the media and more about R&D? : 42%

all of the above? : 14%



February 01, 2008
Election update: Which candidate will be best for the biotech industry?

Hillary Clinton : 20%

Barack Obama : 26%

John McCain : 20%

Mitt Romney : 33%



January 24, 2008
In October, we asked readers what issue will dominate the 2008 presidential election. We're asking again. Is it

Iraq : 11%

Healthcare : 0%

The economy, stupid : 88%



January 18, 2008
The FDA says food from a cloned animal is safe. Would you eat meat from a cloned animal?

Yes : 58%

No : 16%

I'm a vegetarian : 25%



January 11, 2008
The low level of new drugs approved in 2007 was most attributable to

Weak research and development : 28%

Tough regulatory environment : 28%

High cost of drug development : 28%

It is difficult to find safe and effective compounds not already approved : 14%



January 06, 2008
The biotech sector raised $2 billion in 28 IPOs in 2007. This year we'll see

Fewer IPOs, and less money raised. : 22%

Fewer IPOs, but more money raised. : 44%

More IPOs, but less money raised. : 11%

More IPOs, and more money raised. : 22%



December 27, 2007
Which sector will be the best performer in 2008?

Pharmaceutical : 5%

Biotech : 33%

Medical Devices : 22%

Diagnostics : 38%



December 18, 2007
Which regulatory issue will be the biggest concern for the industry in 2008

Patent reform : 22%

Follow-on / generic biologics : 22%

post-market surveillance : 44%

Comparative effectiveness : 11%



December 11, 2007
The pharmaceutical industry will remember 2007 as a year defined by

acquisitions and licensing deals : 30%

medical breakthroughs : 0%

restructurings : 10%

safety concerns : 60%



December 05, 2007
The Human Genetics Commission in the UK wants genetic tests sold directly to the public to be independently reviewed before reaching the market. Should such tests be subjected to a pre-market review before they can be sold to consumers?

Yes : 77%

No : 22%



November 24, 2007
If scientists can transform skin cells into embryonic-like stem cells, then the political controversy will

End : 15%

Shift to federal research spending on regenerative medicine : 25%

Continue because embryonic stem cell research will still need to proceed : 60%



November 14, 2007
If a genetic test showed you had an elevated risk of heart disease would you

Begin a diet and exercise plan : 61%

Take that trip around the world you always wanted to take : 0%

Do nothing because what will be, will be : 16%

Buy new running shoes and wear them while watching sports on TV : 22%



November 07, 2007
The latest poll results show the public doesn't trust the pharmaceutical industry. Do people make a distinction between pharma and biotech?

The public views them as the same industry : 55%

The public draws distinctions between the two : 44%



October 30, 2007
Is healthcare a right?

Yes : 25%

No : 25%

No, but it should be : 50%



October 23, 2007
If you were a stock analyst would you say Amgen is a

Buy : 14%

Sell : 28%

Hold : 57%



October 16, 2007
Given the role of obesity in chronic disease, we should

Tax fattening foods. : 11%

Charge overweight people more for health insurance. : 16%

Do more to educate people about health and nutrition. : 50%

Encourage restaurants to provide healthier choices. : 5%

Let people eat what they want to eat. : 16%



October 09, 2007
What issue will dominate the 2008 presidential election?

Iraq : 58%

Healthcare Reform : 23%

The economy : 11%

Other : 5%



October 03, 2007
Which presidential candidate will be best for the biotech industry?

Hillary Clinton : 42%

John Edwards : 0%

Rudolph Giuliani : 14%

Barack Obama : 7%

Mitt Romney : 7%

Fred Thompson : 28%



September 24, 2007
What's the biggest barrier to making personalized medicine a reality?

Science : 15%

Investment : 0%

Business models : 15%

Reimbursement : 46%

Regulation : 23%



September 21, 2007
Will new powers for the FDA protect the public from unsafe drugs?

Yes : 71%

No : 0%

It will make no difference : 28%