Former Yugoslav prime minister Milan Panic, who until recently had
been at the helm of ICN Pharmaceuticals for 42 years, has bought
the ICN Biomedicals division for $15 million.
Novo Nordisk has sent out the first batch of bulk insulin from a
new facility at its site in Kalundborg, Denmark, that is producing
more than a third of the world's supply.
The resurgence of merger and acquisition activity in the biotech
industry shows little sign of letting up, with US companies IDEC
Pharmaceuticals and Biogen the latest to step up to the altar
The market for cell culture products is getting a lift from
stringent regulations from the US FDA and Department of
Agriculture, restricting the importation and usage of foetal bovine
serum
There is a growing trend towards patients self-medicating with
over-the-counter products rather than asking their doctors for a
prescription medication, and this promises to benefit companies
involved in pharmaceutical packaging,...
KS Avicenna, the Canadian unit of KS Biomedix of the UK, launched a
newly expanded contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in
Canada, to service both North American and European clients, at the
start of the BIO 2003 meeting,...
Applied chemistry company Solutia has completed the latest phase of
a new containment facility to support the supply of highly potent
active pharmaceutical ingredients
GeneMedix and Penang Development of Malaysia have signed a letter
of intent that will see the two establish a new company in the
latter country's second city, at a cost of $34 million (€29m), for
the development, manufacture...
US biotechnology company Biogen has decided to postpone
construction of a large production plant at Hillerød in Denmark,
just three months after breaking ground on the facility
Transgenic drug production company PPL Therapeutics has been rocked
by a decision by Germany's Bayer to walk away from their protein
development partnership, placing the future of the Scottish firm at
risk
Canadian label printer Invesprint has sold its 65 per cent interest
in Jay Packaging Group, handing 100 per cent control of the latter
firm to its senior management team
The demands of the pharmaceutical industry are driving strong
growth in the market for outsourced chiral technologies, according
to a report from Frost & Sullivan
DSM Biologics has dissolved its relationship with Qiagen and
Valentis regarding the pAlliance, a consortium supplying
ultra-pure, stable DNA plasmids and formulated DNA
Great Lakes Fine Chemicals has invested $8 million ($6.7m) in a
program aimed at upgrading its pharmaceutical ingredient
manufacturing facilities in Holywel, Wales
Unigen Pharmaceuticals has expanded its sales presence in Europe
and Latin America by signing agency and distribution agreements
with six international corporate partners
ConjuChem, a company specialised in improving the formulation of
peptide drugs, has said that it is aiming to raise around C$12
million (€7.6m) in a new private placement round
Switzerland's Bachem SA, which specialises in the manufacture and
sale of bulk peptides and related organic chemicals as active
ingredients for the pharmaceutical industry, has announced that it
expects full-year sales growth...
Caliper Technologies has announced its intention to acquire
laboratory automation, liquid handling and robotics specialist
Zymark in a deal valued at around $71 million in cash and stock.
Germany's Chiracon, a specialist in novel raw and starting
materials for high-value pharmaceuticals, has joined the circle of
Startup-Partners, the central capital marketing agency for Berlin.
Sam Waksal, the disgraced former chief executive of US
biotechnology company ImClone Systems, is due for sentencing today
and could receive a jail sentence as well as significant fines.
Isis Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly say they have reached a mutually
beneficial renegotiation of their manufacturing relationship for
cancer drug Affinitak
Millennium Pharmaceuticals has said that it plans to cut around 600
jobs and wind down some of its manufacturing operations as it seeks
to reach profitability by 2006
ICOS has entered into a biologics manufacturing agreement with Eli
Lilly, in which the Bothell, Washington-based firm will manufacture
two clinical candidates
Patheon Italia has extended its manufacturing services agreement
with Roche to continue to supply the Swiss firm with solid, liquid
and sterile products for the European market.
Xenova of the UK has been awarded a two-year contract by Sweden's
Pharmexa for the manufacture of a vaccine in clinical trials as a
treatment for breast cancer and other tumours.
