Cambrex Corp, the US-based manufacturer of small-molecule active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and advanced intermediates for
the drug industry, has announced that one of its customers is
recalling a product for which Cambrex...
Genomic services firm Expression Analysis has purchased the
first-ever commercially-available technology to allow the
sequencing of a single molecule of DNA, without amplification.
Japan's Fujifilm Holdings has taken a definitive sidestep into
pharmaceuticals after completing a tender offer that gives the
camera, photography and information solutions specialist a share
stake representing 67.42 per cent...
The heparin recall has widened after a lot of heparin sodium USP
active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) produced by Scientific
Protein Laboratories (SPL) was found to contain a heparin-like
contaminant.
Varian, Invitrogen, BMG Labtech and Hosokawa Micron have all
recently announced new product launches, detailing a selection of
tools and equipment to aid the scientist working in the laboratory
environment.
US-based drug delivery specialist Alkermes is cutting its losses
following Eli Lilly's decision to scrap the companies' joint
development programme for inhaled insulin.
inVentiv Clinical has become the latest contract research
organisation (CRO) to open up shop in blossoming Latin America in a
bid to gain more of a global reach.
Scientists have successfully created the first artificial
transposon - a piece of DNA which randomly "jump" around the
genome, cutting and pasting itself throughout the strands of DNA.
Switzerland's Siegfried Holding says that a significant jump in
2007 net profit, up 54 per cent to CHF 49.7m ($50m), vindicates its
decision to refocus on the active pharmaceutical ingredients and
generics sector.
A revised glycerin monograph has been announced at the US
Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention which it is hoped will further
decrease the likelihood of health hazards associated with
diethylene glycol-contaminated glycerin.
A new modular approach to automating laboratory techniques could
ease the process of scaling small-scale manual methods to
high-volume commercial production.
Despite the challenges that emerging market present, such as
intellectual property (IP) exposure and drug pricing controls, the
pharma industry is not being deterred.
A new, more patient-friendly presentation of the growth hormone
treatment Omnitrope (rDNA somatropin) has been launched in the US
by Sandoz, the generics division of Swiss-based Novartis.
Dutch biotech Crucell and its US partner DSM Biologics have
achieved a record yield of 15 grams per litre with their PER.C6
cell line technology for the production of monoclonal antibodies
and recombinant proteins.
A disposable autoinjector that incorporates pre-filled syringes to
allow injections to be safely undertaken by patients or
non-clinicians has received FDA approval allowing its creators
access to the lucrative US market.
Peptide Technologies showcased their latest rapid automated peptide
synthesis equipment at Pittcon 2008, including a new product, the
benchtop Tribute instrument.
Applied Biosystems has sequenced a human genome for just $60,000 in
a project that significantly undercuts the $100,000 milestone
achieved by the industry and setting the scene for a price war
between DNA sequencing tool specialists.
A successful and strategically important year,' is how Sartorius
CEO Joachim Kreuzburg described 2007, a year highlighted
by merger of its biotechnology division with Stedim to boost its
presence in the burgeoning biopharmaceutical...
The costs of introducing any formal good manufacturing practice
(GMP) requirements for potentially high-risk pharmaceutical
excipients in the European Union would far exceed the likely
benefits, concludes an impact assessment for...
NanoDrop, now part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, made a big impact
at Pittcon 2008 with its range of micro-volume UV-vis and
fluorescence spectroscopy instruments.
Eli Lilly has again teamed up with Indian research firm Suven Life
Sciences in a deal that will focus on preclinical research of
molecules in the therapeutic area of central nervous system (CNS)
disorders.
Cognizant is gaining ground in the life sciences arena, this week
inking a $95m data management deal with AstraZeneca, just three
months after sealing another multi-million dollar deal with Merck
& Co.
Research into the use of RNA interference (RNAi) to "silence" gene
activity has taken another step forwards, saysThermo Fisher
Scientific which has launched an agent that accelerates the
processes in which RNAi is used to...
Drug delivery specialist Eurand could see a marked increase in
revenue flow this year, both from co-development products
incorporating the company's formulation technologies and a
proprietary treatment addressing the estimated...
Roche has entered into an agreement to provide drug compounds for
cardiotoxicity testing using a cell-based platform that could play
a major role in the preclinical safety evaluation of drugs and
newly developed compounds.
The CEO of Californian company Nektar Therapeutics says that 2007
has been key in transforming the company into a fully integrated
drug development organisation, despite the setback with Pfizer's
inhaled insulin product Exubera.
The prospects for a viable market in inhaled insulin therapies were
looking markedly thinner this week after Eli Lilly pulled the plug
on its joint development programme with drug delivery specialist
Alkermes for AIR Insulin.
Alfa Laval has introduced new plate technology for the continuous
production of pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals and speciality
chemicals that has "the potential to start something of a
revolution in the chemicals industry",...
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigation into the
recent Baxter heparin scare has uncovered a contaminant in the
product that was sourcing the active pharmaceutical ingredient
(API) from a Chinese manufacturer.
UK-based AstraZeneca has recently given the region's dominant
telecommunications provider, British Telecom (BT) a greater role in
its business, to the tune of £25m.
Flamel Technologies has yet again experienced a net loss of $37.2m
for 2007, following a string of bad fortune in 2005 and 2006, but
believes it may be about to turn the corner.
Pfizer has outlined a number of strategies for growing its
fledgling pipeline and lowering its cost base and is planning to
increase globalisation and accelerate growth in emerging markets as
part of this.
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has hit the
headlines at Pittcon 2008 with the release of ground breaking
instruments from a number of companies.
Scientists have provoked a soil-dwelling bacteria into producing a
potent antibiotic by pitting it against another bacteria, despite
the fact that previously it had never been known to produce such
products.
Dissolved charged particles frequently form the waste product of
both industrial and biological processes, but while it has been
easy to remove positive ions (cations) without disturbing the
surrounding solution, it has been significantly...
Merck & Co has signed a $32m deal to evaluate MicroDose
Technologies' dry powder inhalation technology in the delivery of
some of its respiratory product lines.