Clinical trial software provider Phase Forward posted strong Q1 financial results, with CRO related revenues jumping by 52 per cent despite the difficulties facing companies in the sector.
Pfizer is monitoring opportunities in follow-on biologics and continuing to look for small to mid-sized deals as it plans for life without Lipitor, global revenues of which fell by 13 per cent in Q1.
Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals are jointly developing an exenatide once weekly pen device, which should provide a more convenient way for diabetics to treat themselves.
Sanofi-Aventis has halted development of four Phase III drugs in a “rigorous” pre-patent loss pipeline review that has also seen it drop four Phase II candidates and six Phase I projects.
Erectile dysfunction could be treated by a nanoparticle formulation applied directly to the penis, according to research, reducing the side effects that can occur when taking drugs like Viagra.
US software giant Microsoft has unveiled its new Amalga Life Sciences data aggregation and modelling platform in a bid to capitalise on the demand for IT infrastructure solutions currently sweeping the drug R&D and trials sectors.
GEA Pharma Systems’ process equipment is now available with its Lighthouse Probe technology, which uses fibre optics and mirrors to give a clear view of the product when it is in the machine.
Icon’s net new business fell by 28 per cent in Q1 but the overall picture was better, with operating profits rising by 25 per cent and a US acquisition expanding its Phase I capacity.
19 out of 21 pharmaceutical companies surveyed by Cutting Edge Information ranked a contract research organisation’s ability to hit trial deadlines as either “extremely important” or very “important,” making it the top quality identified by respondents.
Pfizer’s development deal with stem-cell researchers at University College of London’s (UCL) Institute of Opthalmology, aimed at reversing vision loss in AMD, has drawn a great deal of interest from investors and the drug industry alike.
SAFC and Vivalis have launched a new media designed to allow the latter’s commonly used virus producing EB66 cell line to grow at higher cell densities and produce higher yields.
Parexel posted a doubling in cancellations in Q3 of its fiscal year, with profits remaining flat as an eight per cent boost in service revenue was offset by higher operating expenses.
Novozymes Biopharma is building a new Bacillus-based hyaluronic acid (bHA) production facility in China to meet “increasing demand” for the substance that has drug delivery applications.
Canada’s Patheon has been contracted to commercialise treatments for allergy and depression using the Oros controlled release technology at its manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, US.
Xspray has doubled its personnel and laboratory space in response to demand for its manufacturing service, which is designed to overcome the drawbacks associated with micronisation.
Novartis, Roche, GSK and Sanofi Pasteur are poised to start the months of work required to make a vaccine for the swine flu virus that, according to an AFP interview with Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova, is linked to 103 deaths in Mexico.
German CRO Clinicalprojects International (CPI) will begin providing its customers with the TrialMaster EDC solution though a deal with developer OmniComm.
US drug packaging firm Aylward Enterprises has called in Siemens’ energy and automation division to help design the latest generation of its ACT 9000 series bottle filling machine.
Millipore is collaborating with Microbix Biosystems to improve influenza vaccine manufacturing by developing a purification process using novel chromatographic technology.
Lonza has felt “no negative impact” from the economic crisis and demand from clients remains strong, which will enable the company to post average growth in the high teens until 2013.
Coast IRB has decided to close after a probe by US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and subsequent FDA warning letter resulted in the loss of “several key customers”.
Construction of a new stem cell research and processing plant began yesterday in China’s Eastern Jiangsu province as part of a joint project between the Chinese government and Shenzen Beike Biotechnology.
Affymetrix’s service division posted a 37 per cent increase in revenues in Q1 but overall the company slumped, going from $46m (€35m) profit in 2008 to a $25m loss this year.
API maker Hovione’s manufacturing facility in Cork, Ireland was unveiled at an opening ceremony yesterday just two weeks after the previous owner, global drug giant Pfizer, formally handed over the keys.
Research has been presented on the first Phase I trials of a systemic, non-viral, targeted nanoparticle that delivers a p53 tumour suppressor gene to combat cancer.
Winpak appears to have benefited from the current economic turmoil, with lower raw material costs and favourable currency rates helping it post net earnings of $9.7m (€7.4m), up by 62 per cent on 2008.
Sinobiopharma is seeking a Chinese patent covering the manufacture of capsule forms of the heart drug perindopril, claiming it is the first company in the world to produce the medication in this easy to swallow format.
US firm Kendle is the latest CRO to revise its forecast and blame “unprecedented biopharmaceutical industry conditions,” which are fast becoming an industry catchphrase, for its Q1 woes.
IntelGenx’ clinical pilot study indicates the bioequivalence of a leading antihypertensive and its product, which has been developed using its multilayer Versatab delivery technology.
PPD’s revenues dipped in Q1 as the company was hit by contract cancellations totaling $215m (€166m), which included a $77m deal with a large biotech for a multinational clinical trial.
Epistem claims its “plucked hair biomarker model” provides drugmakers with minimally invasive way monitoring epithelial response to cancer candidates that can significantly reduce development times.
A committee appointed by the Indian government has submitted a report into whether patent issues around microorganisms and NCEs are in compliance with TRIPS.
GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) $2.9bn (€1.8bn) cash acquisition of US skin drug specialist Stiefel Laboratories “re-energises” the UK firm’s dermatology range, according to CEO Andrew Witty.
Sanofi-Aventis is investing a further $90m in its Chinese manufacturing facility and performing “the world’s largest diabetes genotyping project” in partnership with the Chinese Diabetes Society.
China Aoxing Pharmaceutical, a specialist developer of pain management drugs, has received GMP accreditation for the new tablet production and packaging plant it has set up in Shijiazhuang.
Following calls for increased transparency PhRMA has published its new clinical trial principles, which contain revisions relating to registration, authors and sponsor disclosure.
Indian CRO Siro ClinPharm is teaming up with New Jersey based pharma services firm Advanced Clinical Trial Solutions (ACT) to strengthen its position in the US cancer trial sector.
US clinical trials firm ChemDiv has bought Russian CRO Prudentas, boosting its presence in the country at a time when the treatment naïve populations in Eastern Europe are increasingly catching the eye of the global pharma and biotech industries.
Polestar Technologies has launched its iDOT single-use pH and dissolved oxygen sensor, which can be welded into the walls of disposable reactors to provide in situ process monitoring.
Actavis has reintroduced Oxycodone 15 mg and 30 mg tablets to the US market having resolved the manufacturing difficulties discovered by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Domino Printing is expanding its presence in Portugal through the €7m ($9m) acquisition of Labeljet SA and its subsidiary Marque TDI, which is currently a distributor for the traceability specialist.
The FDA has approved Biogen Idec to manufacture Tysabri using a high titre process but the product’s sales have been “negatively impacted” by the cases of patients developing PML.
Finding appropriate subjects in the booming trials market is a major stumbling block for drug firms and CROs, according to a new study by US market analysts Cutting Edge Information
From June onwards drug firms and CROs conducting trials in India are required to record full details of the research, including the funding source, on the ICMR’s Clinical Trials Registry India website.
LGC Standards is increasing its presence in Asia through the opening of its first office in China, which will provide laboratory quality management services to the local market.
In a radical departure from Big Pharma’s traditional business model Pfizer and GSK have formed a jointly controlled company to develop and distribute their combined HIV portfolios and pipelines.
French diagnostics and microbiology firm bioMerieux claims its new range of indicator medias will help drugmakers cut testing times and reduce errors during GMP mandated sterility analysis.
Merck Serono, the small molecules development division of Germany’s Merck KGaA, will use Aegis Analytical’s Discoverant data management and analytics platform at its manufacturing facility in Vevey Switzerland.