US researchers have identified an enzyme that reduces the build up
of heart-disease causing plaques by removing the cholesterol that
causes them to form.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is planning to strip itself down closer to
the bare bones of the business through further outsourcing and
offshoring, with hopes of making itself into a lean, mean, pharma
machine.
Sigma-Aldrich continued its strong year with both revenues and
pre-tax profits showing strong double-digit growth in the third
quarter predicting it will break the $2bn (€1.4bn) revenue mark
this year.
Illumina's third quarter revenues soared 82 per cent while
Affymetrix looked to bolster its slice of the genetics market by
filing more patent infringement claims against the young pretender.
Indian generics specialist Wockhardt is continuing its drive to
strengthen its foothold in the US market, snapping up US firm
Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals.
Scanning probe microscope (SPM) maker, JPK Instruments has been
named as Germany's fastest growing nanotechnology company in
accounting firm Deloitte's 'Technology Fast 50'.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has slammed
Sanofi-Aventis over its failure to act on known instances of fraud
during clinical trials of its antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin) -
accusations that the firm continues to deny.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has emerged as the latest pharma firm to
announce closures and job cuts along with its third quarter
results, yet another casualty of generic competition and product
safety scares.
As it faces an increasingly uncertain financial future, Pfizer's
reaffirmation that it plans to retain its focus on cutting costs,
including outsourcing and offshoring, comes as no 'Kindler
surprise', unlike the firm's...
In a shock announcement at its third quarter financial results,
Merck KGaA has said it will stop its diabetes research and partner
out any current programmes.
As the fires in California continue to rage, Pfizer and other
pharma and biotech companies all over Southern California are
bracing themselves for closures and even evacuations of their
facilities.
Pfizer may have given up on its non-injectable insulin, but
researchers in the US think they may have cracked a way to deliver
the hormone orally, linking it up to vitamin B12 to protect it
through the digestive system.
Illumina has released a new microRNA (miRNA) assay for gene
expression profiling at a cost that the company believes is less
than half that of other commercially available systems.
In this week's review of activity within the preclinical research
services arena, new deals have emerged involving Cato Research,
Genoway, Caliper Life Sciences and Rules-Based Medicine.
Scanning probe microscope maker Veeco has seen its third quarter
revenues drop 13 per cent to $97.7m (€68.7m) and plans to make 100
staff redundant as part of a restructuring drive.
Japan's Kirin Holdings, best-known in the West as a beer maker,
will acquire a controlling stake in Kyowa Hakko, and thus get its
hands on what Kyowa claims are 'the ultimate antibody
warriors' against cancer.
Inyx Pharma has been given a new lease on life after it was bought by another UK firm, bringing relief after it was dragged into administration when its US parent company Inyx Inc. ran aground financially.
Scientists have discovered how neurons keep themselves sugar-free
and healthy, a process that must be upheld to prevent the onset of
several neurodegenerative diseases, including a fatal form of
epilepsy.
Promega has launched a new method of isolating the DNA sequences
that bind to proteins that removes the need to generate specific
antibodies used in traditional ChIP experiments.
King Pharmaceuticals last week announced that it would be cutting
20 per cent of its workforce after the US Court of Appeals reversed
a previous court ruling and invalidated a patent covering the
firm's blood pressure drug, Altace...
We've all cringed at stories of people dumping their partners via
text message but in the world of business, Pfizer seems to have
taken things to a new level when its Exubera partners were
allegedly left to find out the product...
New research has shown that even if laboratory rats are genetically
identical they can still develop distinct metabolic profiles that
could skew drug toxicity and metabolism studies.
With yesterday's perhaps unsurprising news that Pfizer has cut its
losses and pulled out of the inhaled insulin market by dropping
Exubera and giving up on second generation devices, the world's
biggest pharma firm is in...
A team of US scientists have used typically discarded body parts to
create a 'joint in a test tube', which can be used to test
arthritis drugs instead of using animals.
Roche heard early this morning that the European Commission (EC)
has decided to reinstate the marketing authorisation for the
company's HIV drug, Viracept (nelfinavir), but countries outside
the EU have yet to make a final decision.
A new report has outlined a series of recommendations for
government policymakers to help mitigate the potential risks of the
burgeoning synthetic genomics area.
A new solid-state proton NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) technique
has been developed that can quickly determine polymorphism of
active pharmaceuticals within tablet formulations.
French firm Diatos has created a second generation irinotecan
cancer therapy using its patented peptide-based drug delivery
system, coming up with a drug that has greatly improved efficacy
and safety profile compared to current irinotecan...
LabTechnologist.com brings you its periodic update of recent
product releases, with additions from Activotec, Applied Biosystems
/ MDS Sciex, FEI, Invitrogen, Mettler Toledo and Torrey Pines.
Agilent and BioTrove are collaborating to deliver ultra
high-throughput sample preparation and mass spectrometry (MS)
systems to speed the analysis of in vitro assays used in
drug development.
Pfizer revealed today that it is abandoning its once-touted
blockbuster Exubera, ending months of speculation as to whether the
fledging world-first inhalable insulin would sink or swim in the
fierce waters of pharma.
Two major bioscience industry trade associations have called for
changes to be made to the European clinical trials directive in
order to bring about "harmonisation, transparency and consistency"
in this area across the...
As men grow older, the majority of them will suffer from the
symptoms of an enlarged prostate. However, help could be on the
horizon from BioXell's new drug that treats both the symptoms and,
crucially, the cause of this debilitating...
A US start-up firm is gearing up to launch an online database where
researchers can access a variety of drug discovery service
providers across the globe.
Growing demand has prompted tableting specialist Meldex
International, formerly BioProgress, to launch a new sales and
distribution hub in Germany, with the UK firm also announcing a new
manufacturing contract for its XGel film.
A new foot-controlled PC mouse aims to increase researchers'
efficiency by removing the need for repetitive glove removal and
hand washing before using laboratory computers.
The activity of local and international firms establishing
preclinical testing services to good laboratory practice (GLP)
standards in Asia continues to gain momentum.
ViRexx, Aesica, Velcura Therapeutics, Helix BioPharma and Avalon
Pharmaceuticals have all had people on the move in the world of
pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Drug formulation and delivery specialist Orexo has decided it has
had enough of improving established drugs and wants to develop its
own, so has bought speciality pharma firm Biolipox.