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AstraZeneca International - Glossary of medical and financial terms Category: General technical and industrial > Medical and financial terms Date & country: 07/01/2008, UK Words: 147

ACE (Inhibitor)
Angiotensin-converting enzyme blocks the production of a hormone called angiotensin II. Angiotensin II narrows blood vessels and thereby raises blood pressure.

ACS
Acute Coronary Syndrome, an umbrella term used to cover any group of clinical symptoms compatible with acute myocardialischemia.

Adjuvant
Assisting in the prevention, improvement or cure of disease.

ADP
Adenosine diphosphate attaches to receptors on the surface of platelets to form blood clots.

ADR
American Depositary Receipt evidencing title to an ADS.

ADS
American Depositary Share representing one underlying Ordinary Share.

Agonist
A substance capable of binding to a molecular target to initiate or enhance a physiological reaction.

Anaesthesia
The total or partial loss of sensation, especially in relation to pain.

Analgesia
The inability to feel pain.

Antagonist
A substance capable of binding to a molecular target to neutralise or counteract a physiological reaction.

Anti-androgen
A drug that blocks the cellular uptake of testosterone by the prostate gland and used in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Anti-psychotic drug
For the treatment of the unrealistic ideas, delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (false perceptions) that can appear during depression or mania.

Aromatase inhibitor
A drug that inhibits the enzyme aromatase, which is involved in the production of the female sex hormone, oestrogen.

AstraZeneca or AstraZeneca Group
AstraZeneca PLC and its subsidiaries.

Atherosclerosis
Disease of the arteries linked to the build-up of lipids (fats) in the walls and the formation of atheromatous plaque, which contracts the lumen of these vessels.

Atrial fibrillation (AF)
Abnormal irregular heart rhythm with chaotic generation of electrical signals in the atria of the heart.

Atypical anti-psychotic drugs
Second generation drugs to treat psychosis with reduced likelihood to cause movement disorders.

Biomarker
A characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention.

Biopharmaceuticals-Biologics
A new class of systemic therapies that contain proteins (usually produced naturally by living organisms in response to disease, for example antibodies), as opposed to traditional pharmaceutical drugs that are made up of non-living chemicals.

Bipolar disorder
Any of several mood disorders characterised usually by alternating episodes of depression and mania or by episodes of depression alternating with mild non-psychotic excitement.

Bronchodilator
A drug that causes the widening of the bronchi (major air passages of the lungs).

Candidate Drug (CD)
A drug to be taken into clinical concept testing phase.

Cardiovascular (CV)
Relating to the heart and blood vessels.

CAT
Cambridge Antibody Technology Group plc.

CEE
Central and Eastern Europe.

CER
Constant Exchange Rates.

CHF
Congestive Heart Failure. A condition in which the heart`s function as a pump (to circulate blood throughout the body) is inadequate to meet the body`s needs and leads to a poor blood supply, which may cause the body`s organ systems to fail.

Cognitive disorders
The class of disorders consisting of significant impairment of cognition or memory that represents a marked deterioration from a previous level of functioning.

Corticosteroid
Any of the steroid hormones made by the cortex (outer layer) of the adrenal gland.

Cost growth rates
Percentage growth of a particular cost category over the comparable cost category for the previous year.

CR
Corporate Responsibility.

CRC
Colo-rectal cancer.

Crohn`s disease
A chronic inflammatory disorder of the bowels.

Depositary
JPMorgan Chase Bank, as depositary under the deposit agreement pursuant to which the ADRs are issued.

Diabetes
A metabolic disorder characterised by hyperglycaemia (high glucose blood sugar), among other signs, or a variable disorder of carbohydrate metabolism usually characterised by inadequate secretion or utilisation of insulin.

Directors
The Directors of the Company.

Diuretic
A drug that causes the increased passing of urine.

Dopamine partial agonists
Mimic the effects of dopamine in the brain by stimulating dopamine receptors.

Double-blind study
A clinical study in which neither the subject, nor the investigator nor the research team interacting with the subject or data during the trial knows what treatment a subject is receiving.

Drug metabolism
The biochemical modification or degradation of drugs, usually through specialised enzymatic systems.

Earnings per Share (EPS)
Profit for the year after tax and minority interests, divided by the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares in issue during the year.

EEA
European Economic Area.

Efficacy
The outcomes measured in Phase III clinical trials that indicate that the test drug has the intended benefit.

EFPIA
European Federation for Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.

EMEA
The European Medicines Agency.

Exceptional items
Significantly large items that are distinct in nature from items normally occurring during ordinary business activities.

Excipient
An inactive substance that serves as the vehicle or medium for a drug or other active substance.