Schroder Ventures Life Sciences has raised $402 million (€344m) for
its biotechnology investment fund, providing a signal that venture
capital may at last be turning its head back in the direction of
the sector.
Baxter Healthcare of the US says it is planning a seven-year, $100
million (€85m) expansion of its parenteral contract manufacturing
services for pharma and biotech companies.
Swiss chemicals group Lonza has said that a new small-scale
production plant at its Visp site will come on stream in July and
will boost its services in the area of exclusive manufacturing of
pharmaceutical products.
UK-based packaging company Rexam has reached an agreement to
acquire all the shares of Risdon Pharma Development, a plastic
pharmaceutical packaging business, for €125 million in cash.
Cambrex has initiated a project aimed at constructing a new
facility to accommodate four cGMP-compliant suites dedicated to
cell therapy manufacturing. The company said the expansion would
increase its manufacturing capacity by 100...
Just over a year after acquiring the FSG business from Vivendi for
$360 million (€307m), Pall Corp has reported a healthy hike in
fiscal third-quarter sales and profits and once again raised its
earnings forecast for 2003.
Akzo Nobel's Diosynth unit has signed a multi-year contract to
manufacture and supply the active pharmaceutical ingredient for
Pfizer's growth hormone receptor antagonist Somavert. The value of
the agreement was not disclosed,...
Aldo Magnini has been appointed managing director of Clariant's
pharmaceuticals ingredients manufacturing business in Italy, based
around the company's two manufacturing plants in Origgio and Isso.
Japanese drugmaker Eisai is planning to double the production
capacity for its two top-selling drugs - Pariet and Aricept - by
2004, with an investment of ¥9 billion (€65m).
UK firm Cobra Bio-Manufacturing has announced its intention to
undertake a placing and open offer to raise £4.65 million (€6.45m)
to fund the purchase of an additional manufacturing plant in
Cowley, Oxford.
UK company SkyePharma is expecting to achieve turnover of £100
million (€139m) in 2003, which would represent a rise of around 40
per cent over last year. However, the company has warned that the
lion's share of this total would...
Speciality chemical company Rohm and Haas has created a new
business unit, Advanced Biosciences, that specialises in the
production and purification of biopharmaceuticals. The new unit is
well placed to address the shortfall in production...
The European Commission has given the go-ahead for Germany to grant
a proposed €78 million in aid to help Merck KGaA build a new
biopharmaceuticals plant for the production of oncology products in
Jena, Thuringen.
Switzerland's Solvias AG, a specialist in scientific and technical
services and products based on synthesis and analysis, has reported
a healthy 20 per cent hike in 2002 sales to SF43.6 million
(€28.6m). The increase was driven...
US pharmaceutical major Eli Lilly has earmarked a hefty £220
million (€304 million) investment over the next four years in its
UK facilities, representing the largest investment by the firm in
any European country.
US pharmaceutical major Pfizer reinforced its position as the
world's largest drug company in 2002 after putting in sales of
$29.45 billion (€25.12 bn) in 2002, a hike of 11 per cent over the
prior year, according to a new analysis...
As this edition of In-pharmatechnologist.com goes online, the US
Food and Drug Administration is convening the inaugural meeting of
its Advisory Committee for Pharmaceutical Science's Manufacturing
Subcommittee.
The Smart Active Labels Consortium is to present its first seminar,
titled "Smart Active Labels for Temperature Tracking: Shaping
the Future of Food/Pharmaceutical Distribution," on June 10 -
11 in Chicago, US.
Swiss intermediates and fine chemical company Lonza said today it
is to cut around 500 jobs mainly in Europe and the US as part of a
restructuring programme to reduce the negative effects of the
current economy on most of its business...
Attendance at SupplySide East earlier this month was slightly up on
last year, according to organisers, and although there were few
product launches, the conference provided all the drama.
Speciality chemicals company International Specialty Products (ISP)
continues its quest to expand the company's presence in the growing
personal care market segment with the news this week that it has
collaborated with biotech...