Finance income and expense
Includes interest earned and payable, and similar items.

First time in man
The first time that an experimental compound is administered to a human. It implies that the compound has passed ethical review bodies and passed formal regulatory toxicology studies.

First-line therapy
Treatment given to a newly diagnosed patient, who has therefore not yet been treated.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Part of the US Department of Health and Human Services Agency responsible for development, approval, manufacture, sale and use of all drugs, biologics, vaccines and medical devices in the US.

Free cash flow
Represents net cash flows before financing activities, and is calculated as: net cash inflow before financing activities, adjusted for acquisitions of businesses, movements in short term investments and fixed deposits and disposal of intangible assets.

Gastrointestinal (GI)
Relating to the stomach and intestines.

Generic
Drugs that are copies of brand-name drugs and have regulatory approval.

Gross margin
The margin as a percentage by which sales exceed cost of sales, calculated by dividing the difference between the two by the sales figure.

Group
The Company and its subsidiaries.

Head-to-head study
A clinical trial in which two different medicines are directly compared with each other with respect to their effect on a marker of the disease or a specific event associated with the disease. (For drugs under development, this is often a comparison with a marketed drug that is seen to be the gold standard.)

High-throughput screening
The process of using automated tests to search quickly through large numbers of substances for desired binding or activity characteristics.

HKAPI
Hong Kong Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Hormone
A chemical “signal� carried in the blood.

Hydrofluoroalkanes (HFAs)
A new propellant for metered-dose inhalers that are more environmentally friendly than the current CFC-based inhalers.

Hypertension
High blood pressure.

IAS
International Accounting Standards.

IFRS
International Financial Reporting Standards.

IMS Health Inc.
Provider of pharmaceutical market data globally.

IR
Immediate release.

Ischaemic heart disease
A chronic disease caused by insufficient blood supply to the heart.

Leukotriene receptor antagonist
New type of asthma medication. They are non-steroidal medications, which are taken long term and have been shown to reduce reliever use and may also allow the asthmatic to reduce high doses of inhaled steroids.

LHRH agonist
A compound that is similar to LHRH in structure and is able to act like it.

Line extension
A new formulation, indication or presentation of a product that is already approved.

Lipid
Another word for “fat�. Lipids are one of the main constituents of plant and animal cells.

LSE
London Stock Exchange.

Medicaid
A US health insurance programme for individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Medicare
A US health insurance programme for US citizens aged 65 or older, US citizens under age 65 with certain disabilities, and US citizens of all ages with permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. Recently, Medicare began offering prescription drug coverage under Part D of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.

Metabolic syndrome
A combination of medical disorders that increase one`s risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

MHLW
Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare.

Minority interests
Share of profits that belong to non-AstraZeneca shareholders in partiallyowned subsidiaries.

Monoclonal antibody
An antibody derived from a single clone of cells; all antibodies derived from such a group of cells have the same sequence of DNA.

Monotherapy
Treatment where only one agent is given.

Myocardial infarction (MI)
A heart attack.

NCI
US National Cancer Institute.

Neuroscience
Sciences that deal with the structure or function of the nervous system and brain.

New Chemical Entity (NCE)
A new, pharmacologically-active chemical substance. The term is used to differentiate from line extensions

New Drug Application (NDA)
An application to the FDA for approval to market a drug product in the US.

Normotensive
Indicating a normal arterial blood pressure.

NSAID
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

NSCLC
Non-small cell lung cancer.

NYSE
New York Stock Exchange.

OA
Osteoarthritis.

Odontology
A science dealing with the teeth, their structure and development, and their diseases.

Oncology
The study of diseases that cause cancer.

Operating costs
Distribution costs; Research and Development (R&D) costs; and Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) costs.

Operating profit
Sales, less cost of sales, less operating costs, plus operating income.

Ordinary Shares
Ordinary Shares of $0.25 each in the capital of the Company.

Outcomes study
A large clinical trial in which the effect of a drug in preventing or delaying a specific and important medical event related to that disease area (eg the occurrence of a heart attack) is measured, rather than the effect on a marker of the disease (eg blood levels of certain enzymes).

Over the counter (OTC)
A term used for medicines that can be purchased without a prescription.

Palliative
Treatment that has no curative intent but is given to maintain quality of life and to relieve suffering in a terminally-ill patient.

Parenteral
Administered by any way other than through the mouth.

Phage
The abbreviation for bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria.

Pharmacogenomics
A biotechnological science that combines the techniques of medicine, pharmacology and genomics and is concerned with developing drug therapies to compensate for genetic differences in patients which cause varied responses to a single therapeutic regimen.